"I'm so happy," Owls senior running back Matt Brown said of the Rhule hiring.
"I'm happy for Coach Rhule," said Derek Dennis, a former Temple offensive lineman and now a practice-squad player with the Chicago Bears. "This is a great opportunity for him."
Rhule, 37, replaces Steve Addazio, who left Dec. 4 for Boston College.
Rhule was the co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Temple before joining the Giants in March. He had various coaching positions during his six seasons as an Owls assistant, five of which he served under former head coach Al Golden.
He interviewed for Temple's job in 2010, when Addazio won the coaching position vacated by Golden, who left for Miami.
A former Penn State linebacker, Rhule began his career as the linebackers coach at Albright in 1998. He spent the next two seasons at Buffalo before coaching at UCLA in 2001. Rhule then held various coaching positions during four seasons at Western Carolina before joining Temple in 2006.
Note. Jihad Thomas, a senior tailback at New Jersey's Elizabeth High, joined teammate and Owls commit P.J. Walker on this past weekend's official visit to Temple. The Owls are high on Thomas.
Contact Keith Pompey at kpompey@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @pompeysgridlock.
