Matt Rhule reels in two Carolina Panthers coaches for new Nebraska staff

Nikki Chavanelleby:Nikki Chavanelle•11/27/22•

NikkiChavanelle

New Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule has reportedly wrangled two Carolina Panthers staffers to join him in Lincoln, according to a report from Joe Person. Assistant defensive line coach Terrance Knighton and assistant strength coach Corey Campbell are the two latest additions.

Person also shared that more stragglers from Rhule’s Panthers staff could eventually leave the NFL for the Big Ten program, but only confirmed the departure of Knighton and Campbell.

Terrance Knighton and Corey Campbell join former defensive backs coach Evan Cooper, who is reportedly joining Rhule at Nebraska as he has elsewhere in the past.

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In his second year with Carolina, Knighton played seven seasons as a defensive tackle in the NFL from 2009-15. He was a third-round draft pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2009 after playing for Temple from 2005-2008.

Campbell joined Rhule in Carolina from Baylor, where served four years as director of athletic performance. He played fullback at Georgia from 2010-13.

Rhule brings in former defensive backs coach Evan Cooper

Matt Rhule and Nebraska agreed to an eight-year contract totaling $72 million, per reports. The deal will earn Rhule around $9 million per season. It makes him one of the highest-paid head coaches in college football.

Rhule was fired as head coach of the Carolina Panthers earlier this season after a poor start. Now, the program-building head coach is ready to start from scratch in Lincoln after the Huskers announced the signing Saturday.

Matt Rhule is expected to hire his former Carolina Panthers and Baylor Bears assistant coach Evan Cooper for his new Cornhuskers staff, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

While in the college ranks, Cooper served as Rhule’s recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach.

Cooper was one of several Rhule assistants to depart Carolina after his firing.

Prior to Baylor, Cooper also served as Temple’s director of player personnel during the 2015 and 2016 seasons under Rhule. Prior to a stint at Miami, he was a defensive graduate assistant in 2013 and the director of external operations in 2014 at Temple, where he played and graduated in 2009.