Temple University Athletics
Golden Promotes Matt Rhule & Andrew Dees
1.27.08 | Football
Jan. 27, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Temple head football coach Al Golden announced the promotion of two members of his staff on Sunday. Matt Rhule has been named the offensive coordinator, while Andrew Dees is now in charge of the offensive line.
Rhule replaces George DeLeone, who resigned his position after guiding the Owl offense for two seasons. In his expanded role, Rhule will continue as the quarterbacks coach.
"When the offensive coordinator position became available last night, I already knew who was the best coach for the job," Golden said. "Matt Rhule has worked hard in his career for this opportunity and is ready to lead Owl Offense as we pursue our goal of winning a MAC Championship. Coach Rhule has been an assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, special teams coordinator and a recruiting coordinator throughout his career and has excelled at all of those challenges. We are thrilled for Matt, his family and the Temple football program."
Rhule, who played four seasons at Penn State and has nine seasons of collegiate coaching experience, arrived in Owl Country after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Western Carolina, including three as assistant head coach. He played four seasons at linebacker with the Nittany Lions under Joe Paterno. A three-time Penn State Scholar-Athlete, he earned Academic All-Big 10 honors in 1997.
Rhule received his undergraduate degree in political science before earning his master's degree in educational psychology from Buffalo in 2003. He is and his wife Julie have a son, Bryant.
"Matt Rhule has a tremendous overall conceptual knowledge of football," DeLeone said. "He can continue and exceed the foundation that has been laid in the prior two years on the offensive side of the ball. Most importantly, the continuity of Temple's offensive system can be maintained for the players."
Dees moves to the offensive line after spending two years as the tight ends/offensive guards coach.
"Coach Dees is the consummate professional," Golden said. "Last year he served as our tight ends and offensive tackles coach and did a tremendous job. This is a fantastic move for our football program and especially our offensive linemen as the system and techniques will remain intact. In addition, Andrew has a wonderful relationship with his players which is evident in their growth as young men and student-athletes. We are excited for Andrew and his family."
Dees, who played two seasons in the NFL and has 11 years of coaching experience, spent five seasons as tight ends coach at Buffalo before his arrival in Owl Country. Dees was a three-year starter at Syracuse from 1988-91, helping the Orangemen four straight bowl appearances. He was named a Preseason All-American by The Sporting News in 1990. After graduation, he spent the 1992 season with the Cincinnati Bengals and the 1993 campaign with the Seattle Seahawks.
Dees earned his bachelor's degree in child and family studies from Syracuse in 1992. He and wife Kimberly have a son, Drew, and a daughter, Kara.
"Andrew Dees has been raised in a system of offensive line play both as a player at Syracuse and as a coach that is proven to be successful in the highest level of Division I football," DeLeone said. "Without question, he is the right choice to move Temple offensive line to championship level play."
