Yes it is.
If a coach isn’t interested in the goal being to win the national championship, they won’t be coming here. But that’s not how these guys are wired
Joel Klatt gives 4 names for PSU HC
- Thread starter NorthwesternFan51234
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If a coach isn’t interested in the goal being to win the national championship, they won’t be coming here. But that’s not how these guys are wired
The beauty of sports forums such as this one is that all opinions are welcomed. The interest in the head coaching position at PSU will be enormous and reflect a wide range of talent and experience. I don’t think your assessment will be a deterrent to PSU securing a great football leader!
That was always the argument against firing Franklin. Who do you hire next that is definitely going to accept your offer and is definitely elevating the program further. I was ok with letting Franklin go after the last 3 weeks because it was about to spiral out of control if it already hadn't, but I have a feeling a lot of people are going to long for the 3 year stretch we just ended 4 or 5 years from now. Hope I'm wrong.
So now it's going to be Franklin's fault if we have an underwhelming hire? Jesus christ.
Forget about Urban and of course Saban. Neither guy will be our next HC.
Our #1 is Cignetti. That is a stretch and I don't see it happening. Krafty will do everything he can to bring him to HV but ultimately he won't get him.
After that this is who I see...
Rhule
Key
Diaz
Drinkwitz
Brady
In roughly that order.
I don't think it is Hartline but there is a possibility.
If you listened to Krafty he made some comments that tell you what he is interested in with the next HC:
-Tough hard nosed to match the Penn State brand/history
-Fits Penn State which is like the point above
-Embrace the portal/modern cfb
-Elite motivator
Clearly Cignetti stands above all the others given his results.
After that...
I think it very well could be Rhule. Not saying definitely but he checks a lot of the key boxes.
It probably is an existing HC because he wants the portal expertise. But maybe we bring in a GM to lead that?
Our #1 is Cignetti. That is a stretch and I don't see it happening. Krafty will do everything he can to bring him to HV but ultimately he won't get him.
After that this is who I see...
Rhule
Key
Diaz
Drinkwitz
Brady
In roughly that order.
I don't think it is Hartline but there is a possibility.
If you listened to Krafty he made some comments that tell you what he is interested in with the next HC:
-Tough hard nosed to match the Penn State brand/history
-Fits Penn State which is like the point above
-Embrace the portal/modern cfb
-Elite motivator
Clearly Cignetti stands above all the others given his results.
After that...
I think it very well could be Rhule. Not saying definitely but he checks a lot of the key boxes.
It probably is an existing HC because he wants the portal expertise. But maybe we bring in a GM to lead that?
I’m hopeful Joe’s recommendation was based on incomplete information about Urban at the time. Time has exposed Urban’s true character. There’s an argument to be made for kicking the tires on Urban. However, that’s based solely on wins and losses.
I have a great deal of respect for these schools that hired first time head coaches like Oregon and Georgia. Along with Cig's quic success at IU(i know he was a HC), it all compounded to influence my opinion that "yes, there could be a better coach than Franklin at PSU." That said, I keep coming back to the idea that at this time, we need someone with head coaching experience in a big conference that can bring recruits immediately and that leads me to thinking our best hires are in order:
Elko
Drink
Campbell
Rhule
Elko
Drink
Campbell
Rhule
I never said it was. But I think the two are on a similar level. Florida has more structural challenges to overcome...mainly being in the SEC and competing with a host of other top programs in and around Florida.
The Big Ten isn't as deep top to bottom and Penn State competes with fewer big fish for recruits, albeit with a smaller talent pool than in Florida.
Penn State also exemplified WAY more patience with Franklin than Florida has with its last 3-4 coaches. Franklin got 12 years here.
If Kraft decides for the safe play, I think it will be Rhule You can probably get him for less money because he loves PSU, he'll probably agree to keep big chunks of the current staff in place, especially the letterman. I think banking on Rhule getting you 9+ wins per season on average is realistic. But I don't see Rhule as the guy getting us to elite. Given the financial commitments for the buyout, stadium, staff turnover, and recruiting (it might take a large portal expense to overcome the decommits) I could see the AD making a safe move for a few years just to ride things out until some of the big financial items are gone, then making a move for a bigger name coach, so Rhule becomse the guy before the guy unless he delivers some upside in big games which he hasn't done to this point in his career.
Based on Kraft's presser I don't think this is the way he's thinking about it. I got the impression he's all in and is looking for an elite coach right now, and he's likely had conversations with boosters to secure the finances.
Cross Cignetti off the list. Like most that have been mentioned, most of these guys are just angling for a raise. I wish there was a list of 5 realistic options.
I think 8-15 jobs are pretty coveted. You might drop it a little bit because of the current dumpster fire but you might also raise it up a few spots because PSU will probably pay $12 million, they are finishing a $700 million stadium upgrade, because the fan base is amazing, and PSU seems to be all in wrt $$$ (including Addidas).
You mean like Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) who was picked up.out of the portal from D2 Ferris State and is playing really well?
It's unfathomable that PSU and NW beat PSU the way they did. PSU had so much more talent than both of those teams. It's like almost everything was wrong. Bad coaching, horrible mistakes, poor effort....
We're so awful, we're beating ourselves, and still not winning.
If part of the issue here was Franklin going over Kraft's head, and Kraft resultantly being butthurt by that ... I'm afraid Kraft would be even more likely to look toward a buddy of his, who he thinks could never backstab him like that - Rhule.
That would be an absolutely awful result ... but looks much more likely if you accept that the salary renegotiation tactics had a big part in the breakdown of trust.
That would be an absolutely awful result ... but looks much more likely if you accept that the salary renegotiation tactics had a big part in the breakdown of trust.
I was not a Bill O'Brien fan. He stayed with New England while our recruiting class dissolved. He defended that by saying that he was hired to coach PSU for 5 years, not for a few months. He promised recruits that he would be there for their entire careers at PSU then he bolted after 2 years. He didn't care about PSU. He just used us as stepping stone.
Losing every single big game and beating Purdue? I’ll take my chances. And Krafty just did!
Rhule is the guy before the guy? I thought that was what Franklin was. I'm not sure I see Matt Rhule leaving Nebraska for that.
Yes sir next thing we will hear is Franklin is responsible for global warming.
I also think that Floridas facilities lag behind the rest of the big boys now. Ours, thanks to CJF, are on par with just about everyone’s now (maybe Oregon is the real exception)
Why would he be interested? He certainly won't leave A&M mid season.
No one said he would leave mid season if interested. We would have to wait until
A&M season is over.
Just find someone who has high executive function and has a history of doing great things no matter where they are. Don’t hire the flavor of the day or a homer.
Not really. Two are there because of their dad and the 2025 guy looks pretty mediocre
I think it's a top 8 job. The structural advantages -- location, financial base, stadium and fan support -- make it a top 8 job imho. Franklin recruited well while he was recovering from sanctions, but he hit a ceiling - he got 4 stars but not 5 stars. PSU's offense was never in the same class as the top tier programs because Franklin, after the first 2-3 years, was unable to recruit top receivers or QBs. (Allar was a good QB recruit but you need to recruit multiple prospects of that quality and then have real competition -- Franklin didn't do that.) I think the fact that Franklin was not ever known as an Xs and Os guy probably hurt him -- PSU still recruited great defensive players based on its tradition.
Anyway, I would have argued against firing Franklin (in fact I did argue against it repeatedly) but the three losses (and likely many more losses to come) made it a no-brainer decision. It was time to turn the page. Franklin did really good work at PSU and everybody should be grateful and positive about it. But at the same time it's good for PSU and for him to move on at this point because PSU is going to have some serious rebuilding ahead. Fortunately in the portal/paid players era that rebuilding doesn't have to take 6-8 years like it used to take. PSU should be able to return to the top 10 before long (not a sure bet but a good bet given PSU's structural advantages) and then we'll see if they can do better than they did under Franklin.
Whoever comes in needs to recruit mobile quarterbacks like all the top programs do. Pocket quarterbacks are history.
Um. Raoila only went there because of his uncle and dad and he doesn’t look like a world beater, does he? So, what. PSU had multil 4 star QBs and another in the 2026 class. That doesn’t mean anything if they don’t develop. Rhule hasn’t done any better developing QBs than Franklin.
Why would he leave A&M with some of the deepest pockets in the country for NIL and support?
You gotta convince him to leave his alma mater fresh off of knocking of Miami. Good luck.