Nebraska signs Matt Rhule to 8-year contract as coach

FILE – Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule looks on during an NFL preseason football game against the Buffalo Bills, on Aug. 26, 2022, in Charlotte, N.C. Nebraska and former Panthers coach Matt Rhule were finalizing a deal Friday, Nov. 25 2022, to make him the Cornhuskers’ coach. A person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that after several days of discussions, Nebraska made Rhule an offer Thursday that persuaded the former Temple and Baylor coach to return to college after two-plus years in the NFL. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman, File)

Nebraska has signed Matt Rhule to an eight-year contract to be the Cornhuskers’ next football coach, the school announced Saturday.

The 47-year-old Rhule has been out of work for less than two months since getting fired by the Carolina Panthers.

One of eight Football Bowl Subdivision programs with at least 900 wins but more than 20 years removed from its 1990s heyday, Nebraska is pinning its hopes on Rhule to recreate his success at his previous two college stops. Rhule took over struggling programs at Temple and Baylor and built them into conference contenders in three years.

He was 11-27 with Carolina and left with about $40 million remaining on the seven-year, guaranteed $62 million contract he signed in 2020. The contract made Rhule the sixth-highest paid coach in the NFL when he signed in 2020, according to Forbes.

Nebraska did not release terms of Rhule’s contract. He will be introduced at a news conference Monday.