Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541276
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 5 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 search for a new football head coach is well underway, even as the Nittany Lions have plunged into newfound depths of misery on the field. Determined to emerge from this year's difficulties with a better program, ath- letics director Patrick Kraft and his staff are working to identify who can lead it into the future. The best place to start in evaluating a college coaching search is with an un- derstanding of the landscape and how it has evolved. I'm calling it the four orbits — entities all moving independently of each other but impacting where the Nit- tany Lions eventually land. They are as follows: Penn State athletics: In search of its next head coach, emphasizing excellence and a distinct cultural fit. Other programs: Those employing Penn State's potential candidates, each managing its own circumstances with its own priorities. The candidates: Balancing profes- sional and personal considerations while reciprocating or declining Penn State's interest. The rest of college football: Pro- grams that may or may not have va- cancies and are either working to lock down their own coaches with lucrative long-term extensions or are considering making changes themselves to join the carousel. With Penn State's coaching search running parallel to similar efforts at several other major programs — Florida, Auburn and LSU, with more likely to come — the expectation is that many of the most hotly pursued names in the sport will soon have amended contracts in front of them, reflecting a volatile market and its new standard rates. Kraft's initial public statements fol- lowing James Franklin's dismissal provide a glimpse of where the Nittany Lions' sights are set. He said he believes that a new leader can help deliver the na- tional championship that he and PSU's fans so desperately want — and that the change in leadership was necessary to make that possible. Accordingly, the national search is one that seeks "excellence at the highest level." Having made "significant invest- ments" in the program, with a revitalized Beaver Stadium in progress, Kraft said that PSU's commitment requires the best possible leader moving forward. Penn State's initial pool of targets is believed to have included some of the game's biggest names and personalities: Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, Indi- ana's Curt Cignetti, Texas A&M's Mike Elko, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin and Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz. Other names that have been floated include former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald and current FOX analyst Urban Meyer, who won three national championships as a coach. From the outset, Penn State's big- swing candidates have largely been dis- missed in the public sphere as silly-sea- son fantasies. Some of the top names in college football right now have their cur- rent teams in contention for conference championships, playoff appearances, and possibly even the national title. Still, Penn State has seriously pursued the kind of elite leaders it seeks for the program moving forward. To this point, the Nittany Lions have kept the door open to those possibilities. Kraft has shown a penchant for seeking out — and actively helping to recruit — the best prospects in any sport, so this approach tracks with his motivations behind the search. It's a pitch to bring in coaches he believes match the identity of Penn State football and are capable of leading it to new heights. Even under the most optimistic cir- cumstances — with reciprocated interest and mutual desire — there are tim- ing considerations in play. Scoreboard watching is very much part of the equa- tion in the final weeks of college foot- ball's regular season. So, too, is contract watching. Cignetti's extension at Indiana repre- sented the first major movement of the cycle. Matt Rhule and Nebraska followed suit with a two-year deal of their own in late October. Both developments all but extinguished any interest Penn State might have had in those two prospective candidates, and more extensions will be proffered and signed in the weeks ahead. Many of those contract considerations are also tied to how donors, fans and administrators feel about the coaches in question. With the majority of Penn State's big-swing targets enjoying highly successful seasons, there exist mul- tiple scenarios in which many of those coaches are either participating in the College Football Playoff or are just on the outside looking in. The playoff severely complicates the timing of Penn State's hire. And conversely, falling short of the playoff creates the potential for a less-than-en- thusiastic public reception by PSU fans and donors. In a marketplace defined by constant movement and big money, timing and conviction could matter more than any single name. Determined to raise an al- ready high ceiling, Kraft will doggedly pursue a leader who can deliver on Penn State's promise. ■ In his search for James Franklin's successor, athletics director Patrick Kraft has targeted some of the biggest names in college football. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS O P I N I O N NATE BAUER NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM HOT READ Excellence Is A Prerequisite For Penn State's Job