Matt Rhule was an obvious choice for Penn State to try and talk to about their vacant head coaching position after James Franklin was fired on Oct. 12.
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The Nebraska head coach played linebacker for PSU. Nittany Lions athletic director Patrick Kraft was the same person who hired Rhule as the head coach of Temple in 2013.
The Cornhuskers quickly made sure to retain Rhule for 2026, giving the former Carolina Panthers head coach a two-year contract extension to keep him in Lincoln through the 2032 season. Per Pete Thamel of ESPN, the contract extension includes a $15 million buyout this year that “effectively” precludes another program from hiring Rhule.
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With Rhule no longer a viable candidate, PSU will need to look elsewhere in a coaching cycle that is expected to be one of the busiest in recent memory, as LSU and Florida have already fired their head coaches. More programs (such as Florida State) could be added to the current list of eight Power 4 programs needing a new head coach.
As Brett McMurphy of On3 noted, Kalshi has a new favorite to become Penn State’s next head coach after Rhule signed his contract extension with Nebraska. Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm is the new favorite at 40 percent. Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline is the second favorite at 29 percent.
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz is the third favorite at 17 percent. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is the fourth favorite at 14 percent.
Brohm, 54, was a quarterback for Louisville from 1989 to 1993. He went 30-10 during his three seasons at Western Kentucky. Brohm went 36-34 during his six seasons at Purdue. He took over Louisville in 2023.
The Cardinals are 25-9 and 15-5 in ACC play under Brohm. Louisville scored one of the top upsets of the season when they knocked off No. 2 Miami 24-21 at Hard Rock Stadium on Oct. 17. The No. 16 Cardinals are 6-1 before getting set to travel to play Virginia Tech on Saturday.
It’ll be interesting to see where PSU pivots after Rhule signed his extension. The Nittany Lions reportedly reached out to Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, but the Irish head coach turned them down.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
