Matt Rhule reveals message from son, next step in coaching journey
Matt Rhule knows he is going to coach again, but he isn’t sure where or when. After being fired as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers in his third season, Rhule is weighing all of his options.
That includes a potential return to college football, where he led both Baylor and Temple to 10-win seasons. Rhule appeared on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Wednesday, reflecting on why he originally made the jump to the NFL and explaining that, because of some words of encouragement from his son, he is ready for whatever comes next.
“I don’t know,” Rhule said when asked his next move. “I really don’t. If I go back three years ago, I was sitting at my table in Waco, Texas, and I had a pretty good life. I made the decision to come to the NFL because I wanted to do it. My son was going into his freshman year of high school, and really I had two goals. No. 1, I wanted to win the Super Bowl and bring a championship to Carolina. I felt like they deserved that. But I also wanted my son to graduate high school. I’ve moved around. I’ve been to so many different schools, and I just wanted to give him the gift of, ‘Hey, you can go to high school in one place.’
“He’d been to 12 or 13 different schools. So, he’ll be a senior next year. I was kind of like, ‘All right, this happened. I’ll obviously listen to things.’ I know this: I don’t care where I coach, it has to be the right fit. It has to be the right people. It’s not really where, I’ve learned, it’s who. But my son said to me, ‘Dad, you need to coach. I want you to coach.’ I’m like, ‘But, son, it’s your senior year. You’re on the basketball team. You’re on the golf team.’ He’s like, ‘Dad, players, young people, that’s what you do.'”
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Matt Rhule went on to say that the relationships with players is what he misses most about being a coach. He pointed to Brayvion Roy, whom he coached both at Baylor and in the NFL. Rhule felt the bond of those relationships when he was fired, saying he received plenty of kind messages from his former players.
“I watched you do Brayvion earlier,” Rhule said. “I coached Brayvion in college. My daughters know him. So, I don’t know where I’ll coach. I loved the NFL. I loved college football. Most importantly for me, I loved pouring into young people. It stinks getting fired. I mean, it’s terrible. But the calls and the text messages, like, Dion Dawkins texted me and it meant more to me than anything else the things he said to me. I just want to have an impact on people. So, whenever that comes, I don’t know when it will be, but I’ve got my son pushing me, ‘Let’s go here, let’s go there.’ It could be Monday, it could be two years from now. But when it comes, I’ll be ready.”
Rhules name has been mentioned for several different college openings, including Auburn and Nebraska. However, he also isn’t rushing himself to make a decision, and wants to make sure wherever he lands, be it college or the pros, he is happy with the fit.