Matt Rhule: 'Don't Know What Future Will Hold, But I Love Temple'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- You can make the argument no coach in college football has done a better job than Temple's Matt Rhule.
In an anomalous situation, the college football limelight was shining bright on Philadelphia Saturday night, as 7-0 Temple hosted 6-1 Notre Dame at Lincoln Financial Field. Impressively, Rhule's Owls answered the call, despite suffering a gritty 24-20 loss.
With just four games remaining on the schedule, Rhule, 40, will likely be a highly coveted commodity for big programs facing coaching vacancies at season's end. The former Penn State linebacker and State College, PA native, admits there is uncertainty surrounding his future.
"I couldn't want to be here more," Rhule told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Monday. "I'll tell you this, I'm not one of those guys who gives like those coaching answers. I told our kids, I don't make any promises. I don't know what the future is gonna hold. But I've been at Temple nine years. I love it. And I think we're gonna be even better in the next couple years.
Listen: Matt Rhule on the 94WIP Morning Show
"So it would take a special, special job to get me and my family to pick up and leave what we started here," he continued. "I think we can be great and I love living here. I mean where else can you be a top-25 coach, live in Philly? I mean I live right downtown. This is as good as it gets for me so I plan on being here for a long, long time and I hope they'll have me."
On Halloween night, Temple entered the game as 10-point underdogs and most didn't give them a chance against the No. 9 ranked Fighting Irish. While the Owls ultimately fell short, it was a signature moment for the program.
"You feel like you felt like when you're growing up and your girlfriend dumped," Rhule said. "You feel sick to your stomach, but you're also proud. I'm so proud of our players, I'm proud of Temple, the whole city. Everyone rallied around us. The [ESPN College] Game Day atmosphere was awesome and I think we showed like we belong."
ESPN broadcast their weekly College GameDay program live from Independence Mall on the morning ahead of the 8:00 p.m. ABC televised showdown in South Philly. For Temple, it was valuable publicity.
"It was basically an infomercial for us and for the university and for Philadelphia and college football," Rhule admitted. "So, we're trying to capitalize on it right now. There were probably over one hundred recruits there and I think they were blown away by the atmosphere."
Speaking of the atmosphere, Rhule---who was an assistant with the New York Giants in 2012---compared the Linc crowd to that of an Eagles-Giants game.
"The Eagles won at the end of the game [in 2012] and this felt like that," Rhule said. "It was unreal. And here's what was really important. I think a lot of people thought going in it would be a Notre Dame game---it was a Temple game. Notre Dame showed up well, they have great fans, but Temple's fans and Temple's students were awesome."
