The Carolina Panthers fired Matt Rhule Monday morning and within minutes the former head coach was already being linked with a return to the college ranks. It didn't take long for speculation of a potential move to Nebraska to arise regarding Rhule, who could serve as the replacement for Scott Frost with the hopes of turning the program around. After news broke of Rhule's ousting in Carolina, people on Twitter immediately began speculating that the 47-year-old could be headed to Lincoln to join the Cornhuskers.

The links certainly make sense. Prior to his disastrous stint in the NFL with the Panthers, Rhule was a dominant head coach at Baylor. Like many college coaches before him, after things didn't pan out in the NFL, a move back down to college coaching could be on the cards.

Some seem to think it's as good as a done deal already, despite the freshness of Rhule's change in employment status.

Could Rhule really be ready to join the Cornhuskers so quickly after his stint with the Panthers came to a crashing end?

While Rhule likely won't be on the sidelines for Nebraska this year, as Mickey Joseph is handling interim head coaching duties, some within the media, including Zac Jackson, expect him to be with the program as early as December.

Nebraska wasn't the only team linked to Rhule, as various other college teams are in need of a head coach. Still, seems more than likely that the Cornhuskers will be at the forefront of Rhule's market for next season.

Rhule was fired five games into his third season as the Panthers' head coach. He amassed an 11-27 record (.287 win percentage) and never recorded more than five wins in a single season. As a college head coach, Rhule helped turn around a Baylor program that went 1-11 in his first season. By the time he left, they had back-to-back winning seasons and a bowl win. Prior to that he helped turn around the program at Temple. Given his history of acquiring a sticky situation and helping right the ship, Nebraska could truly be the perfect fit for Matt Rhule.