Rhule, 47, was less than three seasons into his seven-year, $62 million deal with the Panthers when he was fired after a 1-4 start to this season. Overall, he was 11-27 with Carolina, and the team went 1-27 when allowing 17 or more points.
He was still owed more than $40 million when he was fired by the Panthers.
Despite being financially stable, Rhule said he had two reasons for getting back into coaching.
“Being away from it, the more you miss the players, the more you miss the locker room and coaching,” Rhule said. “And then this is Nebraska. This is a team that I grew up not just watching; this is a team that I grew up revering.”
Rhule had a reputation for turning programs around. In his third season at Temple, the Owls went 10-2 in the regular season. A year later, he led the program to its first conference championship since 1967.
At Baylor, just two years after going 1-11 in his first season for the Big 12 program, Rhule led the Bears to an 11-3 record in 2020.
Information from ESPN’s Chris Low and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
