Pete Thamel: Nebraska expected to hire longtime Matt Rhule assistant Evan Cooper

New Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is expected to hire his former Carolina Panthers and Baylor Bears assistant coach Evan Cooper for his new Cornhuskers staff, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

While in the college ranks, Cooper served as Rhule’s recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach.

Matt Rhule and Nebraska have agreed to an eight-year contract totaling $72 million, per reports. The deal will earn Rhule around $9 million per season, making him one of the highest-paid head coaches in college football.

Rhule was fired as head coach of the Carolina Panthers earlier this season after a poor start, and now the program-building head coach is ready to start from scratch in Lincoln after the Huskers announced the signing Saturday.

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Cooper was one of several Rhule assistants to depart Carolina after his firing.

Prior to Baylor, Cooper also served as Temple’s director of player personnel during the 2015 and 2016 seasons under Rhule. Prior to a stint at Miami, he was a defensive graduate assistant in 2013 and the director of external operations in 2014 at Temple, where he played and graduated in 2009.

Rhule announced as next Nebraska head coach

“It is a tremendous honor to be chosen to lead the Nebraska Football program,” Rhule said in a prepared statement Saturday. “When you think of great, tradition-rich programs in college football Nebraska is right at the top of the list.  The fan base is second to none, and I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to coach in Memorial Stadium on Tom Osborne Field. My family and I are so grateful to become a part of the Husker Family, and we can’t wait to get started.”

The Cornhuskers haven’t been to a bowl game in six seasons and have been Big Ten bottom-feeders in the years since. Given the eight-year deal, Rhule will be trusted with the long-term building of the program from the ground up, and it seems AD Trev Alberts is going to give him time – and money – to make the program nationally relevant once again.

“It is a privilege to welcome Coach Matt Rhule, his wife Julie, and their family to Nebraska,” Alberts said, per Nebraska Saturday. “Coach Rhule has created a winning culture throughout his coaching career, and he will provide great leadership for the young men in our football program. 

“Matt is detail-oriented, his teams are disciplined and play a physical brand of football. Matt also has the personality and relationship-building skills to build a great staff and excel in recruiting.”