Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule told reporters Monday that a fan verbally confronted his 13-year-old daughter after the Cornhuskers’ 17-10 loss to Washington on Saturday, an incident he said pushed him to consider whether he could keep coaching in Lincoln.
“I love our fans, but a guy walked up to my 13-year-old daughter and was like, ‘F you and F your dad,'” Rhule said during his weekly press conference. “I’m not going to keep coaching if it means my kids grow up screwed up. You know, I’m not going to [keep] coaching and see my daughter shook.”
Rhule said he understands that frustrated fans boo and even throw objects when a team struggles, as some did at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night after Nebraska blew a fourth-quarter lead. But he drew a distinction between that kind of frustration and a fan directly cursing at his child.
“Yeah, [the fans] get passionate, they boo, they throw a bottle. I get all that,” Rhule said. “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 clarified he has no plans to leave the program. He said his wife, Julie, asked their daughters whether the public criticism of their father had become too much for them to handle. Their 10-year-old daughter later sent him a text urging him to stay.
“She was like: ‘Dad, I love Nebraska. I love living in Nebraska. I love Nebraska football. I love the players. I’m tough. This is just teaching me life lessons. Please don’t quit.'”
The loss to Washington was Nebraska’s third straight and dropped the Cornhuskers to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play. Rhule is in his fourth season leading the program and holds a 24-22 overall record at Nebraska. He previously served as head coach at Temple and Baylor before spending time in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers.
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