I get the thinking behind the coaching search a lot more now then I did then

ApexLion · Monday at 11:47 AM

We've had some time to digest (I've got indigestion from PSU football) Kraft's coaching search and things are more clear now.

I believe in his mind he had two options, two distinct paths to a hire:

1) Swing big on candidates and make promises: this involved going after top 10 coaches (Bama, ND, USC) with the notion that recruiting and money/NIL would follow. The problem with this approach is that Kraft had champagne dreams and a beer budget. And agents knew it. I think Kraft thought one would bite, even if it was just the PSU name. Didn't happen - the market was too high-priced.

So he goes to pathway 2 and he's lost time. He regroups and decides there's another way. Like most ADs, he's shocked by the lack of interest. So new hire strategy:

2) Hire a solid coach who will develop more numerous longer-term players on the squad and spend on some new talent. Essentially, bring in an entire other program and supplement with some new talent. Sitake, wth? After considering this situation for several months, Sitake is actually the logical pick. Look at the BYU program. He wins. No one leaves, plus they have a solid, if not spectacular pipeline to a different kind of kid who is inexpensive. Sitake has a great staff and is less expensive. Stability. He makes his pitch and whamo, the agent turns right around and gets his client a raise. So, who else fits the bill? Campbell, Iowa State.

The problem is that Kraft hired his 5-8 candidate and there's still no NIL money flowing in and the cupboard is bare. We took a safe route. Safe gets you bupkis these days.

MtNittany · Monday at 11:59 AM

Given the timing of the firing - no coach wants to commit to leave his team before the end of the season, combined w/ signing day - this season has to mean little wrt judging Campbell. He brought a bunch of ISU players because that's what he knew. I think he underestimated their abilities, but he needed bodies.

Even at the end of next year, if the recruiting has picked up by then, an 8-4 record w/ some good wins would be great progress. But we still won't really know what we have in Campbell.

BobPSU92 · Monday at 12:10 PM

ApexLion said:
We've had some time to digest (I've got indigestion from PSU football) Kraft's coaching search and things are more clear now.

I believe in his mind he had two options, two distinct paths to a hire:

1) Swing big on candidates and make promises: this involved going after top 10 coaches (Bama, ND, USC) with the notion that recruiting and money/NIL would follow. The problem with this approach is that Kraft had champagne dreams and a beer budget. And agents knew it. I think Kraft thought one would bite, even if it was just the PSU name. Didn't happen - the market was too high-priced.

So he goes to pathway 2 and he's lost time. He regroups and decides there's another way. Like most ADs, he's shocked by the lack of interest. So new hire strategy:

2) Hire a solid coach who will develop more numerous longer-term players on the squad and spend on some new talent. Essentially, bring in an entire other program and supplement with some new talent. Sitake, wth? After considering this situation for several months, Sitake is actually the logical pick. Look at the BYU program. He wins. No one leaves, plus they have a solid, if not spectacular pipeline to a different kind of kid who is inexpensive. Sitake has a great staff and is less expensive. Stability. He makes his pitch and whamo, the agent turns right around and gets his client a raise. So, who else fits the bill? Campbell, Iowa State.

The problem is that Kraft hired his 5-8 candidate and there's still no NIL money flowing in and the cupboard is bare. We took a safe route. Safe gets you bupkis these days.

You could he right. Regarding Option 1, Kraft probably thought that he would have a champagne budget, meaning that wealthy alums would step up to fund a big-name hire. Then he didn’t get the support that he expected for whatever reason. Of course, he should have known the situation before he swung for the fences.

Let’s also remember that doors closed on Kraft early, as some schools locked up coaches with extensions soon after Franklin was fired. Examples are iu with cignetti and nebby with Rhule. It soon became clear that options to swing for the fences were extremely limited.

In hindsight, Kraft should have moved to Option 2 much earlier and should have given Sumrall and Chesney a serious look.

ApexLion · Monday at 12:13 PM

MtNittany said:
Given the timing of the hire - no coach wants to commit to leave his team before the end of the season, combined w/ signing day - this season has to mean little wrt judging Campbell. He brought a bunch of ISU players because that's what he knew. I think he underestimated their abilities, but he needed bodies.

Even at the end of next year, if the recruiting has picked up by then, an 8-4 record w/ some good wins would be great progress. But we still won't really know what we have in Campbell.

The funny part is that I think many of our conference brethren are in the same boat, because their older fan bases don't want to pay professionals. Michigan blows, Michigan State blows, Nebraska isn't great, despite the record. Iowa is Iowa in my mind. Going nowhere but well coached. Braun is doing a nice job at Northwestern. But the effect of NIL or lack thereof is fairly dramatic on some B10 programs that routinely had some quality squads and would benefit from a bigger playoff.

ApexLion · Monday at 12:15 PM

BobPSU92 said:
You could he right. Regarding Option 1, Kraft probably thought that he would have a champagne budget, meaning that wealthy alums would step up to fund a big-name hire. Then he didn’t get the support that he expected for whatever reason. Of course, he should have known the situation before he swung for the fences.

Let’s also remember that doors closed on Kraft early, as some schools locked up coaches with extensions soon after Franklin was fired. Examples are iu with cignetti and nebby with Rhule. It soon became clear that options to swing for the fences were extremely limited.

In hindsight, Kraft should have moved to Option 2 much earlier and should have given Sumrall and Chesney a serious look.

Krafty not so crafty

Psumatt85 · Monday at 12:41 PM

BobPSU92 said:
You could he right. Regarding Option 1, Kraft probably thought that he would have a champagne budget, meaning that wealthy alums would step up to fund a big-name hire. Then he didn’t get the support that he expected for whatever reason. Of course, he should have known the situation before he swung for the fences.

Let’s also remember that doors closed on Kraft early, as some schools locked up coaches with extensions soon after Franklin was fired. Examples are iu with cignetti and nebby with Rhule. It soon became clear that options to swing for the fences were extremely limited.

In hindsight, Kraft should have moved to Option 2 much earlier and should have given Sumrall and Chesney a serious look.

I agree with this assessment. The troubling part is:

Kraft made an emotional decision he wasn’t positioned to make

Didn’t understand the marketplace that he was forcing himself to compete in.

Executed said search poorly at best, and continued to misread his environment.

Was led astray by those who were giving him advice.

Continued to be arrogant throughout the process. Even a small admission of we hurt ourselves in the process we took might be refreshing

if someone asked me to pick one, I’d say all of the above. Just because it was time for JF to move on, didn’t mean PK was allowed to **** everything up. I don’t know if HCMC is the right guy or not, but even though he was put in a bad situation, I do know:

Im questioning his QB evaluation skills. Rocco is a horrible QB, and if he is far and away the best, that’s on Campbell

Game day decisions are below average, not an upgrade at this point

Though outmanned, the team does not resemble a team trying to execute, but a team too tight and not physical.

Poor talent everywhere that would be worse than the current cyclones in the big 12.

he needs to own that instead of complaining.

Bvillebaron · Monday at 12:59 PM

MtNittany said:
Given the timing of the firing - no coach wants to commit to leave his team before the end of the season, combined w/ signing day - this season has to mean little wrt judging Campbell. He brought a bunch of ISU players because that's what he knew. I think he underestimated their abilities, but he needed bodies.

Even at the end of next year, if the recruiting has picked up by then, an 8-4 record w/ some good wins would be great progress. But we still won't really know what we have in Campbell.

That’s not the issue. A competent AD would have waited until the end of the year to fire Franklin and compiled a list of candidates during that time; fired Franklin immediately after the last game while simultaneously announcing coaching interviews would begin immediately and a coach would be hired within 7-10 days in an effort to salvage as much of the recruiting class as possible and permitting the new coach to get a quicker start on the portal; and last but not least not make asinine statements in the press release announcing the firing that Franklin was fired for not meeting the “standard” of winning Big and National Championships and announcing at a press conference the next day that the fans “deserve” a National Championship (how about we want to thank Franklin for his service and saying but it was time to go in a different direction) which undoubtedly turned off some potential candidates who IMO rightfully concluded he is an arrogant prick who would be extremely difficult to work for.

Catch1lion · Monday at 1:01 PM

BobPSU92 said:
You could he right. Regarding Option 1, Kraft probably thought that he would have a champagne budget, meaning that wealthy alums would step up to fund a big-name hire. Then he didn’t get the support that he expected for whatever reason. Of course, he should have known the situation before he swung for the fences.

Let’s also remember that doors closed on Kraft early, as some schools locked up coaches with extensions soon after Franklin was fired. Examples are iu with cignetti and nebby with Rhule. It soon became clear that options to swing for the fences were extremely limited.

In hindsight, Kraft should have moved to Option 2 much earlier and should have given Sumrall and Chesney a serious look.

IIRC, 3 meetings with Chesney. Kraft hung him out as a last chance option. PSU was Chesney's top choice. UCLA stepped up, and things quickly fell in place, and contract was signed.

MtNittany · Monday at 1:08 PM

Bvillebaron said:
That’s not the issue. A competent AD would have waited until the end of the year to fire Franklin and compiled a list of candidates during that time; fired Franklin immediately after the last game while simultaneously announcing coaching interviews would begin immediately and a coach would be hired within 7-10 days in an effort to salvage as much of the recruiting class as possible and permitting the new coach to get a quicker start on the portal; and last but not least not make asinine statements in the press release announcing the firing that Franklin was fired for not meeting the “standard” of winning Big and National Championships and announcing at a press conference the next day that the fans “deserve” a National Championship (how about we want to thank Franklin for his service and saying but it was time to go in a different direction) which undoubtedly turned off some potential candidates who IMO rightfully concluded he is an arrogant prick who would be extremely difficult to work for.

So you try to drink spilled milk?

What's the point of the discussion now? Even Kraft. He could get fired tomorrow and Matt Campbell would still be the football coach.

PSUFTG · Monday at 1:14 PM

ApexLion said:
We've had some time to digest (I've got indigestion from PSU football) Kraft's coaching search and things are more clear now.

I believe in his mind he had two options, two distinct paths to a hire:

1) Swing big on candidates and make promises: this involved going after top 10 coaches (Bama, ND, USC) with the notion that recruiting and money/NIL would follow. The problem with this approach is that Kraft had champagne dreams and a beer budget. And agents knew it. I think Kraft thought one would bite, even if it was just the PSU name. Didn't happen - the market was too high-priced.

So he goes to pathway 2 and he's lost time. He regroups and decides there's another way. Like most ADs, he's shocked by the lack of interest. So new hire strategy:

2) Hire a solid coach who will develop more numerous longer-term players on the squad and spend on some new talent. Essentially, bring in an entire other program and supplement with some new talent. Sitake, wth? After considering this situation for several months, Sitake is actually the logical pick. Look at the BYU program. He wins. No one leaves, plus they have a solid, if not spectacular pipeline to a different kind of kid who is inexpensive. Sitake has a great staff and is less expensive. Stability. He makes his pitch and whamo, the agent turns right around and gets his client a raise. So, who else fits the bill? Campbell, Iowa State.

The problem is that Kraft hired his 5-8 candidate and there's still no NIL money flowing in and the cupboard is bare. We took a safe route. Safe gets you bupkis these days.

You give the "powers that be" 1000% more credit for thinking than what is warranted.

PSUFTG · Monday at 1:17 PM

BobPSU92 said:
You could he right. Regarding Option 1, Kraft probably thought that he would have a champagne budget, meaning that wealthy alums would step up to fund a big-name hire. Then he didn’t get the support that he expected for whatever reason. Of course, he should have known the situation before he swung for the fences.

That would make sense - if not for the fact that Campbell was signed to a "well within the top 10 in the nation" contract.

Folks didn't want to work for the Brozo. That was the #1 impediment.

PSUFTG · Monday at 1:22 PM

MtNittany said:
So you try to drink spilled milk?

What's the point of the discussion now? Even Kraft. He could get fired tomorrow and Matt Campbell would still be the football coach.

There are 100 other things Kraft (and his posse - the folks who where with him all through his failures at both Temple and BC) have screwed up - and continue to screw up .

The FUBAR coaching change management was only one specific item - that even the casual fan sees.
But the FUBAR is long-term and systemic.

KC-KS-Lion · Monday at 1:26 PM

Psumatt85 said:
I agree with this assessment. The troubling part is:

Kraft made an emotional decision he wasn’t positioned to make

Didn’t understand the marketplace that he was forcing himself to compete in.

Executed said search poorly at best, and continued to misread his environment.

Was led astray by those who were giving him advice.

Continued to be arrogant throughout the process. Even a small admission of we hurt ourselves in the process we took might be refreshing

if someone asked me to pick one, I’d say all of the above. Just because it was time for JF to move on, didn’t mean PK was allowed to **** everything up. I don’t know if HCMC is the right guy or not, but even though he was put in a bad situation, I do know:

Im questioning his QB evaluation skills. Rocco is a horrible QB, and if he is far and away the best, that’s on Campbell

Game day decisions are below average, not an upgrade at this point

Though outmanned, the team does not resemble a team trying to execute, but a team too tight and not physical.

Poor talent everywhere that would be worse than the current cyclones in the big 12.

he needs to own that instead of complaining.

I agree he can tone down any wording that is or seems like complaining, and probably needs to treat the remaining schedule, which should be relatively easier than the earlier games, as a second season.

SkiSkiSki · Monday at 1:35 PM

MtNittany said:
So you try to drink spilled milk?

What's the point of the discussion now? Even Kraft. He could get fired tomorrow and Matt Campbell would still be the football coach.

Nitt1300 · Monday at 2:03 PM

there was not a lot of thinking involved

Ram20 · Monday at 2:23 PM

ApexLion said:
We've had some time to digest (I've got indigestion from PSU football) Kraft's coaching search and things are more clear now.

I believe in his mind he had two options, two distinct paths to a hire:

1) Swing big on candidates and make promises: this involved going after top 10 coaches (Bama, ND, USC) with the notion that recruiting and money/NIL would follow. The problem with this approach is that Kraft had champagne dreams and a beer budget. And agents knew it. I think Kraft thought one would bite, even if it was just the PSU name. Didn't happen - the market was too high-priced.

So he goes to pathway 2 and he's lost time. He regroups and decides there's another way. Like most ADs, he's shocked by the lack of interest. So new hire strategy:

2) Hire a solid coach who will develop more numerous longer-term players on the squad and spend on some new talent. Essentially, bring in an entire other program and supplement with some new talent. Sitake, wth? After considering this situation for several months, Sitake is actually the logical pick. Look at the BYU program. He wins. No one leaves, plus they have a solid, if not spectacular pipeline to a different kind of kid who is inexpensive. Sitake has a great staff and is less expensive. Stability. He makes his pitch and whamo, the agent turns right around and gets his client a raise. So, who else fits the bill? Campbell, Iowa State.

The problem is that Kraft hired his 5-8 candidate and there's still no NIL money flowing in and the cupboard is bare. We took a safe route. Safe gets you bupkis these days.

I think this is likely accurate based on what we now know. If we are not going to be revisionist, I think Matt Campbell always made sense to be an early phone call(I get that to everyone that seems stupid NOW), but the fact that Kraft said he couldnt find his phone number should have been enough to terminate him. Either he is lying but doesnt want to admit he ended up with his 12th choice, or he really is a dunce. Either way, he should be gone. I just still can't believe he had no idea who he was going to hire when he torched Franklin. Typically, there would be some back room discussions and you'd be very far down the road with a candidate or 2 before you fired Franklin....if you werent., then why fire him at that point?

Wilbury · Monday at 2:33 PM

Ram20 said:
I think this is likely accurate based on what we now know. If we are not going to be revisionist, I think Matt Campbell always made sense to be an early phone call(I get that to everyone that seems stupid NOW), but the fact that Kraft said he couldnt find his phone number should have been enough to terminate him. Either he is lying but doesnt want to admit he ended up with his 12th choice, or he really is a dunce. Either way, he should be gone. I just still can't believe he had no idea who he was going to hire when he torched Franklin. Typically, there would be some back room discussions and you'd be very far down the road with a candidate or 2 before you fired Franklin....if you werent., then why fire him at that point?

You fire him when you did to be first to market. The problem is that there wasn't a market. There wasn't anyone available. We were never going to pull someone from a top ten program. If Kraft didn't know that, then that's on him. But even know when considering what our options were, it was Campbell, Sitake or Chesney. Sitake was never going to happen - the fan base didn't want him at the time, and once the cat got out of the bag we couldn't pay him enough anyhow. Chesney looks good now but it's still a coin flip whether or not he's better long term.

Wilbury · Monday at 2:33 PM

ApexLion said:
We've had some time to digest (I've got indigestion from PSU football) Kraft's coaching search and things are more clear now.

I believe in his mind he had two options, two distinct paths to a hire:

1) Swing big on candidates and make promises: this involved going after top 10 coaches (Bama, ND, USC) with the notion that recruiting and money/NIL would follow. The problem with this approach is that Kraft had champagne dreams and a beer budget. And agents knew it. I think Kraft thought one would bite, even if it was just the PSU name. Didn't happen - the market was too high-priced.

So he goes to pathway 2 and he's lost time. He regroups and decides there's another way. Like most ADs, he's shocked by the lack of interest. So new hire strategy:

2) Hire a solid coach who will develop more numerous longer-term players on the squad and spend on some new talent. Essentially, bring in an entire other program and supplement with some new talent. Sitake, wth? After considering this situation for several months, Sitake is actually the logical pick. Look at the BYU program. He wins. No one leaves, plus they have a solid, if not spectacular pipeline to a different kind of kid who is inexpensive. Sitake has a great staff and is less expensive. Stability. He makes his pitch and whamo, the agent turns right around and gets his client a raise. So, who else fits the bill? Campbell, Iowa State.

The problem is that Kraft hired his 5-8 candidate and there's still no NIL money flowing in and the cupboard is bare. We took a safe route. Safe gets you bupkis these days.

Players don't leave BYU because of reasons that don't exist at any other school.

BobPSU92 · Monday at 2:36 PM

Catch1lion said:
IIRC, 3 meetings with Chesney. Kraft hung him out as a last chance option. PSU was Chesney's top choice. UCLA stepped up, and things quickly fell in place, and contract was signed.

Chesney isn‘t Penn State material anyway. He curses when firing up his team.

Marshall2323 · Monday at 3:53 PM

ApexLion said:
We've had some time to digest (I've got indigestion from PSU football) Kraft's coaching search and things are more clear now.

I believe in his mind he had two options, two distinct paths to a hire:

1) Swing big on candidates and make promises: this involved going after top 10 coaches (Bama, ND, USC) with the notion that recruiting and money/NIL would follow. The problem with this approach is that Kraft had champagne dreams and a beer budget. And agents knew it. I think Kraft thought one would bite, even if it was just the PSU name. Didn't happen - the market was too high-priced.

So he goes to pathway 2 and he's lost time. He regroups and decides there's another way. Like most ADs, he's shocked by the lack of interest. So new hire strategy:

2) Hire a solid coach who will develop more numerous longer-term players on the squad and spend on some new talent. Essentially, bring in an entire other program and supplement with some new talent. Sitake, wth? After considering this situation for several months, Sitake is actually the logical pick. Look at the BYU program. He wins. No one leaves, plus they have a solid, if not spectacular pipeline to a different kind of kid who is inexpensive. Sitake has a great staff and is less expensive. Stability. He makes his pitch and whamo, the agent turns right around and gets his client a raise. So, who else fits the bill? Campbell, Iowa State.

The problem is that Kraft hired his 5-8 candidate and there's still no NIL money flowing in and the cupboard is bare. We took a safe route. Safe gets you bupkis these days.

Kraft had nothing to do with hiring Campbell. I actually think Josh Pate called someone at PSU on behalf of MC. It was such a mess by then. Kraft had been relieved of his responsibilities in the search.

Marshall2323 · Monday at 4:02 PM

College football's 30 highest-paid coaches in 2026, from Lane Kiffin to Deion Sanders | Sporting News
Campbell #22 just like the recruiting and NIL war chest. We deserve better

Binder74 · Monday at 4:07 PM

Ram20 said:
I think this is likely accurate based on what we now know. If we are not going to be revisionist, I think Matt Campbell always made sense to be an early phone call(I get that to everyone that seems stupid NOW), but the fact that Kraft said he couldnt find his phone number should have been enough to terminate him. Either he is lying but doesnt want to admit he ended up with his 12th choice, or he really is a dunce. Either way, he should be gone. I just still can't believe he had no idea who he was going to hire when he torched Franklin. Typically, there would be some back room discussions and you'd be very far down the road with a candidate or 2 before you fired Franklin....if you werent., then why fire him at that point?

The other reason it needed to be done mid season is that the fan reaction to Franklin had become very toxic. It would've been a smoother transition at the end of the season and we would've been further along this year.

razpsu · Monday at 5:18 PM

I’m sure va tech is having the same conversation.

Rocco3 · Monday at 5:31 PM

ApexLion said:
We've had some time to digest (I've got indigestion from PSU football) Kraft's coaching search and things are more clear now.

I believe in his mind he had two options, two distinct paths to a hire:

1) Swing big on candidates and make promises: this involved going after top 10 coaches (Bama, ND, USC) with the notion that recruiting and money/NIL would follow. The problem with this approach is that Kraft had champagne dreams and a beer budget. And agents knew it. I think Kraft thought one would bite, even if it was just the PSU name. Didn't happen - the market was too high-priced.

So he goes to pathway 2 and he's lost time. He regroups and decides there's another way. Like most ADs, he's shocked by the lack of interest. So new hire strategy:

2) Hire a solid coach who will develop more numerous longer-term players on the squad and spend on some new talent. Essentially, bring in an entire other program and supplement with some new talent. Sitake, wth? After considering this situation for several months, Sitake is actually the logical pick. Look at the BYU program. He wins. No one leaves, plus they have a solid, if not spectacular pipeline to a different kind of kid who is inexpensive. Sitake has a great staff and is less expensive. Stability. He makes his pitch and whamo, the agent turns right around and gets his client a raise. So, who else fits the bill? Campbell, Iowa State.

The problem is that Kraft hired his 5-8 candidate and there's still no NIL money flowing in and the cupboard is bare. We took a safe route. Safe gets you bupkis these days.

The problem was that there was never a real search. No search firm was ever hired it was all in house run by Kraft.

The plan from the get go was to hire his buddy, Matt Rhule. When that blew up in his face he was left empty handed and empty headed. Then it became go big to salvage what he could and bolster his own Rep if he got lucky. He didn't and now he looks like the worst AD in PS history and it's not even close.

Marshall2323 · Monday at 5:48 PM

BobPSU92 said:
Chesney isn‘t Penn State material anyway. He curses when firing up his team.

Unlike Kraft

Midnighter · Monday at 5:50 PM

Rocco3 said:
The problem was that there was never a real search. No search firm was ever hired it was all in house run by Kraft.

The plan from the get go was to hire his buddy, Matt Rhule. When that blew up in his face he was left empty handed and empty headed. Then it became go big to salvage what he could and his own if he got lucky. He didn't and now he looks like the worst AD in PS history and it's not even close.

Seems like he also relied on Sitake’s ‘word’ that he’d be the next coach. And not just that, there were weeks of discussion about staff and next steps. It was reported to BYU players he was leaving. Once the cat got out of the bag, that is when the Army of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and CRUMBL cookie guy got involved. Kraft should have pushed for a signed agreement well before this became public so he could make an offer to Chesney who was sitting there waiting if need be.

Where does Penn State turn now?

Kalani Sitake was the Nittany Lions' guy ... until he wasn't.

www.insidezonemf.com

Marshall2323 · Monday at 5:53 PM

SkiSkiSki said:
View attachment 1493073

So much better now with DoorMat.

LMTLION · Monday at 5:56 PM

Psumatt85 said:
I agree with this assessment. The troubling part is:

Kraft made an emotional decision he wasn’t positioned to make

Didn’t understand the marketplace that he was forcing himself to compete in.

Executed said search poorly at best, and continued to misread his environment.

Was led astray by those who were giving him advice.

Continued to be arrogant throughout the process. Even a small admission of we hurt ourselves in the process we took might be refreshing

if someone asked me to pick one, I’d say all of the above. Just because it was time for JF to move on, didn’t mean PK was allowed to **** everything up. I don’t know if HCMC is the right guy or not, but even though he was put in a bad situation, I do know:

Im questioning his QB evaluation skills. Rocco is a horrible QB, and if he is far and away the best, that’s on Campbell

Game day decisions are below average, not an upgrade at this point

Though outmanned, the team does not resemble a team trying to execute, but a team too tight and not physical.

Poor talent everywhere that would be worse than the current cyclones in the big 12.

he needs to own that instead of complaining.

O’Brien did more with a sanctions roster than Campbell is doing with a 105 man roster. According to another board he wanted to be considered to come back to PSU last year but we did not entertain it at all. I am shocked how bad Campbell has been. I misread him myself. I knew him as this over performing coach at ISU that was highly respected across football. Apparently some coaches are meant for certain levels of football.

LMTLION · Monday at 6:09 PM

In addition to Chesney, look at the performance of other small school or former coordinator hires - Golesh, Sumrall, Stein and Eric Morris. All are doing very well. Some of our bigger school top candidates from last year are doing poorly - Elko (fans want to fire him), Brohm, Key, and Lea.

Midnighter · Monday at 6:22 PM

This whole thread is gold.

So I'm hearing it's down to - Page 2 - Forums

Mike Elko ; Texas A & M or Brian Hartline. Times a ticking. Kraft going after ELKO hard.

www.on3.com

LMTLION · Monday at 6:33 PM

Midnighter said:
This whole thread is gold.

So I'm hearing it's down to - Page 2 - Forums

Mike Elko ; Texas A & M or Brian Hartline. Times a ticking. Kraft going after ELKO hard.

www.on3.com

They did the same thing on a different board as well. Those who chose Chesney are the clear winners thus far. A huge number of PSU fans on these boards and on Twitter wanted Hartline.

Nitt1300 · Monday at 6:53 PM

razpsu said:
I’m sure va tech is having the same conversation.

not likely

razpsu · Monday at 7:07 PM

Nitt1300 said:
not likely

Well when he has at least 4-6 losses this year? Yep

ApexLion · Tuesday at 9:31 AM

Wilbury said:
Players don't leave BYU because of reasons that don't exist at any other school.

Yea, I always thought that but it’s not true anymore. My take is that Sitake is benefitting from keeping his kids and the competition. Campbell may be able to do the former to a certain extent but it’s not going to work without more $$$ to buy talent.

Bvillebaron · Tuesday at 9:36 AM

MtNittany said:
So you try to drink spilled milk?

What's the point of the discussion now? Even Kraft. He could get fired tomorrow and Matt Campbell would still be the football coach.

What was the point of the original post dude which I was responding to?

TheWizardofCamelot · Tuesday at 9:39 AM

With hindsight, Sitake looks like he may have been worth the wait, given what he's been able to accomplish recently. He does seem like a great coach that his players get behind. Weird fit though and I think Kraft should've realized he had to get the signature.

Seems like we may have missed on Chesney. But word was he wanted to the PSU job. And he's from PA. I've watched some of UCLA this year and their crowd looks like Acrisure for a Pitt game. That's not a destination job. If we're looking for a new coach in a few years, that means Kraft has been fired. Chesney could be our coach in 2030, honestly.

Bvillebaron · Tuesday at 9:41 AM

LMTLION said:
O’Brien did more with a sanctions roster than Campbell is doing with a 105 man roster. According to another board he wanted to be considered to come back to PSU last year but we did not entertain it at all. I am shocked how bad Campbell has been. I misread him myself. I knew him as this over performing coach at ISU that was highly respected across football. Apparently some coaches are meant for certain levels of football.

How did O’Brien do with the Texans and how is he doing now at BC?

Bvillebaron · Tuesday at 9:43 AM

Binder74 said:
The other reason it needed to be done mid season is that the fan reaction to Franklin had become very toxic. It would've been a smoother transition at the end of the season and we would've been further along this year.

See my other post. If Kraft made his decision to fire Franklin mid-season based upon complaints from a vocal minority of unhappy fans, he deserves to be sitting next to them in the stands.

JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws · Tuesday at 9:50 AM

ApexLion said:
We've had some time to digest (I've got indigestion from PSU football) Kraft's coaching search and things are more clear now.

I believe in his mind he had two options, two distinct paths to a hire:

1) Swing big on candidates and make promises: this involved going after top 10 coaches (Bama, ND, USC) with the notion that recruiting and money/NIL would follow. The problem with this approach is that Kraft had champagne dreams and a beer budget. And agents knew it. I think Kraft thought one would bite, even if it was just the PSU name. Didn't happen - the market was too high-priced.

So he goes to pathway 2 and he's lost time. He regroups and decides there's another way. Like most ADs, he's shocked by the lack of interest. So new hire strategy:

2) Hire a solid coach who will develop more numerous longer-term players on the squad and spend on some new talent. Essentially, bring in an entire other program and supplement with some new talent. Sitake, wth? After considering this situation for several months, Sitake is actually the logical pick. Look at the BYU program. He wins. No one leaves, plus they have a solid, if not spectacular pipeline to a different kind of kid who is inexpensive. Sitake has a great staff and is less expensive. Stability. He makes his pitch and whamo, the agent turns right around and gets his client a raise. So, who else fits the bill? Campbell, Iowa State.

The problem is that Kraft hired his 5-8 candidate and there's still no NIL money flowing in and the cupboard is bare. We took a safe route. Safe gets you bupkis these days.

Oh gee, you forgot about "the problem" where he refused to hire the best alternative - Bob Chesney - who grew up in Central Pennsylvania AND BADLY WANTED THE JOB! Nope, Krafty The Clown knew better and brought in a coach whose high-priced FA "guys" have laid nothing but eggs - especially relative to what their being paid. Meanwhile, Chesney brought all "his guys" to UCLA as FAs (for less than what we're paying Campbell's duds) and they're doing great at UCLA. Yea, Krafty The Clown has done such an incredible job - if you're in the demolition business or into "paying more for less" maybe. LMFAO.

Big_O · Tuesday at 10:01 AM

LMTLION said:
O’Brien did more with a sanctions roster than Campbell is doing with a 105 man roster. According to another board he wanted to be considered to come back to PSU last year but we did not entertain it at all. I am shocked how bad Campbell has been. I misread him myself. I knew him as this over performing coach at ISU that was highly respected across football. Apparently some coaches are meant for certain levels of football.

The roster BO’B inherited was better than the one CMC did. He did not have 46 players portal out before he arrived.

I get the thinking behind the coaching search a lot more now then I did then

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