Following seven largely mediocre seasons under former head coaches Al Golden and Steve Addazio and nearly two decades without winning football prior to that, Temple decided to take a chance on a young coaching candidate in the hopes that he would be able to get the program turned around and eventually competing for championships.
After just three seasons, it looks like current head coach Matt Rhule was the right man for the job.
Things did not go well at first, as the team finished with a 2-10 record in Rhule’s inaugural season as the head man on North Broad Street. To his credit, however, Rhule stayed true to himself and his coaching style, never doubting that the Owls would soon blossom into a force to be reckoned with.
In 2014, the team got off to a similarly bad start. After a lackluster 0-6 beginning to his sophomore campaign, Rhule challenged his players to remain tough and finish out games. The Owls responded, allowing less than 25 fourth quarter points that season and finishing 6-0 the rest of the way. Temple also ended the season with nearly 400 yards per game on offense, the second-best mark in Temple history.
“Matt has the program heading in the right direction, especially as we enter a very promising season on the gridiron, and we are confident that he is the right person to take the program to even greater heights,” Temple’s Director of Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft told media members following a four-year contract extension prior to the 2015 season.
Kraft’s vision was confirmed as Rhule guided the Owls to a remarkable 10-4 season last year, due in large part to a much-improved defense that struck fear in the hearts of opposing offensive coordinators.
The team beat Rhule’s alma mater Penn State University for the first time in 73 years and was ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in 36 years on its way to an appearance in the AAC Championship Game.
Why the sudden change under Rhule?
He truly believes in this program – he bleeds red and white. His ability to sell prospective recruits on coming to his school is among the best in the AAC, aided by the fact that he spent a year as an assistant coach for the New York Giants.
The former Nittany Lions linebacker holds his team accountable for its actions and has the guys on the roster believing in themselves and their abilities. Rhule has brought a fiery competitiveness to Philadelphia and instills a mental and physical toughness in his players that has effectively shifted the balance of power in the AAC in just three short years.
And despite losing several key leaders on both sides of the ball this offseason, Rhule’s stamp on this team will shine through and he will have the Owls playing at a high level again in 2016.
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