What do you think about Matt Rhule?

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Matt Rhule became Carolina's fifth head coach in franchise history on January 8, 2020. He came to the Panthers after successful head coaching stints at Temple (2013-16) and Baylor (2017-19), leading both programs to consecutive bowl appearances in his last two seasons there.

Rhule was hired as Carolina's head coach on January 8, 2020 after three seasons (2017-19) as the head coach at Baylor University. Rhule helped rebuild the Baylor program, guiding the team from a 1-11 finish in his first season to a 7-6 record and a bowl berth in 2018 to an 11-3 record and appearance in the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl in 2019. In 2019, he was voted the Chuck Neinas Coach of the Year by his peers.

His performance at Baylor continued a head coaching career that saw him turn around college programs' fortunes and guide teams to success. In his head coaching debut at Temple, (2013-16), Rhule took the Owls from a 2-10 mark in his first season to a 6-6 record in 2014 and two consecutive 10-win seasons in 2015 and 2016. Rhule has spent 23 years as a coach in the college and NFL ranks.

Baylor's appearance in the 2019 Sugar Bowl was just the second-ever in school history, and under Rhule's leadership the Bears became the first Power 5 program to go from 11 losses (2017) to 11 wins (2019) within two seasons.

Sixteen different Baylor players earned all-conference honors in 2019, and defensive tackle James Lynch was named the 2019 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year, while Lynch, wide receiver Denzel Mims and defensive tackle Bravvion Roy were all named first team all-conference.

In 2018, Rhule led the Bears to a 45-38 Texas Bowl win over Vanderbilt, and seven total victories, a six-win improvement over his first season. Rhule was only the second coach in Baylor history to make bowl trips in two of his first three seasons, joining John Bridgers (1960-61). Baylor wide receiver Jalen Hurd was named the 2018 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and punter Drew Galitz was named first team coaches All-Big 12.

Additionally, linebacker Clay Johnston and Lynch were both named to the coaches all-conference second team.

From 2016-19, Rhule had 11 players selected in the NFL Draft, including the 2017 first round pick of the Arizona Cardinals Haason Reddick and Hurd, a 2019 third round selection by San Francisco. A total of 33 players have earned NFL opportunities in Rhule's first six seasons as a head coach.

In his time as a coach and player, Rhule's teams played in 10 bowl games, including four as a head coach.

Rhule came to Baylor after four seasons as head coach at Temple University. He guided the Owls to the school's first back-to-back 10-win seasons, a pair of bowl berths (2015-16), and the 2016 American Athletic Conference championship. He helped the Owls improve from a two-win season in his first year at the school in 2013.

The Owls earned their first top 25 ranking in 36 seasons under Rhule's guidance in 2015 and among the 29 all-conference honorees produced by Temple in his four seasons as head coach was 2015 Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy winner and two-time All-American Tyler Matakevich.

Rhule led Temple to the 2016 AAC championship and earned a bid to the Military Bowl. Nine players from that 10-3 squad received All-AAC honors and the Owl defense ranked third nationally allowing just 275.9 yards per game.

In 2015, Temple played in the AAC's inaugural championship game after finishing with a school-record 10 wins (10-4 and reaching No. 22 in the AP Top 25 with a Boca Raton Bowl berth. Thirteen players earned all-conference honors, led by consensus All-American and AAC Defensive Player of the Year Matakevich.

Rhule returned to Temple after coaching with the New York Giants under head coach Tom Coughlin in 2012, where he worked closely with Pat Flaherty in coaching the offensive line. The Giants finished 9-7 and offensive guard Chris Snee earned 2012 Pro Bowl honors.

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