Rhule to Penn State?

[Corn Train]

Rhule posted this earlier today so…

I think he will address it before he’s even asked any questions at the presser

 

[Mavric]

Right. If he dances around it, that’s not a good sign imo
I’m not sure if Rhule is a big enough get to appease the boosters and fan base. The only reservation I have is how close MR and Pat Kraft are. Pretty close

He won't dance around it. But he'll likely give something that sounds like a definitive answer but really isn't.

 

[The Murphinator]

As many have said already Rhule doesn't really make sense for what it seems they are looking for. Rhule is a rebuilder and they just fired a guy because he couldn't win the big games. Rhule hasn't proven he can win the big games yet. It is where he went to school though so you never know, but I just don't see it happening.

 

[UniversalMartin]

Yeah, my bad I forgot Matt's record in previous stops at Temple and Baylor were better than MR.......oh wait.

My comparison is in a disappointment level. We all had hopes of replacing Bo with a big, known established coach that would take Bo's accomplishments and winning to the next level, and it was a kick in the nuts when MR was named. Where PSU was supposed to be this year after last and with that fanbase, they will feel the same(as would I) if Ruhle was their guy.

I can understand that, disappointed in a hire for a Blue Blood that would expect more flair...just feel the comparison is a bit off. Riley was on his way out, as a coach, Rhule has 10 or so years left.

 

[Corn Train]

He won't dance around it. But he'll likely give something that sounds like a definitive answer but really isn't.

I don’t think he would either. Was just hypothetical. If he was a zero ethics coach like Urban or Kelly, well…

 

[LP1]

It might all depend on how we finish the season. If we win 9+ games, including a win in Happy Valley, it would make him much more attractive in their eyes

 

[Red Five]

N918SW Flight Tracking and History - FlightAware

Track N918SW flight from State College Regional Airport to Eppley Airfield

www.flightaware.com

Here's the flight tracker. Notice how it has departed State College for Omaha, but is scheduled to depart Omaha immediately and head to Eugene? Seems like, if that's even a PSU flight at all, they're going after Dan Lanning

To close the loop here, 99% sure this fight was the Oregon women's soccer team as they played at PSU yesterday. This is their flight home, with a stop in Omaha to refuel.

Ducks Tie Penn State, 2-2 - University of Oregon Athletics

Carly Cormack scored twice on Sunday.

goducks.com

 

[Enhance]

It might all depend on how we finish the season. If we win 9+ games, including a win in Happy Valley, it would make him much more attractive in their eyes

This is how I feel, as well. Even with a strong season, hiring Rhule wouldn't align with the ambition that firing Franklin seems to signal. Their fans might to try to talk themselves into it but deep down I think they'd know it's a step sideways at best.

The comparison @PaulCrewe made to Mike Riley is actually a fairly apt one. Is it perfect? No, but most analogies aren't. But think about how we all felt after Pelini was fired. The narrative at the time was that the program was ready to get past the 9-win barrier, even with BP's attitude issues. So, when MR was announced, we were all pretty stunned and spent years trying to convince ourselves it would work. And it wasn't because of what Riley had done but because of how much we wanted it to work.

That's what this would fee like for PSU fans. Firing a coach with multiple New Year Six bowl appearances, a CFP appearance, and Top 10 recruiting classes, only to hire someone like Rhule would send mixed signals. I like Rhule - he's a culture builder and a good dude, and I think he wants to build something special and stay at Nebraska, so it's not the hire Penn St.'s admin is suggesting needs to be made.

 

[Mavric]

This is how I feel, as well. Even with a strong season, hiring Rhule wouldn't align with the ambition that firing Franklin seems to signal. Their fans might to try to talk themselves into it but deep down I think they'd know it's a step sideways at best.

The comparison @PaulCrewe made to Mike Riley is actually a fairly apt one. Is it perfect? No, but most analogies aren't. But think about how we all felt after Pelini was fired. The narrative at the time was that the program was ready to get past the 9-win barrier, even with BP's attitude issues. So, when MR was announced, we were all pretty stunned and spent years trying to convince ourselves it would work. And it wasn't because of what Riley had done but because of how much we wanted it to work.

That's what this would fee like for PSU fans. Firing a coach with multiple New Year Six bowl appearances, a CFP appearance, and Top 10 recruiting classes, only to hire someone like Rhule would send mixed signals. I like Rhule - he's a culture builder and a good dude, and I think he wants to build something special and stay at Nebraska, so it's not the hire Penn St.'s admin is suggesting needs to be made.

The biggest difference is that Rhule is generally seen to have the Huskers on the way up. In addition to that being the pattern at his other college stops (though, obviously, he didn't stick around long enough to see how things turned out). Riley had been at OSU for a long time and his best seasons were behind him. They were trending down.

Plus, Rhule has a couple pretty solid connections to Penn State. Riley had none with Nebraska.

So I don't think it's really all that close of a comparison. Lack of being seen as real top-shelf option is really the only thing. But that's only if you look at it from a 50,000 foot view.

 

[Red Five]

Firing a coach with multiple New Year Six bowl appearances, a CFP appearance, and Top 10 recruiting classes, only to hire someone like Rhule would send mixed signals.

I don't think that PSU is going to be able to hire a coach with those accolades. I mean there are only a handful of coaches that fall into that (Smart, Dabo, Kelly, Day, Riley, and Sark off the top of my head) and I don't see them leaving their current employers.

They are going to have to hire someone that on paper that doesn't have a resume that stacks up to Franklin.

A&M is a good example here. Fired a national championship coach, multiple NY6 games. School has money coming out of it's ears. Is dead smack in the middle of a top 2 recruiting area in the country. And they hire Duke's head coach.

(And now that I think about it, Brian Kelly does make sense. He is a fish out of water in LSU, but had tons of success in the Great Lakes region.)

 

[Red Five]

This lists the same names you are hearing everywhere else. Cig, Rhule, Diaz, Campbell

 

[SuperBigFan69]

Rumor is Cigs hates PSU because Paterno was a d!(k to his old man when he was a coach in the state. Who knows though.

Also, do any of you really care if Rhule leaves? I mean, is it that big of a deal? He is basically a .500 coach. It is not like NU would be losing Urban Meyer.

 

[Enhance]

The biggest difference is that Rhule is generally seen to have the Huskers on the way up. In addition to that being the pattern at his other college stops (though, obviously, he didn't stick around long enough to see how things turned out). Riley had been at OSU for a long time and his best seasons were behind him. They were trending down.

Plus, Rhule has a couple pretty solid connections to Penn State. Riley had none with Nebraska.

So I don't think it's really all that close of a comparison. Lack of being seen as real top-shelf option is really the only thing. But that's only if you look at it from a 50,000 foot view.

Yeah I get the differences - there are probably more of them than similarities, but we naturally tend to draw on shared experiences as humans, and after Franklin got fired and Rhule's name inevitably popped up... it brought back memories of Mike Riley for me. I think it has for several people.

It's about the reaction. Rhule is trending upward but his college resume and NFL stint don't scream next level, which is the message Penn St. is implying. The comparison to Riley isn't because the situations are identical but because both hires would feel underwhelming to a fanbase expecting a leap forward. The disconnect between ambition and the hire is what draws the parallel.

 

[gorp512]

Bret Bielema would do very well at Penn State

 

[Enhance]

I don't think that PSU is going to be able to hire a coach with those accolades. I mean there are only a handful of coaches that fall into that (Smart, Dabo, Kelly, Day, Riley, and Sark off the top of my head) and I don't see them leaving their current employers.

They are going to have to hire someone that on paper that doesn't have a resume that stacks up to Franklin.

A&M is a good example here. Fired a national championship coach, multiple NY6 games. School has money coming out of it's ears. Is dead smack in the middle of a top 2 recruiting area in the country. And they hire Duke's head coach.

(And now that I think about it, Brian Kelly does make sense. He is a fish out of water in LSU, but had tons of success in the Great Lakes region.)

I agree. I didn't intend to imply they'll find someone or aim to find someone with Franklin's accolades or better. That's a huge ask and unrealistic. My point was more about the message Penn St.'s admin is sending and how people may react based on the eventual decision. It has to be a name that fills you with the hope that it can work based on what that person has done, and I think the general consensus among Penn St.'s fandom right now is that they should be aiming for someone perceptibly better than Rhule... and I can't blame them.