Nebraska coach Matt Rhule called for steadiness from the fan base on Monday as he claimed a fan accosted his teenage daughter.
“A guy walked up to my 13-year-old daughter and was like, ‘F-U and F your dad,'” Rhule said. “I’m not going to keep coaching if it means my kids grow up screwed up. I’m not going to see my daughter shook.”
The incident allegedly occurred following Nebraska’s 17-10 home loss to Washington on Saturday night.
The Cornhuskers held a 7-3 lead through the two-minute timeout before the Huskies completed a fourth-and-18 prayer, leading to a go-ahead touchdown.
Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea threw a pick-six 15 seconds later to essentially seal the victory for Washington. Fans threw trash onto the field following the interception.
Rhule, 51, is in his fourth season with the Cornhuskers, a tenure marked by frustrating losses despite an overall winning record (24-22). Nebraska is 5-3 (2-3 Big Ten) this season after starting the season 5-0. The Cornhuskers held a fourth-quarter lead in all three losses.
“You get to these moments and the water is rocky, the ocean is rocky,” Rhule said. “Just steady in the boat, man. Steady in the boat. Don’t take a rocking boat and a rocking sea and rock it even more, man. You can’t control what’s outside the boat.”
Rhule was a successful college coach previously at Temple and Baylor; the Bears shared the Big 12 regular-season championship with Oklahoma in 2019. That led to his hiring by the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in 2020. The Panthers fired Rhule midway through the 2022 season.
Frustration appeared to boil over for Rhule on Monday in the wake of his daughter’s reported incident.
“Yeah, (the fans) get passionate, they boo, they throw a bottle. I get all that,” he said. “The guy who attacked my 13-year-old daughter, I’m not coaching for him. I’m coaching for the people who are in the boat.
“I said to my daughter, ‘If daddy’s gotta retire, if I have to retire because I don’t want you guys growing up in that environment…'”
Rhule added that offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen’s job is safe and clarified his retirement intentions.
“We’re going to keep fighting until the day they tell me to leave,” he said. “I’m not leaving, I’m not quitting.”