Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule has certainly seen his fair share of criticism throughout his coaching career, especially during his time at Nebraska. However, the famous college head coach has seen improvement in his time with the Cornhuskers, and fans should be excited for year three when looking at Rhule's coaching history.
CBS Sports has released its Power 4 2025 head coach rankings and has been revealing parts of the rankings one by one. In the release of the No. 68 through No. 26 rankings, Rhule found himself ranked No. 32 among the Power 4 head coaches, three spots lower than last season.
Even after taking steps forward in year two and becoming bowl-eligible, CBS Sports voters still felt like a barely bowl-eligible season was not something that seemed very impressive. However, it should be known that Rhule is setting his team up for a big year in his third season as a head coach, and all you have to do is look at his coaching history to know why.
Matt Rhule always seems to take his teams to a new level in Year 3
Rhule got his first college head coaching position at Temple in 2013, where his team went 2-10 in his first season. Then in his second season, the team took a step forward and was 6-6 on the season, setting up a third season under Rhule that really impressed the college. In his third season with the Owls, Rhule led his team to a 10-4 record and an appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl, he also led Temple to a bowl game in his fourth season before he took the head coaching position at Baylor.
Now in his first power conference head coaching role, Rhule again started off slow with the Bears with a 1-11 record in his first season. However, in his second season, he led Baylor to a bowl game and a win in the Texas Bowl, finished 7-6, and then in his third and final season at Baylor, Rhule and the Bears went 11-3 with an appearance in the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl.
Rhule tried his hand at the NFL, but after a couple of unsuccessful seasons with the Carolina Panthers, he made his return to college, joining the Cornhuskers. As all Nebraska fans know, Rhule went 5-7 his first season and 7-6 his second season with a win in the Pinstripe Bowl. Rhule has completely followed his pattern of college coaching where he starts out slow with a program, but by year three, he takes off.
So following that pattern, Rhule should take off this season with the Cornhuskers and at least have double-digit wins, which could lead to a College Football Playoff appearance. So, a drop in the head coach rankings may not look good, but just wait till year three under Rhule.