The roller coaster hiring of the next head coach of the Huskers is over. Matt Rhule is the next head man at Nebraska after he agreed to an 8-year contract Saturday morning.
Rhule is a program builder who found success everywhere he’s coached in college. He led Temple to back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2015 and 2016 and saved Baylor from major turmoil, helping them return to the Sugar bowl in 2019.
Rhule left Baylor in 2019 to coach the Carolina Panthers and went 11-27 in the three seasons.
Now Rhule is back in the college game and looking to rebuild Nebraska.
Nebraska will not be an easy job for Rhule, but if he is able to retain former interim head coach Mickey Joseph on his staff in any capacity, it could be done sooner rather than later.
Rhule’s success in college was carried by player development. In his combined seven years as a head coach, according to 247sports.com, Rhule only had one recruiting class in the top 30.
Rhule’s reputation as a developer can be best exemplified by Temple’s 2012 recruiting class. The class produced five draft picks. Those five players, Hassan Reddick, Nat Hairston, Travon Young, Matt Ioannidis, and Tyler Matakevich, had an average star rating of 1.8 stars out of high school.
The most successful player in the class was Hasson Reddick. Reddick, who signed a 3-year 45 million dollar deal this year with Philadelphia, did not have a single star.
From 2020-2022 Baylor had 11 players drafted. Nebraska had 7.
Development was a major weakness for Huskers’s last regime.
The 2023 “Pick Six Preview” by Brett Ciancia contains a player development metric that takes schools’ average recruiting class ranking from 2015-2018 and compares them to draft picks produced from 2019-2022. Nebraska ranked 62nd out of the 66 power five schools. Baylor was 12th
Rhule’s ability to develop players can, in part, comes from coaching on both sides of the ball. Rhule served as the defensive line coach with the UCLA Bruins, Buffalo Bills, and Temple Owls from 1999-2006. From 2007-2011 Rhule served as a Tight Ends Coach, Quarterbacks coach, and offensive coordinator for Temple. In 2012 Rhule was an assistant offensive line coach with the New York Giants before becoming the head coach of Temple in 2013.
Rules’ vast experience and attention to detail have allowed him to get the very best out of his players.
But if Rhule wants to compete with the best of the Big Ten, he’ll only need to develop talent but recruit it.
Rhule has never secured a highly touted class as a college head coach. According to 247sports.com composite rankings, His seven classes at Temple and Baylor were ranked 77th, 69th, 80th, 59th, 39th, 29th, and 36th.
Rhule’s main issue at Temple and Baylor was in-state competition. He had to constantly compete for players with schools like Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, and Texas Tech. Recruiting a top class at Nebraska shouldn’t be as difficult.
For starters, Rhule will have no in-state competition. Also, Rhule has an advantage as he knows how to recruit in Texas. Texas is one of the best high school football states in the nation, and where Rhule found many recruits at both Temple and Baylor. Nebraska has not been able to establish a footprint in Texas, amassing only seven recruits from 2018-2022
Rhule will also have resources such as NIL money and a brand-new football facility to boast.
But Rhule’s job will be even easier if he is able to retain ace recruiter Mickey Joseph.
Joseph, who joined the Husker staff as a Wide Receiver and Associate Head coach this season, is well known for his role in helping the LSU tiger win a national championship in 2019. Joseph was the WRs coach for Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson, arguably two of the best football receivers today.
Joseph’s recruitment of Jefferson is well noted. Jefferson was a three-star recruit with only two power five offers. Joseph brought Jefferson to LSU and was integral to his rise in becoming a first-round pick in 2020.
Joseph also helped bring Trey Palmer to Nebraska. Palmer now holds the Nebraska single-season receiving yard record and is primed to be selected in the upcoming NFL draft.
But Joseph’s most impressive achievement is not the recruitment and development of one single player but his handling of Nebraska’s recruiting as the interim head coach.
When Joseph took over as head coach in September, he helped the team avoid major turmoil and only lost one commitment. Joseph and his staff aggressively recruited on bye weeks, traveling across the country and making offers to prospects as far back as the 2026 recruiting class.
Joseph has the ability to expand Nebraska’s recruiting reach with his connections to the south, but securing the best in-state players is even more crucial to the team’s success. Joseph was able to prove he could do that with the commitment from the number one player in Nebraska, Malachai Coleman.
After his commitment, Coleman pointed at Mickey Joseph as the primary reason he committed to Nebraska.
Joseph was able to keep Nebraska together when it had the potential to fall in apart, and in doing so, he has made himself an integral part of the Huskers’ future.
Right now, no one knows if Joseph will be retained. He’ll have no shortage of job offers if not.
But if he is, he and Rhule could make a powerful one-two coaching punch.