5 candidates to replace Matt Rhule as Baylor football head coach
After turning around the Baylor football program, Matt Rhule has left for the Carolina Panthers, and these candidates could end up as the Bears’ next coach.
For the third time in as many seasons as head coach at Baylor, Matt Rhule got interest from NFL teams. He made the jump on Tuesday morning, agreeing to a deal to become head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
Rhule took a Baylor program left in shambles by the scandal-ridden years of Art Briles and turned it around remarkably quickly. The Bears went 1-11 in his first season, as easily expected under the circumstances, then they jumped to seven wins and a bowl victory last year before making another jump to 11 wins and a Sugar Bowl berth this year.
So whoever takes over in Waco is inheriting a good situation. It felt inevitable Rhule would leave for the NFL, and he had a team meeting in the days before the Sugar Bowl to acknowledge the interest he was getting and he was presumably honest with players about the situation. So a transfer exodus seems unlikely, and Baylor is an appealing job again.
Here are five candidates to replace Rhule as the next football coach at Baylor.
5. Joey McGuire, Associate Head Coach/Interim Head Coach
McGuire joined Rhule at Baylor, spending the 2017 and 2018 seasons as tight ends coach before being elevated to associate head coach and moved to defensive ends coach for the 2019 season. In the wake of Rhule’s departure, McGuire was named interim head coach.
Sources tell me that AD Mack Rhoades contacted the team earlier today to inform them about Matt Rhule accepting the position of Head Coach with the Carolina Panthers. Joey McGuire will serve as interim head coach. Coach McGuire is expected to meet with the team on Sunday night.
— Niki Lattarulo (@NikiLattarulo) January 7, 2020
Before coming to Baylor, McGuire had a highly successful run as a high school coach in Texas. In 14 seasons at Cedar Hill High School, he won three state titles (including back-to-back in 2013 and 2014) and made four state title game appearances in total. He also won nine bi-district championships and seven district championships. Art Briles was also a legendary high school coach in Texas, but that’s where the comparison to McGuire ends.
In the name of continuity, McGuire or co-offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon are the top internal candidates for Baylor. And among the two, I’m giving McGuire the edge to become Rhule’s permanent replacement.