1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Are We Feeling Better About Matt Rhule Staying at Nebraska Now?: October 14th, 11:00am

Episode Date: October 14, 2025

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Boom, we are back here on one-on-one with DP on 93-7. The ticket, obviously, I am not DP. He is still recovering from a Monday night football loss. He went to watch his commander's room. Unfortunately, lose on a field goal there. Jake Moody, brand new to the team, was the hero last night for the Bears, who are all the sudden three and two. That NFC North getting even better, the bottom getting better.

So it's going to be competitive, going to be fun NFL season all year long. DP will be back in town. today. So he'll be back. He'll have a cup of coffee in town. He's got some UFC events and stuff to do later on. Nick, you're going to have a cup of coffee in town. I saw you haven't been out as recently as has. But you were, you know,

from Chicago now. We'll be going to Minnesota here for the game this week, which is funny is some of the backdrop of what this week is for Husker football in a weird way. Because there is so much speculation about what might be coming

around the corner. Maybe, with that Penn State opening in Matt Rule being linked to that job. It's funny. We just talked off here about the confidence level that Matt Rule is in Lincoln next year. And if it wanes at all, you know, after a year, after day of kind of digesting all the information, it's still going to be, you know, a primary talk in college football, pretty much until that job is filled. Obviously, it'll die down a little bit.

But it's going to be a backdrop to Husker football, I think, for the remainder of the season, certainly going to amp up when when Nebraska travels to Happy Valley if Nebraska has taken care of business by then. And that's that's why I think, you know, there's the possibility for this to die down a little bit is, is is is is is is is is is is. It is is is is also strange because it would be tied together with Nebraska losing. If that rule in Nebraska win and go, you know, win nine or 10 games this year, then I think not only the Penn State job, but other jobs might be interested in what Matt rule could do because it would be. you know, it would be in further solidifying the program builder that he has in the year three resume that he has. And so it's a buckle in, get ready for the ride. But I told you before

the show, Nick, I'm a little bit more confident today as opposed to yesterday that Matt rule might not be leaving Lincoln. But I think a lot of that is due to Penn State's, Penn State's search is going to be. Expectations for what they can bring in for who they can they can sway yeah um so you're you're more and i just to provide context for the listeners you're more confident in that mat rule doesn't get offered the job that's that's what it is correct because we can we can all agree that if he gets it offered he's gone is that where you're at whoa that's that's dramatically different i would yeah i mean the the the the the the most faith that i have is that he would not be offered the job unless unless nebrass

again, wins nine or ten games. I guess so. And I think that there's a lot more questions in that side of things than the opposite. And so, I mean, if he's offered the job, do I think he'll go? I think it'd be pretty tough to turn down. Yeah. At the same time, and we talked about this yesterday, you know, coaches don't take jobs with a fear of failure. But he just watched what happened to James Franklin and talk about a job chewing somebody up and spitting them out.

Yeah. And in such a quick fashion. Yeah. But in totality, it's a weird thing because if you sat back and you asked Penn State, you know, 12 years ago, especially coming off, you know, Bill O'Brien before that, you know, the whole scandals before that. And I don't think Bill O'Brien ever gets enough credit for what he did at Penn State. No.

James Franklin took it to the next level. But to initially be able to withstand what was there. And he turned that into an NFL job. People can forget that. And let's not, let's not act like if Boston College was in a better spot. Bill O'Brien would be in this conversation too. He would be, but they're awful. I don't know what happened about it.

They're awful. Well, they lost their quarterback and they didn't replace it. That's the honest truth. I mean, Tommy Castellanos was really good at Boston College, and then they just did not replace him. But ultimately, yeah, I, Nebraska is where they're at. It's going to be a very long process. Nebraska does play Minnesota on Friday.

Confidence level in Nebraska being able to win on the road for two straight weeks. What was it? What did Matt Rule say yesterday? It's, it's, it's, it's been since 2006 that they've won back to back road games. It was a conference road. I don't know what the stat was. It was, it was, it was since 06. They have not won back to back road games since 06.

Hmm. You want, what do we talk about blue blood status recently yesterday? There you go. That's a, that's a glaring stat. Now, I do think Nebraska wins. I think they're like nine and a half point favorites or whatever. I don't know if Nebraska covers. I could really care less about that.

But this Minnesota team, offensively is not very good. I mean, they are not good at all. The usual rushing attack that we're accustomed to seeing from Minnesota had 30 yards last week. Yeah. Their quarterback Drake Lindsay is still, I think, adjusting to the college game. He played in one game last season as a true freshman.

He's a red shirt freshman this year. He only attempted five passes in 2024 for Minnesota because they had Brosmer back then. But ultimately, they don't have a lot of weapons on the outside. side. They're running back. Darius Taylor led their way in rushing or excuse me, in receiving last week against Purdue.

This was a game against Purdue. I was watching it last Saturday night during while I was watching the pain of the Chicago Cubs. I was also watching the Purdue Minnesota Matt football game. And Purdue was up 20 to 13 going into the fourth quarter. Minnesota outscored him 14 to zero

in the final period. This is not a good Minnesota team. I like PJ Fleck as a coach, but there's no reason Nebraska shouldn't win on Friday. Yeah, no, I completely agree with you. But, I mean, I guess that's, you know, it kind of leads to the bigger discussion with what Penn State is looking at.

Can Matt Rule earn that job even beyond, you know, the win total by beating the Michigan states and the Minnesotas and the U.S. and the Northwesterns of the world? I'm not sure. And we talk about it, too. We talk about the Wild Ride. all that stuff. And again, I think that more than likely, 95% sure this thing lasts until December. I mean, maybe they find somebody that's not currently coaching and you make,

you jump on it there. But in all likelihood, we're waiting until the end of the regular season for Penn State to fill their job. It's just the amount of pressure and interest in those Nebraska games is going to skyrocket. Obviously, Nebraska, USC, all that. But when you really kind to just get to the final ones. I mean, Penn State, just thinking about what could be there, especially if Penn State starts to win in their interim coach, makes a little bit of an argument for maybe taking that job.

That could be fascinating. And then we always know there's, there's something on the line for Nebraska and Nebraska, Iowa. They usually lose whatever that is in a loss to Iowa at the end, but especially if there's a little bit more there, you know, can any of those games? So Nebraska, I wonder if I'm from Penn State saying, Do they need to beat USC?

Do they need to beat Penn State? I mean, what does Matt Rule need to do? Think about, we were talking about that off before we got on. Like how bizarre is it going to just feel ahead of Penn State? How bizarre. That's just going to feel so strange going in and knowing, obviously, all the rumors that are out there. And things will evolve and things will change. And who knows what, maybe Nebraska's extended Matt Rule by that time.

knows. Yeah. But just the, the whole idea of like, I don't know, I just, it is going to have such a weird feel around that game, especially if Nebraska still has one loss by that point.

Yeah. And again, it brings it kind of to the further discussion. Nebraska has been able to get over the, these kind of close games win, you know, games they have to come back against Michigan State and Maryland. Again,

still wondering the quality of those teams. Even Cincinnati, I think it's a pretty solid team. Don't get me wrong. but their big victory over Iowa State, which bolster the top 25 is now lesser, now that Iowa State has lost to Colorado. So I guess from some angles that I've definitely seen

from across the country and here locally, too, is are we sure that Matt Rule has fixed everything here at Nebraska enough to kind of impress moving forward? And that's why I say, you know, that Penn State, I mean, they could, it could be just incredible drama. But also, I mean, if Nebraska, he goes two and two, you know, leading into those games. I don't think there's a whole lot of drama left there because I don't think, you know,

the shine of Matt Rule turning things around at Nebraska, you know, may at that time be dampered a little bit. Now, at the same time, a win in Happy Valley at, you know, there one way or the other might, win that solidify it, might really, really help there. And it's crazy because for Nebraska, too, I mean, a lot of this is, you know, from the Nebraska lens is it has opened up that Penn State game once thought. I mean, preseason nobody was giving them a shot is now,

obviously, you know, we have to see what Penn State looks like. I think called a pick them right now, but even when they're getting 20-point favorites over the last couple of weeks, they've lost. So it will be a fascinating ride. I can't wait,

like we were kind of saying yesterday, to buckle in. And it does start this Friday against Minnesota. But again, a loss there. and I think your your Vegas odds, which have Nebraska, you know, Matt rule near the top of the Penn State jobs.

I mean, I think you, it dramatically drops from there. So it's just going to be fasting to watch as this play out. And then, you know, from there, nobody's really looking into the next step. I know we've had some questions about who would take over at Nebraska. What would be the interest there?

I think you kind of get there when it's official, right? But, I mean, there's no, there's no, there's no, Scott Frostweight in the wings. There's no, you know, there's nobody that would be obvious. And frankly, like, we're still learning about Troy Danon. Yeah.

I think that that's the big part in all of this. That in, and not only if Nebraska has to go find a new coach, who's Troy Danan able to lure to Nebraska, at least have a conversation. But then second is in this moment right now. How does Troy Danan handle it? How does, what, in what are Troy Danan's next actions?

Like that's where it's interesting for me that I'm most interested in learning about is we still don't know how Troy Danan operates in these types of moments when it comes to football. This is why you hire Troy Danin. He was a football centric hire. And that's fine. That's what Nebraska probably needs in the long run. Like Trev Alberts was very much a all sports football is first and foremost, obviously, but all sports matter a lot. And they do. And Troy Danin certainly cares about.

volleyball and baseball and men's basketball and other stuff. They care about those sports. Don't get me wrong. But it is football at the top of the list and it needs to be, right? Because we're going to have tons of people texting and be like, well, Nick, they make the most money. And I get that, right? But also, we don't know. Athletic directors have very few opportunities to hire coaches and have very few opportunities to

prove how they operate in these types of situations and circumstances. Your legacy, especially at a place like Nebraska, is being written with how he handles the whole Matt Rule situation right now. Whether he extends him and Nebraska in five years has to fire Matt Rule, whether he extends him and Matt Rule has instantaneous success, continued success, and Nebraska goes to a playoff, or he says, nope, you know what, Matt, you're extended, through 2030. You're going to be making $12 million a year soon in just a couple of seasons.

You're solid enough. If you want to walk, go ahead and walk. We'll be okay. That's part of him writing his legacy as well. I think we're learning a lot and we're going to learn a lot about how Troy Danon operates under these circumstances too, which is an angle nobody's talked about. Well, and again, it's a lot of moving parts here, but I think you're right. And that's that's what that's what kind of makes the whole thing fascinating as well is because in my mind, Troy Danin should not be, you know, listening to the first take and, oh, no, okay. Well, Marl's the favorite. Let's write them up a new extension. I, if I'm, if I'm, if I'm, uh, Troy Danan, if I'm Nebraska's brass, I also am interested how season plays out and what a Minnesota or

northwestern game. You can't be so quick to pull the trigger. Right. Like, you, you, you can't be because Nebraska's gotten themselves in trouble in the past for just giving extensions blindly without seeing anything or without really knowing what's going on. Now, I do think Troy Danin's pretty hands-on. But on top of all of that is with Troy, like, I just think back like legacy matters a lot to athletic directors. And the way that they're viewed not only nationally, but within their institutions, I think matters a lot to these guys. And the way, like what we, I mean, go back to the last couple, right? Trev's legacy obviously is hurt because he just left, right? He cared a lot less about his legacy.

He cared a lot less. But I think for Trev, though, like the end goal is, is commissioner of a league is a big time job. And I still think that even though his time at Texas A&M, I think it might have actually been expedited potentially because they lost their president just a couple of weeks ago. But then on top of that, you think back to Bill Moose. Okay, what was his legacy? It was bringing in Fred, Scott, and Wilbold. Like that, that was it. He got the big three.

there. Trev, it was the decision to fire Scott Frost when he did. And frankly, to bring in that rule, right? Troy Danin has made decisions in terms of fields and and naming rights. And obviously, Danny Busboom Kelly, but that is also kind of just there for you. Right. Right. And I think John Cook also played a massive part in that. This is the big one at Nebraska. You cannot have a bigger decision on your desk than what Troy Danin is potentially going to have in a couple of months. Whether that is decision to extend, decision to stick with Matt Rule, or decision after Matt Rule leaves on his own accord and the decision that he goes forward with on who he wants to lead Nebraska's football program.

There's not a bigger decision at Nebraska for Troy Danin. There's not a bigger decision that also will impact his legacy as much as this. Because he can do everything right. He can do everything right. but we know it, Bach. Football is the main driver. And if you get the hire wrong, you instantly,

people forget about all the little stuff. And you can continue to do all the little stuff correctly, but if you miss the wrong one, then people are always going to talk about how you miss the big one. Absolutely. As you said earlier, athletic directors are connected to football hires. Football coaches are connected to quarterback choices.

Yeah, I mean, it just goes on down from there. Absolutely. So it is fun to kind of see how all that stuff kind of plays out. again, Nebraska, a game against Minnesota, a little bit of kind of the secondary story this week. But as you mentioned, it will be an interesting one and continue to impact the dialogue that we have with this moving forward. As it will be, as again, it just is going to be fascinating to watch this thing play out.

This is where it's interesting. So 46636 on the text line. Once again, 402, 4664-5-6-85. he says Troy Dana needs to call Matt Rule's bluff and tell him, give us 10 and 2 and we will talk. Are you willing to do that? Because at 10 and 2, he becomes a lot more intriguing for other, and this is where athletic directors, the great ones are able to identify it before everybody else.

The great ones are able to identify it and are willing to put their reputation on the line and essentially risk having to fall on the sword a couple of years later if they make the wrong choice. If Troy Dannen, let's just say it right now. If Troy Danin comes out and extends Matt Rule through 2030, so he's going through 2030 right now, I believe, 2031, potentially. If he extends him two years, 233, let's just say that. And he gives him, he's going to get paid an additional $1.5 million a year. you're paying he's making 8.5 this year. Okay, let's say next year he's making $10 million.

But Nebraska goes out and wins six games. Nebraska goes out and wins seven games. Oof. You're paying top 10 nationally for a coach and you're barely making the pinstripe bowl. With larger figures and larger contracts come larger expectations. And so it's a real like dicey,

dicey situation, Buck, because I think we'd all love for Nebraska to be like, no, no, there's not one player's person that's bigger than the department. And that's true. But also, we've gotten a lot of texts about Nebraska finally has life.

Nebraska has life. They're ranked in the middle of October. They can be bull eligible in three days with still five games left on their schedule. We need to do whatever we can do to lock this guy up. Okay. That's fine. But also then when it comes down, don't be like, well, man, we shouldn't have done this.

Because you can have buyers remorse quicker than you probably can imagine. And again, you're not going to be able to tell the future. You just kind of got to do what's right at the time. Thankfully, we're not 80s. I wouldn't mind doing it. And I don't think I could do a whole lot worse than Nebraska. That's a good point. You know, different hires.

But in any case, it is, it's like, like Matt Rule says, there's a lot of scrutiny that goes on there. But, you know, the money is nice. It's nice to make a lot of money. That was the weirdest part. He was like, no, don't be wrong. It's nice to make a lot of money. Yeah. Yeah.

And it's all part of it. I should look, I don't know what Matt, not that it necessarily matters, what like his career earnings are. Yeah, pretty done good. So he signed an eight year. Yeah, so his contract ends in 2020 or excuse me, 2030. Because he signed an eight-me, eight-year, $74 million contract. But this is what I'm talking about in terms of the way that, the way that Matt rules agent structured the contract.

And it's fascinating. Because he basically, he only made only 5.5 million in 23. Then it was 6.5 million in 24. 8.5 million in 2025. He's making $2 million more this year than he did last season. Which is fine because the results so far are fine, right?

But man, that continues to go up and up and up the deeper you get into the contract. So then in Nebraska fans' minds, normally the way that these are structured is the buyout would go down. It's going to go down, but not as significant as what you'd expect. Because at some point in like 2029, he's making $12.5 million. Yeah. I mean, that's a lot. And if you're not making playoffs, then people are going to want answers.

Yeah. And again, all that is going to be fascinating, too, to see kind of the ups and downs. We get in this, you know, I think we lived through the Bo Polini idea where, it's like, all right, well, once you've established your spot, you're not going to fall it, you know, fall below that as a head goes. Yeah. And you can have these rocket. And that's what partially played into James Franklin, I think, you know, leaving.

It might have led to Brian Kelly ultimately leading Notre Dame is I think you can have like, you can have the down, you know, the start, the first year, you know, second year thing, all right. Third year, we want to see where you're at and you want to get better. And then as you'll have these long tenures, if you go down for a few years and then find your way back up, okay, that's okay. but then when he start going down again, it's like, oh, here we go again. All right, get him out of here.

Yeah, exactly. That's what's happened to James Franklin. So it'll be interesting to see how that goes to because those numbers are going to be pretty high near the end of his contract. But again, I think Freud-Dannon, if I'm him, I wait till you have to, I'd wait until after the Penn State game. If Nebraska is kind of successfully, you know, fighting for either 93 or 10 and 2 against Iowa, I don't think that would make the biggest difference even in the, the hiring process of Penn State. So that would be the time that I would probably think,

okay, if we really need to get an extension in here to keep him, that's when we do it. But again, don't do it right now before, you know, who knows what the rest of the season brings. You could do it now and then you go, you know, lose to the next three games and he's out of the search. So this is the specific structure of Matt Ruhl's contract. I just found out.

I just found the actual, the specific contract document. So making, as we mentioned, 8.5 this year. Next year in 2027, or 2027. Yeah, 2027, he is making 10 million next year. A million and a half dollar raise. It then goes up the next season, a million and a half more. 11.5, then 12. Then in the last year of his contract in 2030, $12.5 million.

They will also, for each this is the other part of it too if Matt Rule is the coach at Nebraska this is the big one March 1st of 27 every two years

if he comes back he is a he gets a million dollar retention bonus so not only after 2006 or excuse me he got one at March 1st 2025 got a million dollar

retention bonus he gets another one March 1st of 27 another one March 1st of 27 another one March first of 20209 and another one of December 31st, 2030, which is the last year of his contract. You're talking about in five years, you can make $4 million and just still be in the head coach at Nebraska.

There's, I mean, there's a lot. There's a lot here. It's, it's crazy. There's, I mean, there's a lot of opportunities for bonuses in here, $950,000 worth of bonus potential. but once again, when you look at it, Nebraska, like Nebraska's paying him well. And it's how much,

okay, so let's say it, next year does Nebraska have to pay $12 million to keep that rule at Nebraska? Is that what you want? I mean, if he wins 10 games, yeah, it's not my money. Pay him $20 million. It's not my money.

So top paid college football coaches. Because I think it's important just for context here. Yeah. This season, Kirby Smart is the highest paid coach. 13.2 mil. Ryan Day, 12.5. Lincoln Riley, 11.5. Hypothetically speaking, if you had to pay Matt Rule $12 million next year to be the head coach in Nebraska,

to keep him from going to Penn State, he would be the third highest paid coach in the country. Ryan Day and Kirby Smart are competing for national titles. They have them. They have titles. Yeah. Oof. So that's, I mean, it's not that Nebraska's not competitive right now.

That's, that's the thing. Nebraska's competitive. Yeah, but competitive with, in terms of, in terms of paying coaches. Right.

Okay. Yeah. Not on the field. Yeah, they're kind of competitive. It's better than it has been. But, yeah,

lots more to break down. My word. Lots more to break down, like said, in this whole conversation. And we'll continue to do so next year on one-on-one with D-P on 93-7 the ticket. Download our app.

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