Sources: Huskers targeting Rhule as brand-new coach

Nebraska has actually zeroed in on Matt Rhule as the Cornhuskers’ next head coach and the two sides are dealing with finalizing a handle the coming days, sources informed ESPN on Friday.Rhule, who was

fired by the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in October, formerly had effective stints in college at Baylor and Temple.If employed by

Nebraska, Rhule would replace Scott Frost, who was fired from his alma mater previously this season.The Cornhuskers

(4-8 ), who are not bowl qualified this season, finished their 2022 project with a 24-17 win versus Iowa on Friday and a main announcement on the hire could come in the next couple of days, sources informed ESPN,

Rhule, 47, was less than three seasons into his seven-year, $62 million deal with the Panthers when he was fired after a 1-4 start to this season. In general, he was 11-27 with Carolina, and the team went 1-27 when permitting 17 or more points.2 Associated

He was still owed more than $40 million when he was fired by the Panthers.Rhule had a credibility for turning programs around. In his third season at Temple, the Owls went 10-2 throughout the regular season. A year later on, he led the program to its very first conference championship because 1967. At Baylor, simply two years after going 1-11 in Rhule’s very first season for the Huge 12 program, the Bears went 11-3 in 2020. The Cornhuskers fired Frost on Sept. 11 after a 1-2 start

to the season and promoted Mickey Joseph to interim head coach.Frost was hired by his university in 2018 but was never able to get the Huskers going,

assembling a 16-31 mark throughout his period. The Huskers never completed greater than 5th in the Big 10 West or going to a bowl under Frost.Rhule would end up being the sixth Nebraska coach because College Football Hall of Famer Tom Osborne retired after the 1997 season

. The Huskers have not won a championship game considering that 1999 under Frank Solich or played in a bowl considering that 2016 under Mike Riley.Rhule is no stranger to the Huge 10. He moved from New York City to State College, Pennsylvania, as a teen. He played linebacker at Penn State from 1994-97 and began his training there as a volunteer assistant.Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts has actually regreted the Huskers’absence of player development and physicality, especially on the lines. Those locations would seem in Rhule’s wheelhouse.

He was a protective line coach at Temple in 2006 prior to transferring to the offending side as quarterbacks coach and organizer. He left Temple for a year to be the New York City Giants’assistant offending line coach in 2012. Rhule returned to Temple as head coach when Steve Adazzio left for Boston College, and the Owls went 2-10 and 6-6 prior to he assembled back-to-back 10-win seasons and won the 2016 American Athletic Conference championship.He was called Baylor’s coach on

Dec. 6, 2016, in the wake of an investigation that discovered the personal Baptist university had not responded properly to allegations of sexual assault by players, leading to the shooting of Art Briles.Rhule’s trajectory was comparable at Baylor, where he went from 1-11 in 2017 to 7-6 with a championship game the next season. In his third and final season, Baylor was ranked in the leading 10, played in the Huge 12 national championship and ended up 11-3 after a Sugar Bowl loss to Georgia.The Associated Press added to this report.