Matt Ruhle took a struggling program at Baylor Football and returned them to power. Now, he will be asked to do that in Charlotte with the Panthers.
Obviously, Ruhle has accepted the position of head coach with Carolina. This report stems from Adam Schefter and others on Tuesday morning.
Former Baylor HC Matt Rhule is taking the Carolina Panthers’ HC job, as @PeteThamel reported. Rhule was supposed to interview today with the Giants; he didn’t make it there.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 7, 2020
Equally important, Ruhle never made his flight to New York to meet with the Giants. And it’s amazing what one great collegiate season can do for the stock of a head coach. As evidence to the turnaround that Ruhle oversaw at Baylor, let’s go back a step.
Baylor was 1-11 in Rhule’s first season in 2017 but went 11-3 this past season. The Panthers went 5-11 in 2019 and fired Ron Rivera. Carolina must decide what they will do with quarterback Cam Newton next.
Ruhle last coached in the NFL as the Giants’ offensive line coach in 2012. Notably, the 44-year-old coach said in December that he planned on returning to Baylor. However, something swooned him on the opportunity to coach in the NFL.
We will keep an ear to the ground and update the storyline on what the Panthers do with Newton at the quarterback position. Undeniably, that’s probably going to be left up to Ruhle.