The NFL chopping block sent former Penn State linebacker and staff member [autotag]Matt Rhule[/autotag] to the unemployment line on Monday. Rhule was fired by the Carolina Panthers after s tough start to the season, and he has immediately been recognized as a top candidate for a couple of college football jobs. After flunking out of the NFL in a short period of time, Rhule could easily return to the college football world and redeem himself.
The evidence is there to suggest Rhule will be able to navigate just about any program into a winner with a solid game plan. Rhule has done so at Temple, where he more or less continued to build off the groundwork laid by former head coach [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag] (and patching up what was left from Steve Addazio). He also did so at Baylor, a program rocked by its own scandal situation that left the Bears in a rough spot. Baylor’s success now is credited to head coach Dave Arranda but has the fingerprints of Rhule’s initial work clearly visible.
It just so happens that the Big Ten has two jobs that need a coach with a vision and ability to build from the ground up. Wisconsin and Nebraska each are in need of a head coach, and the Huskers are the school to watch when it comes to Rhule. The feeling is the Wisconsin job may actually be interim head coach Jim Leonhard’s to lose (and his open audition got off to a great start vs. Northwestern). Wisconsin also isn’t in need of a major turnaround as a program.
Nebraska, however, needs a lot of help and Rhule is a guy who should be hearing from the offices in Lincoln if he hasn’t already.
Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports says Nebraska should act quickly to make sure they do not miss out on Rhule.
“Nebraska’s search for a reboot under athletics director Trev Alberts should lead directly to Rhule, who meets every prerequisite for the job as subtly outlined by Alberts in announcing Scott Frost’s dismissal last month,” Myerberg wrote. “He’s a “culture builder” and a “grinder,” as Alberts noted among the top qualities he was evaluating in the Cornhuskers’ coaching search.”
Another USA TODAY Sports writer, Dan Wolken, says Rhule’s firing may be a suggestion that NFL teams should stop trying to take chances on successful college coaches, but Rhule has proven to be too good a coach to not get another college job.
“Rhule will undoubtedly do the same wherever he lands, which is why a school like Nebraska should do whatever it can to court him,” Wolken said. “He’s too good of a college coach not to succeed.”
Many Penn State fans would love to see Rhule join the staff under James Franklin as an analyst, and he would undoubtedly have plenty to offer Penn State’s staff in any role he could potentially be given. But it is probably unlikely Rhule takes up time in Happy Valley. He is owed $40 million from the Panthers so he doesn’t have to do a darn thing right now. And the buyout from the Panthers allows Rhule to take some time off if he chooses and evaluate all of his options moving forward. Taking on an analyst role at Penn State may not be desired in any capacity given those circumstances.
But do not be surprised when you see Rhule’s name floating around the rumor mill for a Big Ten job. He would be a great fit in the conference even as it expands in the coming years. Nebraska would be lucky to have him, and it would be good to see Rhule in the conference.
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