Matt Rhule reveals what first meeting with Tom Osborne was like

After being announced as the next Nebraska football coach on Monday, Matt Rhule will hope to follow in the footsteps of Tom Osborne. The Cornhuskers coach from 1973-97, Osborne is a legendary figure in Lincoln, ending his career with three national titles and as the winningest coach in program history with 255 total victories.

Rhule had the chance to meet with Osborne following his hire, a surreal experience because Rhule watched many of those Nebraska teams while growing up. In his introductory press conference Monday, the new Huskers head man explained what that conversation entailed.

“Coach was great,” Rhule said. “He just welcomed me and I told him, I said, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t take this job if I didn’t have your blessing.’ He kind of laughed and said, ‘You don’t need my blessing. But I trust Trev and I know you’ll do a great job.’ I’m thankful that coach Grant Teaff, who’s a special person in my life, and coach Osborne have a relationship, so I think they were able to maybe visit a little bit. It was great to have a chance to talk to coach Osborne.”

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Even after he retired as a coach, Osborne remained heavily involved in the Nebraska program as the athletic director from 2007-13. To this day, he is still closely in tune with the decision making even though Trev Alberts has since taken over as the new AD.

For all those reasons, Matt Rhule is thankful to have Tom Osborne on his side.

“He’s someone, as I’ve said, that I look up to as a coach,” Rhule said. “You see a lot of things on sports today, you see a lot of things on ESPN today — I grew up in the era of the gentleman coach. The coaches that would battle for 60 minutes and then shake hands and go clinic together in the summer. That was coach Osborne, that was coach (Joe) Paterno, that was those men. He said he’d be here for me if I ever needed it and I will certainly take him up on it.”

Rhule was most recently the coach of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers before being fired midway through his third season. He amassed a 13-31 record in the pros, but brings previous college experience at both Baylor and Temple.

He takes over a Cornhuskers program that has not had a winning season since 2016, and will hope his experience coupled with the advice of Osborne can help him turn things around.