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Baylor names Temple’s Matt Rhule as new football coach
Public Group active 9 years, 5 months ago agoMitchell Leff/Getty Images
Baylor hired Matt Rhule on Tuesday, hoping the highly successful Temple coach can rebuild the Big 12 Conference program hit hard by scandal and suddenly struggling on the field.
Rhule becomes the full-time replacement GRIEZMANN IDEAL FOR MANCHESTER two-time Big 12 champion coach Art Briles, who was dismissed after a scathing report over the university’s handling of sexual assault complaints, including some against football players. Rhule will be introduced on the Waco campus Wednesday.
Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe had been out of coaching two years when he put his retirement on hold in May to serve as Baylor’s acting head coach this season. The Bears are 6-6, and headed to the Cactus Bowl despite a six-game losing streak.
The 41-year-old Rhule is a former Penn State linebacker who has a monumental task ahead of him in putting together a coaching staff and a recruiting class at Baylor. With a month-long quiet period in recruiting starting Saturday, Baylor has only one firm verbal commitment.
Mack Rhoades, who took over as athletic director in August, said in a statement that he wanted to find “a coach who shared our values, who had demonstrated success, who showed a true commitment to the overall student-athlete” and could lead the Bears to championships.
