Regardless of the number of contract extensions he signs, the amount of money he is making, or what he says in a public forum, Matt Rhule to the NFL speculation will continue until the day he actually leaves. But that doesn’t mean the speculation is based on accurate or truthful information.
In an interview with Mike Golic and Trey Wingo on ESPN, Rhule addressed the subject specifically once again, just as he has a number of times in the last couple of months.
“I’m really committed to being at Baylor,” Rhule said. “It’s a great, great place. You know, when college jobs have come at me this year I’ve said, ‘Hey, absolutely not.’”
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Rhule has been connected to NFL head coaching positions in each of the last two off seasons including the Colts in 2017 and the Jets last offseason. As Baylor improved drastically yet again in 2019, it’s no surprise that the discussions pick up once again. According to Rhule, he would do himself a disservice by not accepting a call, but he has no intentions on leaving Baylor.
“I think anytime an NFL team has called in the past, people have kind of assumed that I wanted to go,” Rhule said. “I think when an NFL team calls you’re foolish if you don’t at least hear them out or listen to them, but I don’t think that’s the time or place for me right now.”
With a trip to the Sugar Bowl to face No. 5 Georgia remaining on Jan. 1, Rhule’s No. 7-ranked Bears sit at 11-2 with their two losses coming to No. 4 Oklahoma, including a 30-23 loss in the Big 12 Championship game last Saturday. Rhule believes, however, that the best is still on the horizon.
“I think that we are in the middle of building something really, really special at Baylor and I think it can be even better next season,” Rhule said.
He added, “When you do these jobs and go from one win to seven wins to 11 wins, a lot of people have to sacrifice a lot and you want sometimes to enjoy the fruits of your labor. We have a tendency as coaches to leave before we have a chance to enjoy in the winning.”
“I think next year we’re going to have a great team. I think the Sugar Bowl is going to be a big start to that, so I’ll always be respectful when people call me, but I think for my family and what we’re trying to do, we have unfinished business at Baylor.”
Rhule spent four years at Temple, playing and losing in the AAC Championship Game in 2016 before returning to the game in 2017 and winning. The parallels between his time at Temple and Baylor have matched up almost identically so far, but another run to the Big 12 Championship game capped off by a victory would be quite remarkable.
Shut up, tuba boy.BUGWBBear said:
He's not going anywhere if your fears are predicated on winning a championship. He still can't beat OU.
