Matt Rhule signs eight-year, $74 million contract with Nebraska

After a failed experiment in the NFL, Matt Rhule is back in college football. This time, he will be taking his talents to the Big Ten West and be the latest to attempt to rebuild the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Rhule knows a big task is ahead of him and to back him, athletic director Trev Alberts has given the head coach a huge contract.

Nebraska and Rhule agreed to an eight-year, $74 million deal, it was announced during Monday’s introductory press conference. This puts him in the top level of head coaches in the Big Ten, competing with the likes of Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and Ryan Day at Ohio State.

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Arguably more important, Rhule will have a $7 million assistant pool to work with. Some of the hires have already been reported on and announced, as the Cornhuskers begin a new era in Lincoln with Rhule at the helm.

As Rhule continues to fill out the staff, he will need to hit the ground running. The NCAA transfer portal will be opening on Sunday while recruiting never stops in college football. An important month is ahead of the Nebraska program, even if it’s early.

Matt Rhule to speak with Mickey Joseph about staying on staff

New Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has hit the ground running and one of his first orders of business is meeting with former interim coach Mickey Joseph to determine how to proceed.

Joseph steadied the Nebraska program after taking over just three games into the season following Scott Frost’s firing in mid-September. Nebraska won two of its first three games under Joseph’s direction, and players seemed to gravitate toward him.

The team capped a forgettable season by beating Iowa on the road on Saturday, preventing the Hawkeyes from reaching the Big Ten Championship Game as a result.

“I reached out to Mickey right when I got the job,” Rhule said in his introductory press conference. “Looking forward to talking to him at some point here and talking to the rest of the staff. I’ve been on both sides of it. I’ve been an assistant coach on a staff that’s been let go and I’ve always appreciated the coach coming in and talking to me, so I’ll try to be thorough with that process over the next couple of days.”

Joseph, a Louisiana native, has spent the majority of his coaching career in the south. He joined the Nebraska staff in 2022.