The Carolina Panthers fired coach Matt Rhule after going 11-27 in two-plus seasons and there is a good likelihood that Rhule will return to college football in some capacity. There are currently five Power Five openings so here’s a look at why Rhule would – and would not – make sense at each of them:
ARIZONA STATE
Why it works: The Sun Devils are in the middle of an NCAA investigation that has dragged on and feels like there isn’t an end in sight right now but from what we know publicly does not carry nearly the same egregious allegations as what Baylor faced before Rhule took that job. Even still, Rhule has taken over a school fresh off NCAA issues and thrived so it might not be a major issue. The Sun Devils have talent on the roster and an untapped in-state recruiting well along with access to Southern California players so Rhule would have things to work with.
Why it doesn’t: Rhule already navigated through a prior NCAA issue at Baylor, does he want to step into that again especially since this one isn’t cleared up? Also, there are higher-profile jobs available and some that might open soon that could intrigue him more.
*****
COLORADO
Why it works: Colorado is a rebuild and Rhule has already done two of them. Temple was one of the worst programs in the country when Rhule took over and Baylor was a successful program decimated by an NCAA investigation. In short order, Rhule turned both teams around. He won 10 games twice at Temple, which is astounding considering the only other 10-win season in program history came in 1979. After the dull years of Karl Dorrell, an injection of excitement Rhule would bring would be welcome.
Why it doesn’t: There is an incredibly slim path to high-level success in Boulder as the team has one 10-win season in the last two decades. In the last 15 full seasons at Colorado, the Buffaloes have only one winning campaign. That’s a tough sell for someone coming off an NFL job.
*****
GEORGIA TECH
Why it works: In a strange circumstance, Geoff Collins followed Rhule as Temple’s coach, had two winning seasons and then parlayed that into the Georgia Tech job. Would it be fitting for Rhule to replace Collins with the Yellow Jackets? There is a tremendous recruiting base in Atlanta and Rhule loves to find sleepers and under-recruited players and make them great. Georgia Tech lost games, some would argue, because of mismanagement and missed opportunities in playcalling. Under Rhule, that’s unlikely to happen.
Why it doesn’t: Georgia recruits – and usually gets – all the top talent in Atlanta that it wants and then other SEC teams are coming in and picking up players as well so even recruiting literally down the road would be difficult. Also, does the Georgia Tech job hold enough cachet for someone like Rhule or is he looking bigger?
*****
NEBRASKA
Why it works: Rhule has already fixed two messes at Temple and Baylor before failing to figure out the NFL landscape in Carolina. And Nebraska is something of a mess. Former coach Scott Frost had four losing seasons in a row in Lincoln, the first time that’s happened since 1958-1961. Nebraska is the only game in town, the fan base is as die-hard as there is nationally and the resources are there to do anything possible even in the NIL era. Rhule would also be stepping into a situation that seemingly couldn’t get much worse and that’s his wheelhouse. The Big Ten West is also wide open so there’s opportunity there, too.
Why it doesn’t: It’s a fair question to ask whether Nebraska can win on the biggest stage in today’s college football landscape. There is very little in-state recruiting. Maybe Rhule’s days at Baylor and those Texas contacts could help. The Huskers haven’t won big for as long as today’s recruits have been involved in football – that could be a tough sell. Nebraska fans would love to think the Nebraska job is the best in the country but it’s not. Still, Rhule would be a phenomenal fit there for what he’s done at other stops and with the resources he would be given, it could be a tremendous landing spot.
*****
WISCONSIN
Why it works: Wisconsin has a tremendous winning tradition, an established identity and just needs some sprucing up on the offensive side of the ball to dominate Big Ten West football again. That’s the belief, anyway. Rhule has done turnarounds before, maybe stepping into a ready-made situation in many ways would be more appealing. The Badgers also do a great job identifying undervalued recruits and making them great and that is one of Rhule’s strengths.
Why it doesn’t: This seems like a situation where the Wisconsin bosses decided to fire Paul Chryst, who won just about the same percentage of games for the Badgers as Jim Harbaugh has at Michigan, so assistant Jim Leonhard wouldn’t bolt for a job elsewhere. That had to be one part of the calculus. Well, Leonhard is now the interim coach so Wisconsin might already have its guy.
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