Matt Rhule says he loves his job at Nebraska but doesn’t tamp down buzz about Penn State opening

Matt Rhule professed his love for living and working in Nebraska and trying to return the Cornhuskers to the upper echelon of college football.

That said, he did nothing Monday to shut down speculation that he could be up for the Penn State job, which opened with Sunday’s firing of James Franklin.

Rhule’s name surfaced immediately as a front-runner because of his ties to Penn State. He was a walk-on linebacker at Penn State under Joe Paterno in the 1990s, met his wife at the school and is close friends with athletic director Pat Kraft.

Kraft hired Rhule in 2012 at Temple, where he coached for four seasons before leaving for Baylor. Rhule left Baylor after three years and was the Carolina Panthers’ coach for two-plus seasons. He came to Nebraska in December 2022, hired by former athletic director Trev Alberts.

Rhule is 17-14 in three seasons in Lincoln. The Huskers are 5-1 and entered The Associated Press poll this week at No. 25.

“This place is elite,” Rhule said at his weekly availability. “And I want to be a great father, and I want to be a great college football coach. And so I’m not going to talk a lot about job openings when they come.”

The 50-year-old Rhule is scheduled to earn $7.5 million this year on a contract that runs through 2030. If he were to resign before Jan. 1, he or his new employer would owe Nebraska $5 million.

Nebraska had gone seven seasons without a winning record before finishing 7-6 in 2024.

“I absolutely love it here,” Rhule said, “and I just want us to continue to take the steps needed for us to turn this thing into a beast and have players all across the country want to come here with the best facilities. We have elite fans.

“I’m just looking at the future, but again, I love that place (Penn State), I love Pat, I love James Franklin and am sad that came to an end. I wish him the absolute best. But I’m really happy here.”

The Huskers play at Minnesota on Friday night.

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