Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule addresses Penn State job opening

With his name appearing at the top of coaching search hot boards for the suddenly open Penn State head coaching job, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule addressed the issue during his Monday press conference.

Rhule, a Penn State alum who is close friends with Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft, said he appreciated what James Franklin did to provide stability to his alma mater following the scandals that rocked the program.

"I came here for two reasons," Rhule said Monday. "I love the community and I wanted to live here. I love it here. And I wanted to rebuild Nebraska football. Troy and I understand the steps we have to take to be Big Ten champions and national champions. This place is elite. I want to be a great father and I want to be a great college football coach. I'm not going to talk a lot about job openings when they come. Maybe it's been awhile here, but this is what happens when you win. I've dealt with it. We won at Temple and I dealt with it at Baylor. I'm not going to talk about those things ever. I'm not going to talk about my contract here. I'm going to talk about the team.

"But I absolutely love it here. I want us to continue to take the steps needed for us to turn this thing into a beast. Players all across the country want to come here. We have the best facilities, we have elite fans. I'm just looking at the future. Again, I love that place, I love Pat, I love James Franklin. I'm sad that came to an end, I wish him the absolute best but I'm really happy here and excited to get going on Minnesota."

Rhule is 17-14 at Nebraska and led the program to its first bowl game in nearly a decade during the 2024 season.

Asked about what improvements are needed to push the program forward, Rhule said he wants to see Nebraska pushing to be on the forefront of things as it has been in the past.

"In a world of like 30, 40-million dollar rosters, which isn't going away, I'd like us to do the same thing. And there's sort of like a 'Hey, that's not really the Nebraska way,' and I'd like it to be," Rhule said. "I'd like to invest, I'd like to be at the front of everything."

He pointed out how Nebraska was one of the first to do a Training Table, academic support, astroturf, a jumbo board.

"Now we're talking about the stadium and everyone's like, 'Ah, shoot.' Didn't they build Memorial Stadium faster than they built the Capitol? We have a history here of being at the forefront and investing and I just don't want to stop that. I want to be the absolute best at it."

He said with a laugh also that his wife Julie decides where they live. Julie has her own business in Lincoln that she loves. It's been an "unbelievable time in our lives" and "I just think we can be a perennial top of the country, one of the best teams in the country."

Rhule added he loves all of this and wants people to just be positive about this place and where it is headed. Athletic director Troy Dannen is easy to work for with that in mind.

Franklin was fired Sunday less than one month after the Nittany Lions were ranked No. 2 in the country, but a three-game losing streak derailed the program's national championship hopes.

His tenure as the 16th coach in Penn State history ends halfway through his 12th year. He departs tied as the second-winningest coach in program history. Franklin had a 104-45 overall record and a 64-36 Big Ten mark at Penn State.

Rhule said he's not frustrated by the conversation brought by the opening at Penn State, and understands the discussion given his connections to the program. He said those types of things will happen as the program wins and moves forward.

"It's way better than when I was in Carolina and I was on the hot seat," Rhule joked. "Nothing has happened. Nothing has happened. A job is open... This is part of the deal. I'm the Huskers coach. This is a great job. I'm not frustrated. I'm worried about Minnesota, but this is a good thing. It just maybe hasn't happened here in awhile. But it's going to happen. People want to hire Dana. They wanted to hire Tony White last year. It's all good stuff."

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