I don't know who any of these people are other than KING Garrett

HuskerGarrett said:

I saw them there this morning. They seemed kinda douchey

Click to expand...

I get swagfag vibes from the pictures of them

‘An unfiltered look’: Why Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has leaned into podcasting​

By Mitch Sherman
Oct. 9, 2025

LINCOLN, Neb. — Five seconds into his debut episode as a podcast host, Matt Rhule asked the question that skeptics and believers alike in his audience wanted most to know.

“Why are we doing this?”

Credit the third-year Nebraska football coach for staying true to a chief tenet in journalism. He didn’t bury the lead.

Rhule explained that he wanted to take fans behind the curtain to meet his players and provide a view of the inner workings of a Big Ten program. He said he wanted to boost the Nebraska profile for potential recruits who could build the Huskers back as a national power.

“Instead of hiding,” he said in a September episode, “let’s get out front. (Nebraska) is a great place. And I just want to make sure the world sees it.”

His interviews with players pad their NIL earnings. The podcast has allowed Rhule to continue a journey of personal growth at age 50 that began in the offseason this year.

Mostly, though, it’s about staying ahead of the curve in college football. If you’re not adapting as a coach, you’re falling behind in everything from scheme to the delegation of responsibilities to public relations. In addition to the podcast, a weekly endeavor called “House Rhules” that he plans to record year-round, Rhule appears every Thursday during the football season on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN.

As other coaches commit to secrecy, Rhule promotes transparency. His relatability serves as a separator. Why not take advantage? By putting himself out there, Rhule is looking for an edge to ultimately help the Huskers win games.

“Anything that can show his personality and natural interest in having discussions is a great avenue for him,” said Philadelphia media personality Anthony Gargano, the podcast co-host. “It’s a valuable tool when it comes to recruiting, when it comes to showing parents, ‘Hey, this is what Nebraska is about. This is what I’m about.’ It’s an unfiltered look.”

Rhule’s agency, Athletes First, directs production of the podcast. In seven episodes, Rhule has interviewed author Jon Gordon, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire.

Is it a risk? Sure.

Rhule taped an episode on the Monday after Nebraska lost 30-27 against Michigan last month. Some observers might conclude that Rhule hosts a podcast better than he coaches on game day.


“There’s an optics thing into this,” Rhule said in a September episode while chatting with former NFL linebacker Will Compton, a Nebraska grad and himself a popular podcaster. “You lose one game, and they’ll all be like, ‘Well shouldn’t he just be coaching football?’ But I know, you know, this is the world I’m in now.”

The mother of a recruit who recently committed to Nebraska told Rhule that she pays attention to every moment of his on-camera or behind a microphone.



“They want to see the raw,” he said. “They want to see the uncut.”

Rhule uncut looks unlike what you’re accustomed to hearing from any other power-conference coach.

“I’ve been hired and fired in my life,” Rhule said. “I’ve been through a lot of things. And one thing I know is I’m not afraid to speak the truth, be authentic and just be who I am.”

Prompted by Gargano, Rhule has chimed in on Bill Belichick’s rocky start at North Carolina and the firing of DeShaun Foster at UCLA. Rhule coaxed a score prediction ahead of the Michigan-Nebraska game from Portnoy.

And he won’t hold back from offering hot takes.

“If you spend $40 million on your roster, you better be in the Playoff,” he said in a recent episode.

In a conversation on Rhule’s podcast with Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman of On3 Sports, Rhule talked of how he received a text from ESPN reporter Adam Schefter the morning that Rhule was set to lose his job with the Carolina Panthers in 2022. Schefter wanted to know if Rhule had been fired yet.

Gargano said he knew Rhule would fit well in this medium. They met after Rhule took charge at Temple in 2013. Gargano hosted a morning radio show, and his station held a contract with Temple, Gargano’s alma mater. So he was asked to bring Rhule onto the morning show.

“The audience in Philadelphia was not about Temple football,” Gargano said. “It’s a pro town. But he was great, because he just talked about sports. He’s such a great, normal dude. He was so not the buttoned-up coach.”

Outside of their scheduled interviews, Gargano asked Rhule to co-host a Thursday show that they called the “Meat Locker,” featuring former Eagles Brian Baldinger and Vai Sikahema.

“I would pick him up on the way to work,” Gargano said. “He lived right in the city. He’d be sitting on the step out in front of his house at 4:30 in the morning, reading the paper. And then we’d do the show. It was awesome, great discourse.”

Gargano also hosts a Fox Sports Radio program on Saturday mornings. Rhule joined that, too, as an occasional co-host. They talked about fatherhood, food and sports.

“He was this guy who loves football who’s a coach,” Gargano said. “Three-dimensional. You could get close to him.”

Rhule’s everyman qualities enabled him, as a native New Yorker, to transition easily from Temple to Baylor in 2017. There, he hired McGuire from Cedar Hill High School. Six years later, Texas Tech took McGuire from Baylor. His fourth team in Lubbock is ranked ninth this week in the AP Top 25.

McGuire credits Rhule with opening his eyes to the importance of communicating innovatively.

The Tech coach also records a weekly podcast.

“Where (Rhule) is so different,” McGuire said, “is that he does a great job of defining the message, putting it into words and putting it on a wall. He’s one of the best speakers I’ve been around. He thinks two or three steps ahead of a lot of people.”

Rhule’s banking that his double down on exposure is just that — a tactic to get a step ahead of his competitors.

And if it’s not?

“I got nothing to lose,” Rhule said. “This is my fourth heading coaching job. When the time comes, I’m going to go back to Cape May, sell flip flops and sit on the beach. So I don’t have to be politically correct in terms of saying what people want me to (say) about football.

“I can speak the truth, because that’s how we move the game forward.”

dom91932 said:

“They want to see the raw,” he said. “They want to see the uncut.”

Click to expand...

Federal anti-semitism investigation of UNL coming in 3...2...1...