Is There a Scenario Where Matt Rhule Is Fired After the 2025 Season? Plus, What’s Nebraska’s Ceiling and Floor?
On this week’s I-80 LIVE, Josh Peterson and Jack Mitchell opened up the floor to their subscribers to ask them anything and everything about their careers, Husker sports, and more.
“He’s not staying if he goes 4-8”
Josh: “How bad would Nebraska’s record have to be for the Huskers to move on from Matt Rule at the end of the season? Or does the Huskers floor this season include a result like that?” We’re only doing this, people, because JB asked us the question. Jack and I are not putting Matt Rhule on the hot seat. We are here to answer your questions.Jack: By the way, I hate firing coaches. I think it’s an interesting question. Dude, [Mike’l] Severe and I got in – not a fight or a debate – but he disagreed with me when I said there was a result where that could happen this year. He told me he doesn’t think it can. He doesn’t think that scenario exists in the world. That’s what Severe said to me.
Josh: I think I am in the, “he cannot get fired after 2025” [camp], no matter what. What’s your record?
Jack: He’s not staying if he goes 4-8.
Josh: No way! Yes he is. They’re not firing him if he goes 4-8.
Jack: Wow.
Josh: Why would they fire him?
Jack: Unless there was completely out of the ordinary that made a bunch of his players get the plague or something for half the season.
Josh: Dannen is going to fire him?
Jack: Or someone will fire Dannen.
Josh: Why would they fire Dannen? Dannen didn’t hire Rhule.
Jack: Listen, I don’t think you understand the depths of hell we would be [in]. You’ve been here before. How do you not know this? This state will not be tolerable for life if they are 4-8. Are you kidding me?
Josh: Yeah, I know. They’ve never done that before. The biggest reason that I would make this argument is because the athletic director, in my opinion, is not tied to the failure of him. And so, I guess maybe you make an argument that’s why he would fire him. But normally the AD gets canned first. They’re not going to fire Dannen because Dannen had nothing to do with the Rhule’s hiring.
It would be all hands on deck, 2026, [poop] or get off the pot. But there’s no way, there’s no way that he would be fired if they were 4-8. Absolutely no way. It’s too expensive! They couldn’t do that. Plus, rev share. Jack, it’s too much money. Maybe if he went 2-10, but I really think that there’s nothing that could happen. I really believe that, man.
Jack: That’s wild because there were people who wanted him fired last year.
Josh: I know but people wanting him fired versus actually firing the guy is an entirely different situation.
Jack: Yeah but at some point that starts to matter right? At some point that starts to matter and then there are people who have influence besides the athletic director who matter. Let yourself imagine that life actually playing out and then come back to me with that one.
And here’s the thing that’s hard for Josh: He hates firing coaches and he doesn’t even like to think about what that would be like. And so, it’s hard for him and he’s got a big heart. So, I mean, give him that. Okay. It’s not the worst reason to be weirdly wrong on a question because of a big heart.
Josh: [Subscriber] Royals Girl says, “I think you’re right, Josh. It’s the reality of where we are right now and how far we’ve fallen.” That’s a huge part in it. And Dannen. The Dannen piece to this cannot be ignored and just how he is. He in a way is absolved of the Rhule hire, but then he would be judged by what would happen going into 2026.
What’s Nebraska’s ceiling and floor in 2025?
Josh: What is the floor? Six, five, probably five. They started 5-3 and 5-1 the last year. I would say the very least it’s five.
Jack: I will not go lower than five. I’m between five and six. Probably leaning six.
Josh: Yeah, you’re like a 5.5 where you round up?
Jack: Yeah, I’m probably at six.
Josh: If we would have said what the floor was a couple of years ago, we probably would have said the floor was like four or five and we were right. And last year, think I was at six
Jack: I guarantee I said last year the floor was four or five.
Josh: I actually think that we have been very fair on this question.
Jack: Yeah, we do this every year and we’re GD right once again. Probably will be again. Well, I guess I wasn’t right. The floor should have been higher.
Josh: I did say in 2021, I said in the preseason, Jack, if they lost Illinois, there was a world where they went 3-9 and they ended up going 3-9. They ended up going 3-9.
Jordan says, what’s the ceiling? Is it 10 or is it nine? What’s the ceiling, Jack? Jack’s gonna say 11. Say it! Say it! Say 11.
Jack: It’s 11.
Josh: Mine’s nine. Mainly it’s a combination of dumb [stuff].
Jack: I was gonna say I probably need to put in the Jack multiplier and that the Jack positivity multiplier in it and make it ten, which I need to do with everything.
Josh: No, this is not a bit. This is Jack Mitchell, baby. This is what he does. This is what Jack Mitchell does! The floor’s five, ceiling’s nine.
Jack: What is happening? Do people not understand what we’re talking about? What’s my ceiling for a good year? I could weigh 170 after if I really ate my vegetables and worked out a lot. Is this gonna happen? Probably not, but it could if everything goes well.
Josh: Jack’s weight ceiling. I didn’t think that would come up on the show.
Jack: It’s actually weight floor, but you know what I mean? I feel like I need to have an example to explain what floors and ceilings are to people.
Josh: “If Rhule retired unexpectedly tomorrow, would be a realistic top five list for Dannen? Imagine timing was not an issue, so don’t settle for an assistant, etc.” Rhule retires, Troy Dannen has the pick of the litter, as he would say. What’s his top five, Jack?
Jack: Oh, man.
Josh: This is a really hard question. I have one name that came to my mind immediately when I read this earlier today, that I feel is kind of the obvious one.Jack: It’s [Lance Leipold] from Kansas. That’s who it is.
Josh: Oh, that’s a good one. I feel like you and I can put together our top five together because of that. That’s a great pick.
Jack: Leipold and Klieman are probably both on that list.
Josh: See, [subscriber] Bruce mentions Matt Campbell. That was the person that came to my mind first.
Jack: Campbell, maybe. I mean, I would want him to call [Bret Bielema], but I don’t know if he’d be on the list. Like, it kind of depends on what his connections would be, too.
Josh: Would there be a little southern twinge to it because of where he’s been in the past?
What about this: Kalen DeBoer, because he’s gotten fired by Alabama.
Jack: He didn’t hire him, right? Did he hire DeBoer?
Josh: No, because remember, he got to Washington and left in like two weeks or something like that. He left pretty fast after he got there.
Jack: So, he didn’t have like a relationship with DeBoer. Because, you just got me a teensy bit excited for a potential future scenario where a lot of things happen.
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