Baylor has its man. The Bears announced Tuesday afternoon that they have hired Temple's Matt Rhule as their new coach.
Rhule will replace Art Briles, who went 32-7 in his last three seasons at Baylor but was fired before the start of the season following an extensive sexual assault investigation into the program. Jim Grobe served as acting coach in 2016. Per ESPN, Rhule will be given a seven-year deal.
Earlier Tuesday, CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd reported that there had been "zero contact" between Baylor and Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson, who was previously linked to the Baylor job on Monday night.
Ashley Hodge of Baylor 365 and Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports first reported that Rhule had agreed to join Baylor. Ed Foley, Temple's assistant head coach and tight ends coach, will be the Owls' interim coach, per ESPN. An announcement from Temple is coming later Tuesday afternoon.
Rhule is 28-23 in fours seasons at Temple but continuously improved the program year-by-year. The Owls enjoyed consecutive 10-win seasons in 2015 and 2016, winning the American Athletic Conference title in a dominant victory over Navy on Saturday.
"We could not be more excited to welcome Matt, Julie and their children to the Baylor Family," athletic director Mack Rhoades said in a statement. "When we set out on our search for a new leader of our football program, we wanted a coach who shared our values, who had demonstrated success, who showed a true commitment to the overall student-athlete and who we believed could lead Baylor to a national championship. We found all of that and more in Matt and I know that he will be a perfect fit with the Baylor Family."
Rhule was connected to the Missouri job last season before the Tigers hired Barry Odom. Rhoades was Mizzou's AD at the time.
"I am truly honored and humbled to join the Baylor Family," Rhule said, "and I can't thank President [David] Garland and Mack Rhoades enough for this incredible opportunity. Baylor is a tremendous institution with a history of football success and I know the passion that so many have for the Bears will help bring the community together to reach even greater heights. I am excited to get started."
Baylor is a program in need of a rebuild. Not only are the Bears trying to move on from the Briles era and the devastating sexual assault scandal, but the football team lost its final six games to end the season. Recruiting is a major point of focus for Rhule as well, as the Bears have just one verbal commitment for the 2017 class with National Signing Day coming up in February.
The marriage between Baylor and Rhule will be an interesting one. As far as breaking all ties to Briles and his coaching tree, which was absolutely necessary, hiring Rhule accomplishes that much. However, Rhule does not have experience recruiting Texas and will undoubtedly need to fill his staff with assistant coaches who have such connections.
Unless Rhule and his new staff can put together a monumental recruiting run, the Bears will likely be shorthanded on scholarship players for the 2017 season. Building the roster back up to 85 scholarship players will take time. If Rhule is smart, he'll get it in writing that his job status isn't even a talking point for the first four years or so.
