Quite a few people have put Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule on blast for his days in Carolina, but one former player has nothing but love.
In fact, Christian McCaffrey’s words about his former Panthers coach fly in the face of what many of the team’s fans feel about the man. And both they and Nebraska football fans should probably take heed of what guys who actually played under him for a few years have to say.
Appearing on a recent episode of Bussin’ With The Boys, McCaffrey made it clear he believes that if Nebraska football players buy into what he’s selling, they’re going to get better quickly and will put in maximum effort. However, getting his players to work hard is just part of what McCaffrey liked about Rhule.
"“From the first year he got there, and the different things that he did and learned in his time, and his ability to change things that he thought were wrong I thought was impressive too. Openness to talk to guys. Being able to say, ‘Hey, that was probably wrong of me to do,’ and then change and actually go by it. Understanding that, ‘Hey, I don’t have it all figured out. I’m in Year 1 too.’ Adaptability. But you saw the success he had in college, man.”"
It’s pretty clear that the Nebraska football head coach and the All-Pro running back have a very special relationship. Rhule has talked about the kind of person he thinks McCaffrey is as well. In fact, he told a story of what the former Panthers’ running back did not long after the Huskers’ head man was fired by Carolina.
“Christian walks in sees my wife and son in the airport and walks right up to them, hugs my son, hugs my wife, tells them he loves them,” Rhule said during a November appearance on Good Morning Football.
This is phenomenal from @CoachMattRhule on Christian McCaffrey. I remember hearing stories of how it was tough for Panthers staff and players to break the news of the trade to their kids, because McCaffrey was so great with them.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 22, 2022
Lots of CMC fans in Charlotte. pic.twitter.com/oUYKyNWR7V
"“That’s who he really is. And that’s why I’ll be a fan of him forever.”"
A cynic might point out that if nothing else, the relationship between the NFL star and Nebraska football head coach could be quite beneficial to the Huskers at the very least. Imagine having recruits come to Lincoln for a game next fall, and there is Christian McCaffrey standing on the sidelines willing to tell them all about why he loved playing for Matt Rhule.