Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule caught up in Billy Napier replacement talk

It’s almost that time. It’s almost time for silly season. As soon as coaches start getting fired, the Nebraska football fans are only going to see more of this. At least if the Huskers season goes as they hope.

Huskers head coach Matt Rhule is well respected around the college football world. That was demonstrated again when his name came up while discussing the odds of Florida coach Billy Napier getting fired.

It seems like Napier is losing his job at some point, it’s just a matter of when. If he is fired as expected, the Nebraska football coach was mentioned as one of the targets for the Gators in a discussion on a recent episode of the College GameDay Podcast.

Nebraska's Matt Rhule and Penn State's James Franklin were chief among the names discussed. Though even that podcast made it clear that any move wasn’t close to being made.

Nebraska football head coach close to moving on?

The real question that needs to be asked at this point is, whether Florida would really be a better job. It seems likely the Gators will finish under .500 this season. 

Would the SEC really be more attractive to Rhule over a Nebraska program he’s poured quite a bit of blood and sweat into? There are few coaches who have worked harder to sell their university over the last two years. It’s even more noteworthy considering he’s not an alum of NU.

Perhaps the bigger worry here was tipped by the podcast. If James Franklin is mentioned and even offered a job by Florida after it eventually fires Napier, would Penn State be a problem? Rhule is an alum from that school.

While he has put a ton of effort into building the Cornhuskers back up, it’s hard for coaches to turn down their alma maters when they come calling.

So while Nebraska football probably doesn’t have to worry about the Florida Gators, a coaching carousel that involves Penn State might still be problematic.