It’s the move so many NFL fans expected this season … although maybe not this fast.
But the Monday after the Carolina Panthers lost again, the franchise fired head coach Matt Rhule, whom they hired after his successful tenure at Baylor. The team’s 1-4 this season, and Rhule won just 11 games in 38 contests at the helm.
And that means he’s a free agent … which is good news for some big-name college programs that have openings after some early-season firings.
So who should hire him? Glad you asked. The For The Win staff has picked out some candidates who should go after Rhule:
1
Colorado
The Buffaloes need a turnaround artist. That’s what Matt Rhule does (NFL not included). Colorado has a Power 5 pedigree and a campus that’s an easy sell for any recruit. Yes, he’d be inheriting a quarterback room that’s a mess, but is Owen McCown, JT Shrout and Brendon Lewis that much worse than overseeing a quarterback battle between 2022 Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold?
Colorado needs to prove its value in an era of conference realignment. The Buffaloes have been to two bowl games since 2008. Rhule took a two-win Temple team bowling two years later. Same with a one-win Baylor squad. Back up the Brinks truck for him, Buffs. — Christian D’Andrea
2
Nebraska
How do you recover from the Scott Frost Era that crashed and burned badly? By grabbing the guy who built up programs like Baylor and Temple. Slam dunk. — Charles Curtis
3
Arizona State
Sure, hire a coach coming from the NFL. What could possibly go wrong? At least Rhule has a proven track record of success at the college level, unlike Herm Edwards before he took the job. — Prince Grimes
4
Wisconsin
This seems like the best job amongst the other schools who have fired their coaches so far. Big Ten program with a history of success, fun college town, fanbase that loves its football. Seems like a no-brainer for me. — Andy Nesbitt
5
Auburn
There are a lot of things wrong with Auburn right now and Matt Rhule would need some help from a great staff to fix some of them (namely, recruiting). But one of the key problems Auburn is dealing with is a lack of identity on offense. Rhule could make them a nightmare for opposing teams to deal with and give the program something to rally around again after two years of malaise under Bryan Harsin. — Matt Scalici
