Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
2 4 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State's decision to move on from head coach James Franklin after 12 seasons in Happy Valley came down on Oct. 12, after a third con- secutive loss dropped the Nittany Lions to 3-3 on the season. Now, athletics di- rector Patrick Kraft is faced with one of the biggest decisions of his career. "Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin, who rebuilt our football program into a national power," Kraft said in a news release. "He won a Big Ten champion- ship, led us to seven New Year's Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. "However, we hold our athletics pro- grams to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our foot- ball program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships." Penn State now embarks on its fourth head coaching search since 1966. Who could take over for Franklin? The list below has some obvious names, as well as some up-and-comers. With Kraft's search only just beginning, this is a very preliminary roundup. The prospective names are shown in alphabetical order within each category. Power Four Head Coaches MATT CAMPBELL Iowa State head coach 2025 salary: $5 million (per USA Today) Frequently mentioned when a high-profile coaching job becomes available, Campbell has so far been happy to stay in Ames. He's been at Iowa State since 2016, having com- piled a 69-53 record with the Cyclones. Be- fore that, he was the head coach at Toledo. Originally from Ohio, Campbell has long been looked at as a guy who was waiting for the right job. Penn State would be on the short list, from what we've been told. CURT CIGNETTI Indiana head coach 2025 salary: $8.3 million The 2024 Coach of the Year at the FBS level, Cignetti has elevated Indiana from Big Ten af- terthought to legitimate national champion- ship contender in two seasons. The Hoosiers are currently No. 3 in the AP poll. Prior to his stop in Bloomington, where he is 17-2 with a College Football Playoff experi- ence, the 64-year-old was the head coach at James Madison and Elon. Before that, he was at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 2011-16 and was the recruiting coordinator and receivers coach under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2007-10, where he was part of the Crimson Tide's 2009 national champion- ship team. He's a Pittsburgh native who played his col- lege ball at West Virginia. MANNY DIAZ Duke head coach 2025 salary: Unlisted, reported $4 million Diaz moved on from Penn State to Duke after a successful run as the Nittany Lions' defensive coordinator in 2022 and '23. He is 13-6 and currently in his second year at Duke. Diaz came to Penn State as a reclamation project following a rough stint as the head coach at Miami from 2019-21, where he was 21-15. He was well-liked during his time in Happy Valley, but he's also found his groove with the Blue Devils. He'll likely get a call, but it would be surprising to see things go much further. KENNY DILLINGHAM Arizona State head coach 2025 salary: $7.4 million As far as hot young names go, Dillingham has done a lot right since taking over an Ari- zona State program that was in bad shape. He led the Sun Devils to a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance in 2024 and has an 18-14 record since returning to his alma mater in 2023. Before that, Dillingham was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Oregon, Florida State, Auburn and Memphis. He's been on quite a run and was the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2024. PENN STATE'S HOT BOARD In the search for James Franklin's successor, these are the names to know S E A N F I T Z | S E A N . F I T Z @ O N 3 . C O M Manny Diaz was Penn State's defensive coordinator in 2022 and '23 before leaving to become head coach at Duke. He was 13-6 with the Blue Devils prior to their game against Georgia Tech on Oct. 18. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE