Matt Rhule

Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American college football coach and former linebacker. He is the head football coach for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, a position he has held since 2023. He was also the head football coach for Temple University from 2013 to 2016, Baylor University from 2017 to 2019, and the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Rhule played linebacker at Penn State from 1994 to 1997.

Rhule was born and raised in New York City before moving to State College, Pennsylvania, where he joined Penn State's football team as a walk-on under Joe Paterno. After a four-year playing career, Rhule began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater. Over the following decade he served as an assistant at several schools, and in 2008 Rhule became the offensive coordinator at Temple. After a brief stint as an assistant for the NFL's New York Giants, Rhule returned to Temple as the program's head coach in 2013. During his four-year tenure, he led the Owls to their only two ten-win seasons since 1979. Rhule was hired as Baylor's head coach following Temple's victory in the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship Game. After finishing 8–17 across Rhule's first two seasons, the Bears improved to 11–3 in 2019.

Rhule returned to the NFL in 2020 as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers missed the playoffs in each of Rhule's first two seasons and he was fired after a 1–4 start to 2022, departing Carolina with a combined record of 11–27. The following month, Rhule agreed to an eight-year contract to become Nebraska's head coach.

Early years

Rhule was born in New York City on January 31, 1975, to parents Dennis and Gloria. When he was a teenager, Rhule's family moved to State College, Pennsylvania, where he played linebacker at State College Area High School before walking on at Penn State under head coach Joe Paterno. He played for the Nittany Lions for four years and became a three-time Penn State Scholar-Athlete and a 1997 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Rhule earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Penn State in 1997 and a master's degree in educational psychology from the University at Buffalo in 2003.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Following the end of his playing career, Rhule was hired as the linebackers coach at Albright College. After one year at Albright, Rhule served as a position coach at Buffalo, UCLA, and Western Carolina before being hired at Temple as a defensive line coach in 2006 under Al Golden. Rhule became the Owls' quarterbacks coach the following year, his first offensive coaching role, and was named offensive coordinator in 2008. When Golden left for Miami in 2010, Rhule interviewed for Temple's vacant head coaching job, which was instead given to Steve Addazio.

After six years as an assistant at Temple, Rhule joined Tom Coughlin's New York Giants staff as an assistant offensive line coach, a season after the Giants won their fourth Super Bowl.

Temple

When Addazio departed for Boston College following the 2012 season, several veteran Owls players voiced their support for Rhule to return. Rhule, an area native who had referred to Temple as a "dream job," was formally hired as the school's twenty-sixth head coach on December 17, 2012.

Temple began Rhule's first season 0–6, which included a loss to Idaho that would be the Vandals' only win of the season. His first victory as a head coach, a 33–14 defeat of Army on October 19, was followed by four more losses, and the Owls finished 2–10. Temple improved to 6–6 the following year, ending the season with a 10–3 victory over Tulane to achieve bowl eligibility, though the Owls were not invited to a bowl game.

Temple opened Rhule's third season with a 27–10 win over his alma mater Penn State, the Owls' first win over the Nittany Lions since 1941. Led by eventual Chuck Bednarik Award winner Tyler Matakevich and third-year starting quarterback P. J. Walker (who would later serve as a backup for the Carolina Panthers under Rhule), Temple started a season 7–0 for the first time in school history. Though Temple lost four of its final seven games, including the inaugural American Athletic Conference championship game, the program's ten wins were its most since 1979. Rhule was reportedly a target of Missouri and Syracuse during the 2015 season; a four-year contract extension he had signed in July was re-negotiated to keep him at Temple.

The Owls returned to the conference championship game in 2016, where they defeated Navy 34–10 to win the program's second conference championship. Rhule accepted the head coaching job at Baylor prior to the 2016 Military Bowl; special teams coordinator Ed Foley served as interim head coach in Temple's upset loss to Wake Forest.
200px, Rhule at Big 12 Media Days in 2017

Baylor

When Rhule was introduced as Baylor's head coach on December 7, 2016, the program was in a state of significant transition. Longtime head coach Art Briles and his entire staff were fired or resigned as a result of the school's sexual assault scandal. Briles's immediate successor was veteran Jim Grobe, who took over in an interim capacity in 2016, leading Baylor to a 7–6 record and a seventh consecutive bowl appearance. Though generally well-received, Rhule's hire was considered something of a surprise, as athletic director Mack Rhoades had stressed the importance of Baylor's head coach having Texas connections; Rhule had never lived or coached in the state.

Baylor finished 1–11 in Rhule's first season, the program's worst record since 1969. The Bears improved to 6–6 the following year and were invited to the 2018 Texas Bowl, defeating Vanderbilt 45–38 in Rhule's first bowl win as a head coach. Shortly after the beginning of the 2019 season, Rhule signed a four-year contract extension which tied him to the school through 2027.

Baylor began the 2019 season 9–0, winning five games decided by eight points or less and reaching a No. 12 national ranking. After a loss to Oklahoma, the Bears won their final two games to finish the regular season 11–1, ranked seventh nationally. Rhule was named Big 12 Coach of the Year. After Baylor dropped each of its postseason games (a rematch with Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game and a meeting with Georgia in the Sugar Bowl), Rhule was named head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina Panthers

On January 7, 2020, Rhule signed a seven-year, $62-million contract to become the fifth head coach of the Carolina Panthers, replacing longtime coach Ron Rivera. Panthers owner David Tepper, overseeing his first head coaching hire, referred to Rhule as a "program builder" who "can build an organization for the next thirty or forty years." After the 2020 NFL preseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carolina lost Rhule's NFL head coaching debut to Las Vegas 34–30; he earned his first win against the Chargers in Week 3. A five-game midseason losing streak knocked the Panthers out of playoff contention, and they finished 5–11.

Prior to his second season in Carolina, Rhule, who had final say over the Panthers' roster decisions, traded incumbent starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and acquired Sam Darnold, the third overall selection in the 2018 NFL draft. Despite a 3–0 start to the season, Darnold ultimately failed to improve on his underwhelming tenure with the New York Jets. Carolina finished 29th in the league in points scored and lost their final seven games to finish 5–12, missing the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.

Midway through the 2022 season, Tepper fired Rhule after a blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers dropped Carolina to 1–4. Rhule, who was in the third year of a seven-year contract, received $40 million dollars as part of his buyout.

Nebraska

On November 26, 2022, Rhule signed an eight-year, $74-million contract to become the 31st head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Rhule finished his first season as head coach of Nebraska with a 5–7 record, tying his predecessor's highest win total in just his first year. Rhule's Huskers finished the year with a conference record of 3–6, tied for last in the Big Ten West division after losing the final four games of the season. In 2024, Nebraska finished with a 7-6 record, recording their first winning season since 2016 and winning the Pinstripe Bowl over Boston College, the Huskers first bowl win since 2015.

Head coaching record

College

* Departed Temple for Baylor before bowl game

NFL

Personal life

Rhule and his wife Julie have three children: Bryant, Vivienne, and Leona.

References

External links

Coaching statistics
at Sports Reference

Nebraska Cornhuskers bio

Baylor Bears bio

Temple Owls bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhule, Matt
1975 births
Living people
Albright Lions football coaches
American football linebackers
Baylor Bears football coaches
Buffalo Bulls football coaches
Carolina Panthers coaches
New York Giants coaches
Penn State Nittany Lions football players
Temple Owls football coaches
UCLA Bruins football coaches
Western Carolina Catamounts football coaches
University at Buffalo alumni
Players of American football from New York City
People from State College, Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Centre County, Pennsylvania
Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania
Carolina Panthers head coaches
State College Area High School alumni