Carolina Panthers Introduce New Head Coach Matt Rhule During News Conference

January 8, 2020

Caryn Little, AP,

The Carolina Panthers have made it official, former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule signed a 7-year deal with the team. Rhule is the fifth head coach in franchise history.

Rhule was introduced as the head coach during a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the Panthers’ practice facility. Rhule said he is excited to be in the Carolinas. Watch the introductory news conference above.

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"We have agreed to terms with Matt Rhule" - @Panthers (Twitter)
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Baylor head coach Matt Rhule walks away after greeting Georgia head coach Kirby Smart after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. Georgia won 26-14. (AP Photo/Brett Duke)
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, left, greets Baylor head coach Matt Rhule after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. Georgia won 26-14. (AP Photo/Brett Duke)
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FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2018, file photo, Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades, left, congratulates head coach Matt Rhule after defeating Texas Tech in an NCAA college football game, in Arlington, Texas. A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers are completing a contract to hire Baylor's Matt Rhule as their coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, on condition of anonymity because the deal is not done. The Panthers have not spoken publicly about the coaching search. (Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP, File)
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FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2020, file photo, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule reacts on the sideline in the second half of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football game against Georgia in New Orleans. A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers are completing a contract to hire Baylor's Matt Rhule as their coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, on condition of anonymity because the deal is not done. The Panthers have not spoken publicly about the coaching search. (AP Photo/Bill Feig, File)
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FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2019, file photo, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule stands on the field prior to an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Waco, Texas. A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers are completing a contract to hire Baylor's Matt Rhule as their coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, on condition of anonymity because the deal is not done. The Panthers have not spoken publicly about the coaching search. (AP Photo/Ray Carlin, File)
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FILE - In this Dec. 27, 2019, file photo, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule takes questions from the media as his team arrives for the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football game against Georgia at Louis Armstrong International Airport, in New Orleans. A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers are completing a contract to hire Baylor's Matt Rhule as their coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, on condition of anonymity because the deal is not done. The Panthers have not spoken publicly about the coaching search. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
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FILE - In this Dec. 31, 2019, file photo, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule talks to reporters during a Sugar Bowl NCAA college news conference in New Orleans. A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers are completing a contract to hire Baylor's Matt Rhule as their coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, on condition of anonymity because the deal is not done. The Panthers have not spoken publicly about the coaching search. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
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Baylor head coach Matt Rhule, right, talks with line judge Quentin Givens, left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
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Baylor head coach Matt Rhule yells from the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Waco, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Ray Carlin)
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Baylor head coach Matt Rhule stands in the huddle during a time out in an NCAA college football game against Texas Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
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In this July 16, 2019, file photo, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule speaks during the Big 12 Conference NCAA college football media day, in Arlington, Texas. Rhule was selected as the AP All-Big 12 Coach of the Year, Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. (Photo: David Kent, AP)
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AP
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Matt Rhule is the Panthers Head Coach (Panthers.com)

Read the team’s full statement below:

The Panthers have their next head coach.

Carolina agreed to terms with former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule on Tuesday. Rhule will be the fifth head coach in franchise history.

A New York City native, Rhule will be a first-time NFL head coach after successful tenures at Baylor (2017-19) and Temple (2013-16). He turned both college programs around when he arrived, taking Baylor from a 1-11 record in 2017 to an 11-3 mark and berth in the Big 12 championship game and Sugar Bowl in 2019.

Prior to his stint with the Bears, he transformed a Temple program from a 2-10 record in his first season to consecutive 10-win seasons and an American Athletic Conference championship in 2016.

Rhule has experience in the NFL as an assistant coach with the New York Giants in 2012, coaching the offensive line.

He also had prior experience at Temple (2006-11) where he worked as the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and originally the defensive line coach.

From 2002-05, Rhule was in the Carolinas as an assistant coach at Western Carolina and was also part of staffs at UCLA (2001), Buffalo (1999-2000) and Albright College (1998).

Rhule was a walk-on linebacker at Penn State from 1994-97, taking part in three bowl victories, including the Rose Bowl in 1995.

David Tepper excited he got Rhule. https://t.co/ZDwA9tpuju

— Hannah Oliveto (@HannahOliveto) January 7, 2020

Panthers owner David Tepper visited Rhule at his home in Waco, Texas, and decided he wanted the Baylor coach to succeed Ron Rivera, who was fired with four games remaining in the season. Rivera was the winningest coach in franchise history and was twice named AP NFL Coach of the Year.

The 44-year-old Rhule was scheduled to visit with the New York Giants this week and was believed to be a strong candidate there.

Rhule was named Baylor’s coach on Dec. 6, 2016 after a scandal hit the program. He went 1-11 his first season there in 2017, then improved to 7-6 in 2018. The Bears went 11-1 in the regular season this past season, although they lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Rhule was a combined 19-20 in his three seasons at Baylor. This marks the first time the Panthers have gone with a college coach as their head coach. Previous coaches were Dom Capers, George Seifert, John Fox and Rivera. Perry Fewell was the interim coach the final four games this season, going 0-4.

Before coaching at Baylor, Rhule worked at Temple and revived the Owls. After a 2-11 season his first year, he wound up leading the school to back-to-back 10-win seasons.

Rhule began his college coaching career in 1998 and his only experience in the NFL is having spent one season as an assistant offensive line coach with the Giants in 2012.

We have agreed to terms with Matt Rhule

#KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/x42uDnNslR

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) January 7, 2020

When Tepper met with a small group of reporters on Dec. 3, 2019 after making the decision to move on from Rivera, he seemed to downplay the idea of hiring a college coach.

“I do understand the difficulty of the transition (from college) though,” Tepper said at the time. “That doesn’t mean I’m closing it off, but you’ve got to understand, anybody who’s been around football understands the difficulty of that transition.”

Tepper, who bought the team in 2018 for an NFL record $2.3 billion, made the decision to fire Rivera with four games remaining because he wanted to get a head start on the coaching search. He also didn’t feel it was right to conduct a coaching search behind Rivera’s back.

Tepper made clear he wanted to hire a offensive coach with a “modern and innovative” process.

more from Panthers new HC Rhule:
“At the end of the day I’m a competitor. It’s a chance to go coach at the highest level and hope that some day you can hoist a trophy over your head & say that you were the best & your team was the best.” @WCCBCharlotte

— Kelli Bartik (@KelliBartik) January 7, 2020

Love how Tepper closed the deal with Matt Rhule before his interview with the Giants, which was set for today. Rhule was a NYG assistant in 2012.
Tepper gets his man. #Panthers

— Kelli Bartik (@KelliBartik) January 7, 2020

The team interviewed former Packers coach Mike McCarthy and had planned to talk to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. But the decision was made to take Rhule.

“In the modern NFL, I think there is a preference for offensive coordinators. … The NFL has made rules to lean to the offense,” Tepper said last month. “That’s why you’re having more people go that way. I think you have a lot of people on that side accepting the more modern processes. ”

Matt Rhule it is, how do y'all feel about it? #Panthers #NFL

— Zach Aldridge (@wzaldridge) January 7, 2020

Tepper stressed in December it will take time to build the Panthers into a consistent winner — but he’s willing to be patient.

“If you don’t think it takes time to build something great, if you think something great gets built in one second, then that’s wrong,” he said. “You shouldn’t expect it, fans shouldn’t expect it. I’m not talking about one year, I’m talking of a standard that will be built and sustained, OK?”

“Built and sustained. If the fans are expecting something to be miraculous next year, listen, it could happen. Maybe, you know, it’s that good, but you can’t count on that. There has to be a degree of patience to build sustained excellence.”