Since Penn State decided to fire coach James Franklin on Sunday, Nebraska's Matt Rhule has been rumored as a potential candidate to take over the Nittany Lions. Rhule is currently leading an up-and-coming Huskers program, but with his ties and history to Penn State, Rhule was quickly viewed as an option for the job.

Rhule, however, has continued to express his love for Nebraska as these rumors started to swirl. On Monday, he said, "I’m not going to talk a lot about job openings when they come. ... I’m not going to talk about my contract here. I'm gonna talk about the team. I absolutely love it here. I want to continue to take the steps needed to turn this thing into a beast."

While Rhule's comments Monday certainly expressed his love for Nebraska, they also didn't shut down the idea of him leaving for his alma mater. During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show Thursday, Rhule made his dedication to Nebraska appear much clearer.

"I'm going all in on this place," Rhule told McAfee. "We can make this whatever we want."

"This is part of it. It's better than when I was in Carolina and they were chanting to fire me. Having other schools be interested in you is pretty cool, but I don't do that during the season," Rhule added. "I don't mess around with that. I don't play that. At the same time, this is not a jumping off job. This is a destination job. This is one of the greatest places in the world. ... I have a great young team, the youngest team in the Big Ten. Think about how good we'll be next year. Now I'm not thinking about next year. ... Think about where we're going to go with Dylan and all these guys. I refuse to be distracted."

Rhule noted that during previous head coaching stints at Temple and Baylor, right when he had built up the culture and started experiencing success, he left for another program. By staying at Nebraska, he sees the opportunity to continue building up the football team into a contender instead of starting over again somewhere new.

"I love [Penn State AD] Pat Kraft and they'll find the right coach for them, whoever that is," Rhule said.

While Rhule technically hasn't shut the door on Penn State completely, he does seem committed to Nebraska going forward.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Matt Rhule Doubles Down on Loyalty to Nebraska Amid Penn State Rumors.