Matt Rhule was a very successful college coach, which generally means a potential NFL future awaited. In Rhule's case, it did. He was given the reins to the Carolina Panthers at the turn of the decade, and he couldn't translate his collegiate success at both Temple and Baylor to the NFL. In a few short years, he was back in college at Nebraska, where he's had a lot more success than he did in the NFL.
Still, that NFL stint was valuable to Rhule, who believes his time at the highest level is beneficial to the shifting landscape in college. NIL and the transfer portal have made it a lot more like the NFL, where Rhule does at least have some experience. It might've been a pretty bad few seasons, but he knows the game a little more now.
Via NBC Sports, he said, "I think the biggest thing you learn when you’re in the NFL is really evaluation. Before, in college football, it was like, 'Yeah, he’s a good player, let’s offer him, let’s take him.' You get to the NFL, they’re all good players. It’s just, 'Hey, what’s the financial value we put on this person and put on this position?' Every year in the NFL, you go through free agency, and you see teams walking away from it with really good players because of their contract situations."
But at the same time, the college sport is still different, and it presents its own challenges. "The smart teams in the NFL carry money over and position themselves through the years," Rhule said. "But that discipline, I think, is something that’s really, really unique. It’s hard because you get to know the players. You want to take care of everybody."
Whether or not Nebraska will become a perennial contender under Rhule in the new college football remains to be seen, but he believes he's at least got a little bit of a leg up when it comes to managing funds, NIL, and transfers at this level.