Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541276
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 5 2 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Eli Drinkwitz Missouri head coach 2025 salary: $9 million Fitz's take: There hasn't been as much overlap with the Florida search as one might have expected a few weeks ago, but both programs are kicking around the possibility of making a run at Drinkwitz. Penn State remains intrigued by not only the offensive approach, but the program- management aspect of what Drinkwitz has done at Mizzou. That's going to be a big deal in hiring the next head coach; Penn State wants someone who's adept at being the head of an organization, rather than an X's and O's guy. Kraft and Penn State will continue talks with Drinkwitz's side. While he doesn't seem to be at the top of the board, he's certainly in the mix. His Tigers suffered a lopsided home loss to Elko's Texas A&M squad on Nov. 8, dropping them to 6-3, but they were playing without injured quarterback (and former Nittany Lion) Beau Pribula. Brian Hartline Ohio State offensive coordinator 2025 salary: $2 million Fitz's take: Hartline has gotten a lot of attention from the public in recent weeks, but there doesn't appear to be much ac- tual momentum behind his candidacy. While he comes with endorsements from a bunch of respected football folks, it would be premature to call him a front- runner for the job. One concern is that Hartline doesn't have head coaching experience. It's not necessarily a dealbreaker, but Penn State's operation requires a range of program- management skills that coordinators of- ten lack at this point in their careers. PSU would almost have to pair him with a for- mer head coach for that kind of guidance. That has been kicked around as well, but it still sounds like Hartline and Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein have that working against them. Clark Lea Vanderbilt head coach 2025 salary: $3.7 million Fitz's take: There was a little more buzz behind Lea's name after his Com- modores took down Drinkwitz's 15th- ranked Missouri team on Oct. 25. Similar to Georgia Tech's Key, Lea comes with several recommendations from football people about managing a program. He's 8-2 to start the 2025 season, which has surpassed his team's full-season win total from a year ago. Lea, who led Vandy to a wild 45-38 overtime win over Auburn on Nov. 8, seems to have worked his way up the list over the past few weeks as Kraft contin- ues to gather advice from more people regarding the job. PSU hired Franklin from Vandy in 2014. Matt Rhule Nebraska head coach 2025 salary: $8.5 million Fitz's take: Rhule signed an extension with the Cornhuskers on Oct. 30. That would seemingly take him off the list, but given his close relationship with Kraft, anything is possible. He's not yet in the "Outside Looking In" category like In- diana's Curt Cignetti, who also signed a contract extension recently, but he's close. Outside Looking In Urban Meyer — Former Ohio State head coach Lane Kiffin — Ole Miss head coach Joe Brady — Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury — Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Terry Smith — Penn State interim head coach Curt Cignetti — Indiana head coach Kenny Dillingham — Arizona State head coach Ryan Silverfield — Memphis head coach Alex Golesh — South Florida head coach Jon Sumrall — Tulane head coach Will Stein — Oregon offensive coor- dinator D'Anton Lynn — USC defensive co- ordinator ■ Duke head coach Manny Diaz has plenty of supporters in State College after his successful two-year tenure as the Nittany Lions' defensive coordinator. He's gone 14-8 since taking over the Blue Devils' program in 2024. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL