For the first time in over six months, I woke up optimistic about the future of Baylor football. The days since Art Briles’ firing in May have been filled with pessimism, uncertainty and a barely watchable product on the field.
Baylor’s hiring of Temple’s Matt Rhule as their new head coach means that this bleeding has finally stopped, and the program can finally begin to climb out of this valley.
The announcement came as a bit of a surprise to many, myself included. Rhule was a bit of a dark-horse in Baylor’s coaching search as several more prominent names like Tom Herman, Les Miles, Chad Morris, P.J. Fleck, Larry Fedora and even Mike Gundy were floated out as possible replacements.
One of the most staggering things about this hiring is the fact that Rhule reportedly turned down Oregon to take the job at Baylor. It is telling that two of the most prolific offensive programs in the country over the past several years were both vying for Rhule’s services, especially given his propensity for the ground-and-pound offense.
Even though he may not have been my first choice (I was in the weird minority faction of Baylor fans who wanted Les Miles), I think Rhule is an outstanding hire. He took Temple from 2-10 to 10-4 in just two years. The Temple team he inherited was vastly inferior to Baylor’s current roster from a talent standpoint, and he was able to turn it around almost immediately.
The task Rhule faces in rebuilding this football program and, more importantly, repairing Baylor’s national reputation is daunting, to say the least. He will need to get to work quickly as Baylor currently has all of one commitment for the class of 2017.
A task this large will certainly not be accomplished overnight, but nothing worth doing ever is. Many coaches would have run as far away from this job as possible. Matt Rhule didn’t.
Baylor’s road to recovery has officially begun, and one man has finally given Baylor nation a reason to be hopeful about the future. His name is Matt Rhule, and I am proud to have him as our coach.