Next coaching candidates

I have absolutely no inside information but I'm guessing either Jeff Brohm or Brian Daboli at this point.
 
Jerry said:
I have absolutely no inside information but I'm guessing either Jeff Brohm or Brian Daboli at this point.
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I agree. We’re going to have to deal with whoever it is at this point, but Chesney has more college experience than Daboll. I’d love nothing more than to hear we flipped him right about now. (One can dream)
 
Frank Lee said:
I believe you said that Rhule was going to be the next head coach and not that he was the top target. Rhule didn't jibe with Kraft's statement about a home run hire, so he wasn't the top target.
As far as being stuck, that would most likely be traced back to Kraft's Temple/BC experience and not knowing the lay of the land.
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Here are my exact words:

I'm telling ya, they're watching to see how Rhule does over the next several weeks before making the official offer. Nebraska plays at Minnesota tonight and is more than a touchdown favorite. If Minnesota wins, that won't shine a positive light on Rhule. If he can put together a string of wins...
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Minnesota beat them, and it put a damper on things, but it wasn't a deal-breaker. The plan was that he'd reach 9 wins (including a win in Happy Valley) but that didn't happen.
 
Kid Nickels said:
Here are my exact words:



Minnesota beat them, and it put a damper on things, but it wasn't a deal-breaker. The plan was that he'd reach 9 wins (including a win in Happy Valley) but that didn't happen.
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If the plan was to wait several weeks and see how many games his team wins is really stupid. Waiting gives him options. It gave his school options. It gave the boosters/donors/sponsors time.
 
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The Spin Meister said:
If the plan was to edit several weeks and see how many games his team wins is really stupid. Waiting gives him options. It gave his school options. It gave the boosters/donors/sponsors time.
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This whole thing has been stupid. I never dreamed we'd be in this position. Kraft and Franklin both have serious issues managing expectations.
 
The Spin Meister said:
If the plan was to edit several weeks and see how many games his team wins is really stupid. Waiting gives him options. It gave his school options. It gave the boosters/donors/sponsors time.
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I agree. I think Kraft over valued the position. He thought good candidates would be knocking down the door. Sadly, he created a position with little to no upside. PSU loses a ton of talent and we fired a guy that made it to the semi-finals. Other than that, it is just about money and we’ve learned a lot of schools have money.
 
Sheriff Coffee said:
I agree. I think Kraft over valued the position. He thought good candidates would be knocking down the door. Sadly, he created a position with little to no upside. PSU loses a ton of talent and we fired a guy that made it to the semi-finals. Other than that, it is just about money and we’ve learned a lot of schools have money.
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It's weird how when Franklin was PSU's coach, the narrative was that he was 1-forever against top 10 teams. It was a punchline. Now that we fired him after losing to 3-9 headcoachless UCLA and then 6-6 Northwestern at home with nearly the same roster that went to the semi-finals of the playoff last year, the narrative has shifted to PSU treating (11-year coach) Franklin unfairly for not winning a national championship.
 
Jerry said:
Rhule took himself out of the running early on...in late October when he signed a contract extension. At that point, all talk of Rhule ended.
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Duhhhh. After the school and donors and alumni and deep pockets all pitched in for yma huge pay increase and a long term extension.

That’s what happens when you wait several weeks and/or make your offer conditional. 🤷🏽‍♀️
 
The Spin Meister said:
Duhhhh. After the school and donors and alumni and deep pockets all pitched in for yma huge pay increase and a long term extension.

That’s what happens when you wait several weeks and/or make your offer conditional. 🤷🏽‍♀️
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Personally, I was never a big fan of hiring Rhule nor do I think it was ever likely. I just don't see where he's all that much of a hot-shot coach...and the way his team finished the season getting blown out by both us and Iowa kind of underscores my point. The Minnesota loss was also terrible.

That said, with the bottom having dropped out of our recruiting and a sense of total disorganization now surrounding our program, I guess reaching a deal with anybody would have been preferable to the situation we're facing now.
 
LudicrousSpeedGO! said:
It's weird how when Franklin was PSU's coach, the narrative was that he was 1-forever against top 10 teams. It was a punchline. Now that we fired him after losing to 3-9 headcoachless UCLA and then 6-6 Northwestern at home with nearly the same roster that went to the semi-finals of the playoff last year, the narrative has shifted to PSU treating (11-year coach) Franklin unfairly for not winning a national championship.
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Personally, I never once called for Franklin to be fired and never once joined the bash-Franklin club which was very active periodically over the years. On the contrary, though I was sometimes critical, I also often pointed to the good things he'd achieved despite the various big-game losses which fans and media hung around his neck.

That said, I do think he was played out and psyched out at Penn State. That Oregon loss was the straw that broke the camel's back...and afterward he seemed to be figuratively walking around with a 1000-yard stare characteristic of combat veterans.

I think Pat Kraft did him a big favor by firing him so he could get a fresh start at a place like Virginia Tech. I mean, the fact is he's a good coach and it was a given he'd be scarfed up somewhere in short order.

The problem is that although Kraft did Franklin a favor, judging by the experience of the last couple months he does not appear to have done Penn State a favor. In today's college football environment, if you fire a guy in mid-season you better have a workable plan to replace him. I mean, it's no accident that a bunch of other schools wasted no time replacing the people they recently fired.

As things stand now, we're in a vicious cycle. Each day that goes by, the uncertainty and instability surrounding the program grow, in turn making the position less attractive to potential candidates.
 
Jerry said:
Personally, I was never a big fan of hiring Rhule nor do I think it was ever likely. I just don't see where he's all that much of a hot-shot coach...and the way his team finished the season getting blown out by both us and Iowa kind of underscores my point. The Minnesota loss was also terrible.

That said, with the bottom having dropped out of our recruiting and a sense of total disorganization now surrounding our program, I guess reaching a deal with anybody would have been preferable to the situation we're facing now.
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Jerry, I am honestly wandering if that is the plan at this point. Strike out (for unknown reasons) on all the tier 1 coaches on the lost, wait it out then get everyone being ok with "settling". Lol seriously been thinking this lately.
 
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I still like Willie Fritz. Blinn JC, SHSU, GASO, Tulane, and UH. Serious football in the middle of football country. And wears a ball cap. Blue collar with maybe a chip on his shoulder. The issues are always the same, though. A sunbelt guy, restauranteur Tilman Fertitta money, and the "why would anybody wanna leave Texas?" pressure.
 
Jerry said:
Personally, I never once called for Franklin to be fired and never once joined the bash-Franklin club which was very active periodically over the years. On the contrary, though I was sometimes critical, I also often pointed to the good things he'd achieved despite the various big-game losses which fans and media hung around his neck.

That said, I do think he was played out and psyched out at Penn State. That Oregon loss was the straw that broke the camel's back...and afterward he seemed to be figuratively walking around with a 1000-yard stare characteristic of combat veterans.

I think Pat Kraft did him a big favor by firing him so he could get a fresh start at a place like Virginia Tech. I mean, the fact is he's a good coach and it was a given he'd be scarfed up somewhere in short order.

The problem is that although Kraft did Franklin a favor, judging by the experience of the last couple months he does not appear to have done Penn State a favor. In today's college football environment, if you fire a guy in mid-season you better have a workable plan to replace him. I mean, it's no accident that a bunch of other schools wasted no time replacing the people they recently fired.

As things stand now, we're in a vicious cycle. Each day that goes by, the uncertainty and instability surrounding the program grow, in turn making the position less attractive to potential candidates.
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I was actually a big Franklin supporter until the Northwestern debacle. I even tolerated the UCLA debacle washing it down by telling myself that our team was emotionally spent and theirs was emotionally charged. But you simply can't take a team that finished in the top 4, returned more starters than ANY top team, bring back several players that should have left for the NFL, bring in the most expensive coordinator who just won a natty, and then totally $hit the bed.

I wish this all never happened. I still don't understand how it happened. It had to be Franklin's mental fragility combined with infighting over NIL and playing time. These guys didn't play like a team. They were unfocused. They appeared selfish. They weren't doing the little things. They were finding ways to lose. It was embarrassing. It wasn't Penn State football.

I give Terry tons of credit. He pulled the locker room together. He refocused them. He gave them a reason to fight. But as much as I love Terry, I fully recognize that he is not a legitimate head coach candidate. You simply cannot jump from position coach to head coach without seriously setting the program back. He has to know this. Give Terry a huge raise and a job for life. Bring in a top coach that will maximize the opportunity at PSU.

Now, I'm not all frothing at the mouth like many here about not having announced that top coach. We are not privy to all of what is going on behind the scenes, who the targets are, and where it stands. I know we'll bring in a qualified candidate. I'm positive we will spend a truckload in the portal and leverage a fairly management 2026 schedule to give that coach the best chance to be successful. I realize that we could take a couple of years to get back to where we were before Franklin fell apart. And I also fully realize that some new hires pan out, and some don't. But I'll be patient and wait until they announce the guy and then get 100% behind them.
 
LudicrousSpeedGO! said:
I was actually a big Franklin supporter until the Northwestern debacle. I even tolerated the UCLA debacle washing it down by telling myself that our team was emotionally spent and theirs was emotionally charged. But you simply can't take a team that finished in the top 4, returned more starters than ANY top team, bring back several players that should have left for the NFL, bring in the most expensive coordinator who just won a natty, and then totally $hit the bed.

I wish this all never happened. I still don't understand how it happened. It had to be Franklin's mental fragility combined with infighting over NIL and playing time. These guys didn't play like a team. They were unfocused. They appeared selfish. They weren't doing the little things. They were finding ways to lose. It was embarrassing. It wasn't Penn State football.

I give Terry tons of credit. He pulled the locker room together. He refocused them. He gave them a reason to fight. But as much as I love Terry, I fully recognize that he is not a legitimate head coach candidate. You simply cannot jump from position coach to head coach without seriously setting the program back. He has to know this. Give Terry a huge raise and a job for life. Bring in a top coach that will maximize the opportunity at PSU.

Now, I'm not all frothing at the mouth like many here about not having announced that top coach. We are not privy to all of what is going on behind the scenes, who the targets are, and where it stands. I know we'll bring in a qualified candidate. I'm positive we will spend a truckload in the portal and leverage a fairly management 2026 schedule to give that coach the best chance to be successful. I realize that we could take a couple of years to get back to where we were before Franklin fell apart. And I also fully realize that some new hires pan out, and some don't. But I'll be patient and wait until they announce the guy and then get 100% behind them.
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I'll totally get on board with whomever they finally hire. That guy is going to have quite the job in front of him.

Meanwhile, the CBS article linked below lays out in pretty stark terms what our situation is now.

Recruiting has flatlined -- we've pretty much lost everybody -- so our main short-term hope is the portal and we need a guy who can successfully navigate it. Hopefully we have the resources to make it happen financially. If not, the 2026 season could be pretty rocky.

www.cbssports.com

Penn State's botched coaching search turns Signing Day into unprecedented disaster

The Nittany Lions have lost over 20 commitments since James Franklin's firing and plummeted to No. 150 in the 2026 class rankings.
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 
Jerry said:
Well well well. No shite. If they'd done that after the Nebraska game, we'd be in a whole lot better shape than we are now:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1996310375906619462
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This would be a huge mistake if it is done. I don't care who is pushing for it. The ONLY way it works is if these big donors pony up $100M at $25M or more per year to help him with top staff, recruits, and portal additions. Donors want to pony up $100M+, it could potentially work. Otherwise, you are hiring a position coach to jump two levels up and run a program that he is not qualified to run without significant scaffolding.
 
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