Penn State‘s head coaching job will be the hottest vacancy in college football this offseason. With the resources and reputation the Nittany Lions have, whoever is hired will be expected to win-now in Happy Valley.
Ahead of the Week 9 slate, ESPN’s College GameDay went around the table to discuss who should take over James Franklin’s old position. Kirk Hersbtreit, Pat McAfee and more all threw names into the hat for who might be the right fit at Penn State.
“Matt Rhule’s the obvious consideration,” Herbstreit said. “If I had a wild card, I’d throw Matt Campbell from Iowa State if I had a wish list, but he’d be a great fit.”
Penn State is Rhule’s alma mater, but the current Nebraska head coach has pushed back on his interest in coaching the Nittany Lions. He said his focus is on his current team and labeled Nebraksa as a “destination job.”
Matt Campbell has been the head coach at Iowa State since 2016. He was one win away from leading the Cyclones to the College Football Playoff after losing to Arizona State in last season’s Big 12 Championship game.
GameDay’s Desmond Howard had another name in mind: Manny Diaz. The current Duke head coach was the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2022-2023. Howard said that it’s a plus to hire someone who knows what Penn State is about culturally, as well as operationally.
Pat McAfee threw a couple of names into the hat. One would perhaps be the most controversial of all. The other — longtime Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
“Don’t be scared about Jon Gruden maybe taking a job,” McAfee said. “On that note, when you talk about GOATs, (Nick Saban’s) name has been mentioned a lot, and certainly on the internet with the funds Penn State has.”
McAfee asked Saban’s wife, affectionately known as Miss Terry, said that her husband wouldn’t take the job even if they offered him $50 million per year. She said it would take away from all of Saban’s ‘baby coaches,’ meaning those who coached under her husband during his time as a head coach. That list includes some of the who’s-who in the coaching industry like Kirby Smart, Dan Lanning, Curt Cignetti and much, much more.
Rece Davis was the only College GameDay host that didn’t provide a prediction for the next Penn State coach. Though, he has agreed in the past that Matt Rhule is a strong candidate based on his history with the university.
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