Matt Rhule can shove some Nebraska rival coaches off hot seat, into unemployment

As Year 3 of the Matt Rhule regime kicks off for the Nebraska football team, it appears that the Huskers' head coach is very safe in his job. The same can't be said for at least a few of the coaches he'll square off against this fall.

Last week, On3 released its 2025 Hot Seat rankings. Those rankings, as the name alludes to, is a list of the head football coaches who enter 2025 in a spot of trouble. Just a couple of losses could push them off the hotseat and into the unemployment line. Rhule could essentially help a couple of his opponents out of their jobs.

Nebraska football season opener pits Matt Rhule against Cincinnati’s Scott Satterfield on a warming seat

The Nebraska football team, in fact, plays two teams with coaches who are in the Top 8 for coaches on the hotseat. And Rhule will get to really turn up the first under one of them in the season opener when the Huskers take on the Cincinnati Bearcats.

It's not a particular surprise that Scott Satterfield would be on the hot seat. He took over for Luke Fickell, who did a good enough job for the then-mid-major program, and he won the head job at Wisconsin.

It might not be fair to already put him on the hotseat since he took over just as UC was transitioning to the Big 12, but he's still gone just 4-14 record in conference play. Satterfield is No. 8 on the list of coaches on the hottest seat in 2025.

Then there's Mike Locksley. The Maryland coach is just one spot up the list at No. 7, thanks in no small part to the Terapins falling back to 4-8 in 2024 after three straight winning seasons.

Rhule is 0-1 against Locksley in his career, and the 13-10 loss to Maryland in November of 2023 is a big reason why the Nebraska football team didn't go bowling in Rhule's first season. If he gets his revenge this year, he could play a part in Locksley looking for a new job in 2026.