Matt Rhule admits he had other job offers than Nebraska

New Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is already underway at his new gig, beginning with an introductory press conference on Monday where he admitted he had other job offers on the table.

The new Cornhuskers coach simply felt like Nebraska was the best fit.

“I will say this humbly and only for recruiting, because normally I wouldn’t say this,” Rhule said. “But I was offered other jobs, yes. I just decided that this was the right one for me.”

And however Rhule’s NFL tenure in Carolina might have gone — spoiler: not great, as he finished with an 11-27 record before being fired in October — he’s certainly got a compelling track record in college.

Rhule first turned around Temple, taking over in 2013 and going 2-10, then improving to 6-6 in 2014 before winning 10 games each of the following two seasons.

From there, he headed to Baylor, where the Bears went 1-11 in his first season in 2017 before going 7-6 in 2018 and 11-3 in 2019.

At the very least, his resume indicates he can turn around a college program pretty quickly. So what was the hook for him when it came to the Nebraska, a program that hasn’t won more than five games since 2016 and hasn’t won 10 games since 2012?

Matt Rhule weighed other job offers, but Nebraska’s resources pushed it over the top

In a word, Rhule’s decision came down to resources.

If you’re going to attempt to turn around a college football program that has been as so-so as Nebraska for the last decade, you had better have the ammunition in the chamber to do so successfully. Especially if you’re turning down other job offers in the process.

“I had the chance to sit a year, I had some opportunities to do some TV and some broadcasting,” Rhule said. “I was offered some other college opportunities. I only say that to say how special this is. We didn’t say, ‘Hey, we better go take this job.’

“We felt like this was a really special place with really special people. Great alignment, great resources and a fan base unlike any other. I can’t wait to bring recruits to games and let them see what a game at Memorial Stadium looks like.”

Of course, Rhule will have to wait a bit for that opportunity. His inaugural season at Nebraska will begin with back-to-back road trips, first to Minnesota on Aug 31, 2023, then at Colorado on Sept. 9.

Rhule will coach his first game in Lincoln, Neb., against Northern Illinois on Sept. 16.