Head coach Matt Rhule of the Nebraska Cornhuskers college football program had been linked to Penn State

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Jordan Sigler

By Jordan Sigler

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Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule has been linked to Penn State ever since the Nittany Lions fired James Franklin on Oct. 12.

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Rhule played college football for PSU as a linebacker. He also has ties to Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft, who hired him as the head coach of Temple in 2013.

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Since being linked to PSU, Rhule has expressed his admiration for the Nebraska program and what he's building in Lincoln.

Head coach Matt Rhule of the Nebraska Cornhuskers college football program had been linked to Penn State

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Per Josh Peterson of Sports Illustrated, Rhule's representation asked for a large pay rise for the head coach to stay with the Cornhuskers. Per an update by SI on Thursday morning, Rhule had not signed a contract extension despite earlier reports indicating he had signed a new deal.

However, Nebraska is expected to make an announcement about a contract extension on Thursday.

Via Sports Illustrated:

"Editor's note: At the time of publishing, there was no official announcement for a signed contract extension. As of this note (9:00 a.m. CDT), there has been no announcement. New information indicates an extension has not been signed at this time."

The expected contract extension would keep Rhule with Nebraska beyond 2030. Cornhuskers athletic director Troy Dannen wanted to give Rhule a contract extension during the season to end the smoke surrounding Penn State and the 50-year-old head coach.

(Update): Per Pete Thamel of ESPN, Rhule signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.

"Sources: Nebraska coach Matt Rhule signed a two-year contract extension this morning, which will take him through the 2032 season," Thamel posted on X. "It includes a $15 million buyout this year that effectively eliminates him from any jobs in this coaching cycle."

View this post on X

Earlier in October, Rule said he had respect for PSU and believed the program would find the right coach to replace Franklin. However, he suggested Nebraska has a bright future with him leading the program.

"This is a destination job," Rhule said of the Cornhuskers. "This is one of the greatest places in the world. (Lincoln) is a town of 300,000 people... Like, I can do whatever I want. Here I have a great young team, the youngest team in the Big Ten. Think about how good we'll be next year... Think about where we're going to go with (quarterback) Dylan (Raiola) and all these guys."

Rhule is 18-15 overall and 9-14 in Big Ten play at Nebraska since he took over in 2023. The former Carolina Panthers head coach has the Cornhuskers 6-2 before getting set to host No. 23 USC on Saturday.

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