Nebraska officially announces Matt Rhule as next Cornhuskers football coach
Nebraska has found their next leader in Matt Rhule.
Rumors ran rampant in recent weeks, but the Cornhuskers officially announced Rhule as their next head coach on Saturday. Afterwards, the program released a statement, including quotes from Nebraska Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Trev Alberts, along with Rhule himself.
“It is a privilege to welcome Coach Matt Rhule, his wife Julie, and their family to Nebraska,” Alberts said, per Nebraska. “Coach Rhule has created a winning culture throughout his coaching career, and he will provide great leadership for the young men in our football program.
“Matt is detail-oriented, his teams are disciplined and play a physical brand of football. Matt also has the personality and relationship-building skills to build a great staff and excel in recruiting.”
Continuing, Rhule stated that it’s a “tremendous honor” to take over the Cornhuskers, and it’s obvious he values the opportunity.
“It is a tremendous honor to be chosen to lead the Nebraska Football program,” Rhule added, via Nebraska. “When you think of great, tradition-rich programs in college football Nebraska is right at the top of the list. The fan base is second to none, and I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to coach in Memorial Stadium on Tom Osborne Field.
“My family and I are so grateful to become a part of the Husker Family, and we can’t wait to get started.”
The excitement is peaking and Matt Rhule will be ready to roll when he gets to Nebraska. The Conrhuskers finally have their man, and the future is bright for Nebraska.
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While his NFL struggles are at the front of people’s minds right now, Rhule had massive success in college from 2013-2019. Rhule got his first coaching job at Temple in 2013, inheriting a program that was fresh off a 4-7 season. While Rhule struggled to 2-10 in his first year, he had the Owls at 6-6 in Year 2 and then 10-4 and playing in a bowl game in Year 3. A second 10-win season in 2016 led to Rhule taking over at Baylor.
Upon his arrival at Baylor, Rhule had to turn around a program that had fallen into massive scandal and had completely fallen off after massive success with Art Briles. Rhule was 1-11 during his first season with the Bears but took them to a bowl game in his second season. Rhule went 11-3 and played in the Sugar Bowl in his third season at Baylor, leading to him getting the Panthers job.
Inheriting a franchise that won five games in the year prior to his arrival, Rhule did not make it three full seasons as the head coach of the Panthers. Rhule went 5-11 in his first year and 5-12 in his second season. After starting 1-4 on the 2022 season, Carolina decided to part ways with Rhule, making him one of the hottest names on the college coaching market.
Now the head coach of an iconic college football program, Rhule will be tasked with getting Nebraska back on top once again. The Cornhuskers won nine or more games for seven straight seasons under Bo Pelini but fired him in 2014. Mike Riley took over in 2015 but could not get things rolling, thus starting Nebraska’s struggles. Riley went 19-19 in three seasons, leading to his firing in 2017.
Following Riley’s dismissal, Nebraska hired former quarterback Scott Frost to revive the program. While Frost had great success at UCF, it did not carry over to his alma mater. Frost went a combined 15-29 in his first four seasons at Nebraska and then started 1-2 in 2022 before he was fired. The Cornhuskers never made a bowl game under Frost.