Matt Ruhle spoke for another 10 minutes off to the side with reporters – and there were some interesting kernels in there.
– Rhule's family actually flew in one gameday weekend this fall and then drove around Lincoln. "I can't believe nobody found out," he said. He and his wife, Julie, looked around and asked, "Could we raise our kids here?" The answer was shared. "Absolutely."
Rhule said he could see it in his wife's eyes. "This is where I want our family to come."
He didn't want to say which gameday it was.
"We were able to fly in and everyone was at the game." Then Rhule and his wife got away for awhile. "We didn't want any decision we made to be a decision of emotion."
– There was a time Rhule didn't think the deal would get done. There were a lot of things to work through, and he had a unique contract with the Carolina Panthers that produced some challenges.
"I would say I've never gone into a job with a closer relationship with someone than I have with Trev because we've gone through all these hard conversations. This hasn't just been like, 'Hey, we want you to be the coach.' 'Yeah, great.' We've had to have these honest conversations and what I've found is Trev is really creative. He's not going to just take the first 'No.' He's going to find a way around things."
Rhule also reiterated his respect for NU President Ted Carter Jr. The family has known him for several years. Having Carter and Alberts involved just made the Rhule family feel better.
"We're coming to work for people that are problem solvers. Not just, 'No, we couldn't get it done.'"
– Alberts said he thought the deal was done 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving. Rhule didn't think it was done for sure until Friday. He said the night before that – Wednesday perhaps – he didn't think it was going to happen.
"My son was not happy. My wife was not happy. When we finally got the call, I told my wife – she cried, she teared up ...." He'd promised his daughter who loves horses he'd find her a horse farm to ride. Stuff like that. And now all seemed to be gone for a bit. "My wife all along just kept saying, it wasn't about anything than this is the right fit. She said, 'Matt, I know you and this is the kind of program you're supposed to be coaching.' There are other places that we knew weren't a fit.' She just kind of teared it (when it looked bleak). Because this is a great new chapter in our lives."
– He said if you check his son's YouTube history, they've watched everything about the Huskers. "I mean everything."
"I think I could see my son getting excited, I could see my wife getting excited. I kept watching all the recruits the last three years that went on to other places.' I kept saying, 'Hey, can we get talent there?' I talked to different people. But in the end it just was a gut feeling."
– Rhule has talked to Casey Thompson . He said he wants to keep those conversations private.
But he understands this is an anxious time for players. "You start with listening," he said. He just wants to share his vision. "And if it's for you, great. If it's not for you, I understand. I want every student-athlete in our program to be happy ..."
A lot of one-on-one conversations are ahead.
"I want to make sure I get the pulse of the team."
– When Rhule thought it wasn't going to happen at one point, "I remember sitting on the couch and being like, 'Damn.' Pardon my language. But 'Damn, that was the right place for me and it just kind of didn't work out.' And I think that's a great thing. ... I had a moment where I didn't think it was going to work out, and that's no fault of Trev's and no fault of our own, it just wasn't going to be able to happen.
"And I sat there and I was like, really disappointed. So when they called back and said, 'Hey, let's try something else. I knew this is where I was supposed to be.'"
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