Matt Rhule: The Temple Turnaround

Husker fans counting on Nebraska football to at least make it to a bowl game this fall will likely cite Matt Rhule’s reputation for turning around the football programs at Temple and Baylor. If he did it for those two programs, he can certainly do it for Nebraska.

Certainly, what he did at Temple and Baylor is remarkable. This is the first of a two-part series on those two programs.

This week we look at Husker head coach Matt Rhule’s rebuild at Temple.

The Golden Rhule

Matt Rhule was born on January 31, 1975 in New York City. He played linebacker at Penn State – a 5’6″ linebacker?

Rhule graduated from Penn State in 1997 with a degree in political science. After graduation, he was a volunteer assistant at PSU for legendary football coach Joe Paterno. From there, Rhule had stints at Albright College where he earned a degree in educational psychology while serving as their linebackers coach.

He then spent two years at Buffalo University (LB), one year at UCLA (DL), and then four years at Western Carolina, where he eventually became an assistant at the AHC/LB/ST.

In 2006, Rhule joined Al Golden’s staff at Temple. In 2010, when Golden left Temple to coach the Miami Hurricanes, Rhule applied for the vacancy at Temple. The Owls selected Steve Addazio instead. So Rhule left Temple and joined Tom Coughlin’s staff at the NFL Giants, where he (Rhule) became the Giants’ O-line coach.

In 2012, when Addazio left Temple to take the job at Boston College, Rhule reapplied for the job at Temple. Rhule considered the head coaching position at Temple his “dream job.”

At the ripe old age of 38, Rhule became Temple’s head coach, with the Owls having gone 4-7 the year before. Temple opened the 2013 season at Notre Dame, going 6-28. Temple’s only two wins that year came against Army and Memphis. Rhule’s debut season ended with a 2-10 mark.

The 2014 season improved to 6-6, but the Owls failed to qualify for a bowl game. But the next two years saw Temple make a big jump in the win column.

In 2015, the Owls defeated Bill O’Brien’s Penn State team, defeated Tulane, Memphis, and eventually lost 17-32 to Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. Temple finished the year 10-4.

In 2016 (Rhule’s last at Temple), he had another 10-win season, including a win over Scott Frost’s UCF football team. The 10 wins earned him another bowl invite. But Rhule never got to coach in that game. Why? Because he resigned from Temple in December 2016 to take the job at Baylor University. With that move, Rhule jumped from the American East Conference to a Power Five conference (Big 12). Temple lost to Wake Forest 26-34 in the Military Bowl that year. Interim head coach Ed Foley was Temple’s coach. Foley is the current coach of Husker ST.

Rhule’s record at Temple was lukewarm (19-20) for four years. But there was little doubt he could turn a struggling football program around.

All of Rhule’s coaching experience would be needed as he took on the task of rebuilding a Baylor Bears football program that had been in turmoil for the past two years. The challenges he would face in Waco would be unlike anything he had ever seen.

Next week: The Baylor Bounce

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