Matt Rhule is currently being paid $40 million to not coach the Carolina Panthers and, for many people, that’s exactly what they would have done with their time for the next year. However, Rhule decided that he needed to get right back into the coaching game in a situation where he’s thrived in the past. That’s why he decided to become the next head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, which was announced on Saturday.
Rhule appeared on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning and was asked why he decided to take the job so soon after he was fired from his NFL gig.
“This is a team that I grew up not just watching, this is a team that I grew up revering.”
—Matt Rhule on becoming Nebraska’s next head coach pic.twitter.com/zuiiSVXlXE
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 26, 2022
“This is Nebraska,” said Rhule. “This is a team that I grew up, not just watching, this is a team I grew up revering.
“I could see right away that the leadership is right. There’s tremendous alignment. It’s got the greatest fanbase in football. A storied history. A storied tradition. And at the end of the day I just felt like, you know, it fits me. I’m a guy that likes to go places and develop players. That’s my passion in life. To watch players grow on and off the field, and no one in history has done that better than the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Rhule also shared with ESPN that he considers former Huskers head coach Scott Frost a friend.
“One of the things that drew me to it is knowing that Scott had been there for the last several years,” Rhule said. “Scott Frost is a coach that I truly respect and consider a friend. And so I know that program has a good culture, I know they know how to work. Now it’s about just all of us picking up, moving forward.”
[ESPN]
