What a coach and national experts are saying about the Panthers hiring Matt Rhule

Will Healy won’t have to go as far to pick up coaching tips from Matt Rhule.

Healy, the Charlotte 49ers coach, had planned on traveling to Waco, Texas, sometime in the next few weeks to talk to Rhule about how he transformed the culture at Baylor, which was coming off a sexual assault scandal when he was hired by the Bears in 2017.

But with Rhule hired by the Carolina Panthers as their new coach, Healy can make it a local trip.

“I was intrigued how he re-built that program from the ground up,” Healy said Tuesday. “I know he’s not going to have much time for me or anything like that now, but it’s nice to know he’s only going to be 15 minutes away.”

Healy said he’s not a close friend of Rhule’s, but has spent some time with him recently. He got to know Rhule through Marcus Satterfield, Rhule’s tight ends coach at Baylor who recruited Healy to play quarterback at Richmond and was later on the coaching staff with Healy at Chattanooga for a few seasons.

“I don’t know anybody in college football who did what he did (at Baylor),” Healy said. “It wasn’t just the culture, but winning 10 or 11 games while cleaning up a mess.”

Healy said that while he’s excited to have Rhule in Charlotte, he’ll also miss former Panthers coach Ron Rivera, with whom he’d formed a friendship.

“This is the hardest part for me,” Healy said. “I don’t ever want Ron Rivera to read a quote about how excited I am to have Matt Rhule here without him knowing that I absolutely loved him and was appreciative of everything he did for me and this program. But I’m also ecstatic about Matt Rhule.”

Rhule has a bit of history with the pre-Healy 49ers. His Temple Owls beat Charlotte, 37-3, in a driving rainstorm at Richardson Stadium in 2015 and then beat the 49ers, 48-20, in Philadelphia in 2016.

What the experts are saying about Matt Rhule

“You want somebody who understands this culture and this generation. Who better than somebody who went to a college that was on the brink of extinction (Penn State)? They almost got the death penalty. You have to learn how to get people to focus on playing football, but also how to be good men away from the field. That’s what the NFL is. You get them to focus on winning football games, where you won one game (at Baylor) when you started, now you’ve won 11 games and made the Big 12 championship game. You see him doing these things. This bodes well for him. It’s also an opportunity to coach in a place where you’ve got longevity by the contract situation and that’s important.” — Ryan Clayton, ESPN.

“Unlike Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, the other Big 12 coach often linked to the NFL, Rhule did not gain traction with a groundbreaking scheme. Rhule was willing to air the ball out and run a college-style spread offense in the Big 12, where the spread is the base form of the sport, but ultimately seems to be a schematic agnostic who prefers a physical approach.

“With no set plan at quarterback, on the defensive line, or for the coaching staff, Rhule will basically be starting from scratch. That’s probably why he got the job.” — Danny Heifetz, The Ringer.

“The Panthers swooped in and hired Baylor coach Matt Rhule in a stealth move. One big draw was Panthers owner David Tepper being willing to put money into the sports science program that Rhule wants. Resources won’t be a problem.” — Ian Rapoport, NFL Network, via Twitter.

“Re: Matt Rhule: In his first (year) at Temple and Baylor, his teams went a combined 3-21. In his third (year), those programs went a combined 21-7. Remarkable what he did in Waco especially after the situation he walked into. And, he always said the right thing every time on real issues.” — Bruce Feldman, Fox Sports, via Twitter.

“Matt Rhule took over a 4-7 Temple team in 2013 and led them to 2 of their 3 10-win seasons within 4 years.

“He took over a Baylor team rocked by scandal in 2017 and had the Bears vying for a playoff spot within 3 seasons.

“The man can build and lead a football team.” — Field Yates, ESPN, via Twitter.

“Rhule grew up on Roosevelt Island, worked for the Giants, & still didn’t even bother to wait to talk to them ... for the freakin’ Panthers. A gut punch for the Giants & what they think of their structure, their roster, Gettleman, their QB, everything.” — Ian O’Connor, ESPN, via Twitter.

“Panthers fans you got one hell of a ball coach. Rhule took the Baylor Bears from a 1-11 team, marred by scandal and turmoil, to 11-1 ... IN TWO YEARS!

“10/11 defensive starters this year started on his 1-11 team.

“He did it by COACHING! — Emmanuel Acho, ESPN, via Twitter.

“Matt Rhule has a chance to be the best coaching hire in a while. By year three he will be kicking (butt).” — Former NFL executive Joe Banner, via Twitter.

This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 4:57 PM.