Tag: Matt Rhule

David Tepper doesn’t think his firings will deter future HC candidates

Panthers owner David Tepper after firing his third HC in six years: Nobody ever leaves me

David Tepper’s reign as owner of the Carolina Panthers has produced three more canned head coaches than it has winning seasons. David Tepper has canned three head coaches.

A day after adding Frank Reich to his graveyard, Tepper held what may be becoming his annual midseason state of the union address this morning. So, as he’s proven to have a pretty itchy trigger finger, does the billionaire owner think future head-coaching candidates will be deterred by his past moves?

He answered that rather simply.

“No,” he replied.

He was then asked why he believes that.

“Again, I’m not gonna get into it here,” he said. “But I think there are different reasons why different things happened in each case. Like I said, everything is out on the field, everything is known over time—and I think people know, the league knows it and people in the league know it.

“If everything was perfect, it wouldn’t be the case. And if everything was good, it wouldn’t be the case. So it’s not as if it’s not known out there. That will be something for people to decide.”

Tepper decided to dismiss Reich after just 11 games, a run that resulted in an NFL-worst 1-10 record. Reich, the very first quarterback in franchise history and a well-respected play-caller, was targeted by Tepper to strike an offensive renaissance in Carolina.

That, obviously, did not happen. Through 12 weeks, the Panthers rank 30th in total offense and 29th in points per game.

Reich’s firing marked Tepper’s third in his six years at the helm, with Ron Rivera being his first victim in 2019 and Matt Rhule his second just last season. Nonetheless, Tepper wanted to make it clear that he’s capable of running a perfectly functioning ship.

“Just generally speaking, and not here and not that this matters ’cause this is here,” he added. “But in other aspects of my life, we have people for 20, 30 years that work for me. Nobody ever leaves me.”

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Carolina Panthers fire head coach Frank Reich after 1-10 start to the season

The Carolina Panthers have fired head coach Frank Reich, making Reich the third coach owner David Tepper has fired mid-season since 2019.

The 1-10 Carolina Panthers have fired head coach Frank Reich after their 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. It’s a whipsaw decision by owner David Tepper, as he hired Reich in January. But little has gone well for the NFL’s worst team by record, and after the Titans loss, it was clear that Tepper has had just about enough. Now, between Reich, Matt Rhule, and Ron Rovera, Tepper has fired three different head coaches in mid-season since 2019.

The Panthers traded up to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft to select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. It’s not entirely Young’s fault, but his rookie season has been mostly a disaster — he’s completed 216 of 350 passes for 1,877 yards, nine touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a passer rating of 74.9. Especially in comparison with C.J. Stroud, selected by the Houston Texans with the second overall pick, it’s hard not to peg the draft pick as a mistake.

That said, it’s about more than just Reich and the quarterback. The Panthers are not a talent-laden team at any position or position group, and whoever inherits this job in the long term will have to deal with the same disconnect between the obvious rebuild on the field, and Tepper’s expectations. And that head coach will not have a first overall pick to move that process forward — the Bears own Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick as a result of the Young trade.

Matt Rhule bizarrely compared his first Nebraska team to the soldiers storming the beach at Normandy

A poor choice of words, Matt Rhule.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule knows that this season didn’t go the way his team hoped it would.

However, he picked a heck of a metaphor to explain how tough it is that his first-year Cornhuskers had to be the transition team for the program.

Speaking with reporters after Nebraska’s Black Friday loss to Iowa, Rhule compared his first Nebraska team to, we’re not kidding, the soldiers who first stormed the beach at Normandy on World War II’s D-Day landings.

For context, those are the soldiers who took the most casualties in the first wave of the military attack to clear the way for the others behind them.

“Sometimes, the first people to do things don’t get to see the results,” Rhule explained. “The first people to storm the beach at Normandy, you know, the first explorers, like, you don’t always get to see the end result.”

It’s a bit odd to deflect this season as an unfortunate casualty in a bridge year when you look at where Nebraska was with just four games to go on the schedule.

This is the kind of questionable logic that doesn’t take into account that this easily could’ve been a bowl season for the Cornhuskers if they’d literally won one of their last four games.

Rhule might want to reconsider his words next time when trying to explain away a disappointing season as just a fluke in the grand scheme of things. This team absolutely should not have been thrown on the pyre of transition, and that’s on this coaching staff.

Iowa kicker Marshall Meeder nailed his first Hawkeyes FG to stun Nebraska in the most Big Ten game of the year

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Matt Rhule wildly gesturing on Nebraska’s sideline quickly became a Thanksgiving meme

“I don’t know what Matt Rhule’s doing there.”

Friday afternoon’s rivalry game between No. 17 Iowa and Nebraska delivered some chaotic entertainment, whether you think this is incredible football or one of the worst excuses for it. There were a handful of huge plays, weird plays, blocked field goals and a lot of punts — but fans loved and expected that last one, of course.

There was also a moment during the second quarter when Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule was wildly gesturing as his team desperately tried not to end its final first-half drive with a punt. (Nebraska still ended up punting.)

It was a puzzling moment for anyone watching and wondering exactly what Rhule was trying to express and even had the CBS Sports broadcast crew wondering: “I don’t know what Matt Rhule’s doing there.”

In a wacky game with a shockingly low over/under, this moment from Rhule stood out and quickly became a Thanksgiving meme.

Nebraska falls in overtime to Wisconsin

Based off the first two drives, it seemed as though Nebraska came to dominate on offense against Wisconsin.

Based on the first two drives, it seemed as though Nebraska came to dominate on offense against Wisconsin. But those hopes were soon extinguished on a gutsy fourth-down call by head coach Matt Rhule. Instead of attempting a 50-yard field, the Huskers went for it on fourth and one, only to be halted by the Badgers.

Then everything changed. Wisconsin outscored Nebraska 24-3 from there on out, resulting in a 24-17 overtime win for the Badgers.

Chubba Purdy earned the start for the Huskers and delivered the best showing by a Nebraska quarterback in the last few weeks. Purdy threw for 169 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown. Purdy’s touchdown pass saw him throw a dot to freshman Jaylen Lloyd, who broke a tackle and took off for a score.

But Nebraska never found its way into the endzone after that. Tristan Alvano sent the game into overtime with a 30-yard field goal after missing a 42-yarder earlier, but the inconsistent offensive play resulted in the loss.

Despite surrendering 24 points, the defense made big stops on the night, including back-to-back fourth down stops and holding Braelon Allen to just 62 yards rushing. Allen did score two touchdowns as Wisconsin slowly but surely worked its way into the endzone each time.

Nebraska falls to 5-6 on the season and will return home to host Iowa on Friday afternoon. The Huskers need to win their season finale to become bowl-eligible. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and can be viewed on CBS.

Nebraska HC Matt Rhule equates coaching to being in the mafia

Nebraska HC Matt Rhule equates coaching to being in the mafia

Here’s your Quote Of The Week in advance of Wisconsin vs Nebraska in Madison on Saturday night.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule discussed his season thus far, and his team being one win away from bowl eligibility.

“This is a life we’ve chosen,” Rhule said. “This world, to me, is always like the mafia. You get hired, eventually you get whacked, and you live as much as you can in between.”

What a line.

Rhule is on his fourth head coaching job. The first was at Temple, where he left to take the Baylor job. He then jumped to the Carolina Panthers for two seasons before being fired, and then hired at Nebraska.

So Rhule has only been technically fired as a head coach once, which is doing pretty well according to his vision of the sport.

Saturday’s game presents an interesting program comparison. Both Nebraska and Wisconsin are 5-5 and both are under new leadership. Though it feels like Nebraska’s 5-5 is a moderate success, while Wisconsin’s is an abject failure.

Either way, the Badgers need a win on Saturday.

Matt Rhule gives update on Nebraska’s quarterback room entering Saturday vs Wisconsin

Matt Rhule gives update on Nebraska’s quarterback room entering Saturday vs Wisconsin:

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule met with the media earlier today in advance of his team’s Saturday night road battle against Wisconsin.

He importantly gave an update on his team’s quarterback room — a point of interest all season.

The Cornhuskers began the year with Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims under center, though switched to Heinrich Haarberg after early struggles. Haarberg then left last week’s loss at Maryland with an injury, paving the way for Sims to return to game action. Nebraska even tried third-string Chubba Purdy at quarterback after Haarberg’s injury, though nothing seemed to work.

Here’s Rhule’s update on Nebraska’s quarterback situation:

“Heinrich’s going to practice tomorrow. He’s obviously been out there on a limited basis. Chubba [Purdy] and Jeff [Sims] have gotten most of the reps…But I know he definitely wants to play. He’s pushing to come back and play, and so we’ll see how he does tomorrow and get him to the game, warm him up.”

The head coach then clarified that Haarberg is healthy enough, though it is unknown whether he will start.

“He’ll definitely be available in some capacity, but whether he starts or not, I think will just depend on how he feels at game day,” Rhule said. “We obviously wouldn’t want to put him out there if we weren’t able to run him and run the option and do the things that he does best. And so he’ll test it full speed again tomorrow and see if he has the same good results.”

Haarberg is 3-2 in five starts this season, during which he’s recorded 967 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions, 477 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Sims’ numbers, conversely, are not good at all.

Given Rhule’s tone, I’d be shocked if Haarberg doesn’t start on Saturday. Then again, it still has been college football’s No. 114 offense this season (out of 130 teams).

Wisconsin football cannot lose on Saturday for one simple reason

Wisconsin football cannot lose on Saturday for one simple reason

Wisconsin football is in the midst of a season many would like to forget. At the least, the hope is 2023 is viewed as an anomaly in Luke Fickell’s tenure as head coach. Win in the immediate future, and many will quickly forget the past.

That past still has two games remaining, though. The Badgers are at home against Nebraska on Saturday and at Minnesota the following week.

We’ll deal with the Minnesota contest as the days pass — hopefully having it not decide whether or not Wisconsin’s 22-year bowl streak is extended.

Up now is Nebraska. It is a game Wisconsin cannot lose for one simple reason: the long and storied history of the Freedom Trophy is at stake, and the Cornhuskers have never held it.

 (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

The trophy was introduced in 2014 as the two schools tried to manufacture a rivalry. Since that point, Wisconsin has defeated Nebraska in every season except 2020. That streak can’t end this year.

The two programs are actually in interestingly-similar positions. Wisconsin just hired Luke Fickell to attempt to compete with the ‘big boys’ in college football, while Nebraska hired Matt Rhule to try to resurrect the program.

Given two opposite sets of expectations entering the year, it’s hard to not say Rhule has had a more successful season.

That aside, Saturday could be a rebirth of a rivalry that has never existed. It’s necessary Fickell does not let that happen, so Wisconsin can be bowl eligible yet again and we can continue to make fun of a meaningless trophy.

Rhule discusses special teams touchdown

A Nebraska defensive back scored a special teams touchdown in Saturday’s win over Purdue.

A Nebraska defensive back scored a special teams touchdown in Saturday’s win over Purdue. Elijah Jeudy blocked the 4th quarter field goal attempt, and the senior cornerback Quinton Newsome then caught the deflection and ran it back 68 yards for the first touchdown of his Husker career.

Head coach Matt Rhule said he was proud of the role the senior plays on special teams.

“Very fired up for Quinton. I should have said that in my opening remarks. They told me that earlier. If he doesn’t adjust on that fumble, the game might be different in that punt return. The fact that you have a senior who’s out there playing on the punt return team, that speaks a lot to him. He’s an NFL player and he’s out there playing on the punt return team. We can make you do that but we’re not making him do that.”

Newsome discussed his first career Husker touchdown after the victory.

“I was playing the super scorer on that play. I saw the ball pop up and I caught it. I saw the grass and (Tommi) Hill running with me. This is six right here. We’re going to the end zone. Taking the practice reps and bringing it to the game. You never know when you’re going to block a field goal in the game. That was a big moment in the game.”

Following the game, Husker head coach Matt Rhule stated that the coaching staff has been all over the team about the need for big plays on special teams.

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How Big Ten and other coaches around the country reacted to Michigan’s sign stealing saga

Here’s how Big Ten coaches and others across the nation have reacted thus far when asked about Michigan and sign stealing allegations. #B1G

For almost a week now, [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag]’s main rival Michigan, has been in the midst of sign stealing allegations.

The accusations are fairly simple: Recruiting analyst, Connor Stalions, would visit upcoming Wolverine opponents, record their sideline signals, decode them, and stand extremely close to coaches on game days to help figure out what plays opponents would run.

That’s what is being alleged by and large anyhow before we get the benefit of anything that comes from an official investigation. So, patience Buckeye Nation before piling on, something not easy to do when brought up with the rivalry in The Game.

It’s a scheme that has seen more than a few coaches speak out on it, some with more intricate answers than others. Find out below what some Big Ten and other coaches around the country said regarding the most recent issues at Michigan. We have video, tweets in some cases, and a brief response for each.