Lincoln, Neb. – At 40, Matt Rhule flipped the temple from the doormat into a 10-win win for the American Conference champion. At 44, Rhule brought Baylor to 11 wins from a troubled football program and earned a spot in the Big 12 Championship.
At 50, Rhule stood at the door of his third season with Nebraska. This is the moment he started to do miracles at the moment when he was staying at the head coaches of two previous universities.
“He has a process, and it’s not easy,” said Phil Snow, defensive coordinator for Temple and Baylor, who came out of semi-retirement after last season to work as assistant head coach with Huskers. “Many things that Coach Rhule believes and demands take time.
“And you can see this team do that.”
As Nebraska starts in 2025 against Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Thursday night, Rhule seems to be based on his old tricks. As a college football playoff Darkhorse, the Huskers are a stylish choice—surprisingly, just because Nebraska played in his first bowl game since 2016 last year, ending the 7-6 season.
Rhule carved a new path this year, aiming to create breakthroughs. College football has changed dramatically since the 2015 and 2019 teams won school records in one season. His formula also followed suit. Rhule is more open and can be seen behind the scenes. He was cut off some control. He said he was ready to listen.
“It’s a growth process,” Rhule said. “Maybe I'm mature. Maybe it's empathy. But, you have to be careful. I also see some coaches of my age become too grandfather. Then you don't have high expectations. You have to have high expectations and standards. But I want to have a sense of understanding, too.”
The coach recognizes that players’ needs and perspectives have changed since the last time they took this path. In the end, though, the goal remains to empower them.
The confidence in the locker room is high.
“If we win a nature here, our lives will change forever,” quarterback Dylan Raiola said in a conversation with CBS Sports captive teammates. “It's a crazy feeling. But it can be reality in reality.”
“It will be reality,” replied Emmett Johnson.
“We know what Coach Rhule wants to get,” said Safety Deshon Singleton. “We know what he expects. We have athletes. We have talent. Now we just have to go out and do it.”
Last season, Matt Rhule and Huskers entered the bowl for the first time since 2016 (Marc Lebryk/Imagn Images)
Sometime last winter, shortly after his milestone birthday, Rhule challenged safety Marques Buford to wrestle in front of the team, or as Buford said. Buford fell him down. Rhule vowed that he would go to work physically every day at the start of the season starting in August.
Six months later, he was trimmed and healthy.
“He was torn,” Raola said.
In May, Rhule attended a leadership summit organized by author and motivational speaker Jon Gordon. Apart from the likes of Sean McVay, Mack Brown and Tim Tebow, Rhule further expanded his personal growth journey.
Apart from morning exercises, Rhule also walks alone without music, with a 45-pound body weight.
“This is how he shows us the work and effort he is going to put in,” Raola said.
Rhule updated his efforts to read for the evening. In its latest work, Adam Grant’s “Hidden Potential: The Science of Realizing Great Things” explores the topic of perfectionism. Rhule said he is working to improve his career and coached the Carolina Panthers for five weeks from 2020 to 2022.
“One of the ways to connect with this generation of young people is to talk about your flaws,” Rhule said. “Because they live in a perfect world.
“You don’t study your mistakes to humiliate your past.
In this case, Rhule repeatedly re-watched the regular season finals at Iowa last year, which was a 13-10 loss, as they blew up a 10-point lead with a series of second-half mistakes.
“When I went back to college football, I realized that when I looked at young people, a lot of people were stuck in fear of failure and suspicion,” he said.
Part of his process of freeing them involves freeing himself. Rhule started the podcast “House Rhules.” It debuted last week. He talked with Anthony Gargano, co-host of Philadelphia sports broadcaster, and sat down to chat with Nebraska players and other guests.
“It’s time to start telling our story,” Rhule said in the first episode. Ruler said he had “no loss” and “no reason to be politically correct”.
“I want to get into the college football playoffs,” he said. “That's why we do that, right?”
So at the age of 50, he did not retreat.
“For us, it’s a window to open things,” Rhule said. “But I have to be very careful. I don't want the players to think, 'Oh, coach Rhule thinks the program is about him.' I'm not.”
It's actually the opposite.
“One of the big things going into grade 3 is how it is players-led,” said defensive end Cam Lenhardt. “So a lot of that will be attributed to these people and how we maintain standards.”
Rhule has time to adjust his leadership style, partly because he has added new leaders over the past nine months. Last November, Rhule hired former West Virginia and Houston coach Dana Holgorsen as offensive coordinator. Holgorsen coached three regular season games at Nebraska and reached a two-year contract in December.
Also in December, Rhule promoted his first 10 seasons as defensive coordinator for the NFL second coach John Butler. Snow on the snow. In February, Rhule hired Mike Ekeler, a well-known special team coordinator from Tennessee.
“To me, it’s unique,” Rhule said. “My staff have Dana Holgorsen.
Rhule announced six permanent captains this week. The sophomore faces of each of their shows include Raiola signing an oath to maintain the standards of the fruit shell. In 2023 and 2024, Nebraska appointed captains weekly. The depth and maturity of this lineup require a new approach.
Special moments for our team captain✍🏼 pic.twitter.com/fnpozu5cqt
— Nebraska Football (@huskerfootball) August 23, 2025
This lineup is starting or co-startered with junior or seniors, with 18 out of 22 positions on offense and defense.
Newcomers occupy seven positions in the offensive two, with six defense and three expert positions. Expected starters for beginners of the program include receivers Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter, offensive guard Rocco Spindler, guards Marques Watson-Trent and Dasan McCullough, Punter Archie Wilson and Kicker Kyle Cunanan.
Senior Security Buford said the changes in the past three years have been “day and night” since Rhule arrived at the beginning of the previous season.
Even in just one year, this is very eye-catching.
“From begging men to do things, it's the standard now,” Raiola said.
Ekler said he believes Nebraska has “probably the most disciplined team in the United States.”
“The infrastructure I walked into was amazing.”
Holgeson felt the same way. The 54-year-old OC said Nebraska’s organization and structure offer it an advantage.
“You look at what (Rhule) has done in the past and all you can do is trust his process. You see it works,” Raiola said.
Enough conversation. Grade 3 is here. Will it click Rhule like it did in Temple and Baylor? Thursday night on the arrow should be prompted.
“We’re a lot ahead of the last two years when it comes to how we handle the game,” Rhule said. “I’m glad to see that they actually played a role.”
(Top photo of Matt Rhule (left) and Cauden Echternach: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)