Nebraska Cornhuskers hire Matt Rhule as new head football coach

Nebraska makes it official: the Matt Rhule era in Lincoln has begun

Nebraska had made it official, announcing Matt Rhule as the next Cornhuskers football coach.

Rhule was most recently head coach of the Carolina Panthers NFL franchise, but has built a successful regime in the college football ranks.

Rhule signed an eight-year contract with Nebraska, the school announced.

The coach is regarded as a program-builder who helped reverse the fortunes of both Temple and Baylor during his seven-year NCAA coaching career.

After a 1-11 debut at Baylor, Rhule won seven games and the Texas Bowl, and in Year 3 had the team at 11-3, playing for the Big 12 title, winning 11 of its first 12 games, and finished in the top 15 of the AP rankings.

Rhule also helped revive the Temple football program before then. After going 4-7 in the year prior, Rhule took the Owls from 2 wins to 10 in two seasons, winning 20 games in his last two years on the job there.

"It is a tremendous honor to be chosen to lead the Nebraska Football program," Rhule said in a statement. 

"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."

If there's anything the Cornhuskers need, it's a turnaround artist with a track record like Rhule, a proven program and culture builder (and, more crucially, re-builder) who was aggressive and successful on the recruiting trail and has always been well-liked by boosters, administrators, and fans. 

And at Nebraska, he'll have a bigger recruiting budget than he did at Temple or Baylor, combined with local money able to do NIL deals for incoming players. Rhule ticks just about every box that Nebraska needs in its next head coach as it looks to compete in the wide open Big Ten West.

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