CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is headed back to the college game.
On Saturday, the University of Nebraska named Rhule as the program’s permanent replacement for Scott Frost. According to a press release, Rhule has signed an eight-year contract.
“When you think of great, tradition-rich programs in college football — Nebraska is right at the top of the list,” Rhule said in a statement.
Rhule — who previously turned around programs at Temple and Baylor — was fired by Panthers owner David Tepper in October.
Rhule was hired by the Panthers in 2020 and went 11-27 during his more than two years with the franchise. Rhule went 5-11 and 5-12 during his first two seasons at the helm. He was fired earlier this year after a 1-4 start to his third season.
Rhule became a hot name in NFL circles following his impressive runs with Temple and Baylor. The Panthers brought him in as a splash hire, but less than three full years into his seven-year, $62 million contract, he was shown the door.
The 47-year-old coach spoke with NFL Network, CBS Sports and The 33rd Team earlier this week, breaking his six-week media silence following his firing from Carolina.
During his chat with The 33rd Team, Rhule mentioned Andy Reid, Pete Carroll and Tom Coughlin as head coaches who were successful and won Super Bowls after being fired in the NFL. He mentioned that he hoped to follow in their footsteps in the future.
“I’m proud of some of the things that we did (in Carolina), and I think, in time, it would have worked,” Rhule said. “But to not have that success — I think it’s a great time to be grateful for the people that you had, to really look back also and say, ‘What could I have done better? What will I do differently next time?’ and hope that my story is the same as those guys — that my greatest success happens after this adversity.”
For now, Rhule will return to college and try to turn around a Cornhuskers team that went 4-8 this season. Nebraska fired Frost in September, and Rhule will take over for interim head coach Mickey Joseph immediately.
Rhule could look to hire some of the former members of his Panthers coaching staff at Nebraska. Shortly after he was fired by Tepper, interim head coach Steve Wilks parted ways with defensive coordinator Phil Snow and special teams assistant Ed Foley, both of whom are longtime Rhule assistants.
Wilks fired defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni and cornerbacks coach Evan Cooper following the Panthers’ blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8.
Snow, Cooper and Foley all worked with Rhule at Temple, Baylor and in Carolina.
