After a lengthy search, Nebraska football has officially made a hire, as the program has agreed to a deal with ex-Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule to be their next head coach, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Rapoport reports that the deal has not officially been signed but that the two parties have come to an agreement.

Rhule was always seen as a potential candidate based on speculation, though it appears that the interest between the two sides was always real.

The ex-Panthers head coach, former NFL head coach and current Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien and Kansas head coach Lance Leipold were seen as some of the top candidates for the job after the team fired Scott Frost in September.

However, Rhule seemed to separate himself from the pack last week, as Mitch Sherman of The Athletic reported that the two sides were “in talks” about the Cornhuskers' head coach job.

The ex-Panthers head coach did not perform well at the professional level, as he accumulated an 11-27 record during his tenure in Carolina from 2020-2022.

But Nebraska football was clearly willing to look past that and remember the version of Matt Rhule who paced the sidelines for Temple and Baylor earlier in his coaching career.

That head coach compiled multiple double-digit win seasons while leading Temple to a conference championship win and Baylor to the Big 12 title game, as well as the Sugar Bowl.

The Cornhuskers Twitter account made the news official, as they posted a tweet introducing Rhule as their next head coach.

Nebraska football, who has endured six straight losing seasons, have made a program-changing hire in Matt Rhule.