Matt Rhule Will Become The Next Head Coach At Nebraska

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have filled their head coaching vacancy. Multiple media reports noted that former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule, who had long been linked to the position, will return to the college ranks and take over the job that has been open ever since the university opted to fire Scott Frost.

Shortly after news of Rhule’s hiring got reported, the program announced that Rhule will make it so “the future is bright in Lincoln.”

Rhule will head to Nebraska on an 8-year contract. He’ll take over a revered program that has struggled mightily in recent year. After the decision to fire Bo Pelini in 2014, the Huskers have had one winning season and two bowl appearances, both of which came in the first two years of Pelini’s successor, Mike Riley. Between Riley, Frost, and this season’s interim head coach Mickey Joseph, Nebraska is 38-56 over the last eight seasons. Frost was fired on Sept. 11 in the aftermath of a home loss to Georgia Southern.

While Rhule’s tenure in the NFL did not go as planned — he went 11-27 in two years and five games as the coach of the Panthers — he is considered one of the best program builders in college football. His two head coaching jobs at that level were at Temple and Baylor, and while his 47-43 record might not be impressive on the surface, he navigated a pair of rapid turnarounds. His first team in Philadelphia went 2-10 and won 10 games in each of his third and fourth seasons, while the scandal-ridden Bears went 1-11 during his first year in charge, only to go 11-3 two years later.