The Baylor football program has come to an end in their search for a new coach. It may not be the first name they had in mind when the search began, but they may have stumbled on to a pretty decent and well-respected hire with the hiring of Matt Rhule, previously of Temple.
OFFICIAL: We have our new Head Football Coach. Welcome to Matt Rhule and his family. #SicEm 🏈
📝 https://t.co/PSK4tvRjrS pic.twitter.com/5hlVcvEK8c
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) December 6, 2016
Rhule is fresh off the first conference championship run Temple has had since 1967 after upsetting Navy in the American Athletic Conference championship game this weekend in Annapolis. The win elevated Temple to a top 25 ranking heading into the bowl season, where the Owls will face Wake Forest in the Military Bowl. In four seasons as a head coach at Temple, Rhule compiled a record of 28-23, taking the Owls from 2-10 in his first year on the job all the way to the conference championship this season.
The mark of a good coach is the ability to improve a team each season, and Rhule did just that at Temple, a program that was saved from the dead by Al Golden and taken to the next level under Rhule following an abbreviated Steve Addazio run. There is no question Rhule has what it takes to build a winner in the right situation.
So, is it a good fit? That is what we are about to find out.
Rhule has always been a northeast guy, which is part of the reason he seemed to do so well with the Temple program. He understood the region, being born in State College, growing up in New York City, and having played linebacker for Joe Paterno at Penn State and working as an assistant coach with the Owls under Al Golden and Steve Addazio and with one season with the New York Giants before being named the head coach at Temple. He was a perfect fit for the Owls, who always looked to thrive with a grit expected in the Philadelphia sports scene.
Now, Rhule is about to step outside his element and step into the world of the Big 12, where explosive offenses are king and deep passing attacks and up-tempo offense is the norm. For Rhule, this may be an adjustment for him as far as football philosophy as he has not been able to run that kind of offensive style in Philly, but the task at hand is much more complicated when you consider the situation he is willingly stepping into in Waco.
The Baylor football program has been hard from every angle over the last couple of seasons, and the impact it has had on the recruiting efforts in a lost season is not overstated. We previously took a look at Baylor’s recruiting class for 2017 with just one verbal commit and a ranking falling below Houston…. Baptist.
This is a program and a university that has fallen hard in the eye of the public, which is why it appeared to be difficult for Baylor to lure in a coach before today despite essentially having a full fall to evaluate coaching options. SMU’s Chad Morris was thought to be considered for the job, but he stayed put. The Baylor job was not one many candidates were lining up to take, which is why Baylor may have lucked into a good hire with Rhule. If nothing else, Rhule should be expected to restore the respectability level of the program as it digs out of a toxic mess.
The good news is Rhule has a tough mindset, and that’s good. He is going to need it. Baylor should also feel some confidence knowing that Rhule has cut his teeth recruiting at a program where it has historically been difficult to recruit. The situation at Baylor may be a bit more complicated than it has been for Rhule at Temple, but if Baylor has to start from the ground up, then Rhule may be just the man for the job.
