New coach

[Midnighter]

Where are we on the current Big Board?

1. DeBoer - is he really in play?
2. Chesney - Seems like Cignetti 2.0; but, will he excite the fan base and more importantly, the recruits?
3. Drinkwitz - Have cooled on him a bit as well despite success...
4. Key - Personal Dark Horse; but seems set at GT.
5. Rhule - Extension not withstanding, feel like he's still very much in play (bleh).

Missing anyone? If a coach is going to win they're going to do it early and that usually comes with a big bump in recruiting initially. Transfer portal has up-ended this a bit but I think we'll know a lot about the juice our new coach has by next year's recruiting class ('27).

 

[Chumboshifko1]

Don't panic. The Tingler is loose in the ridiculous thread. Scream for your life. SCREAM the thread will end.

SCREAM, SCREAM, SCREAM !!!!!!

 

[PaForest75]

What happened to Diaz? I know he's been losing, but probably not as much as Fitzgerald and Al Golden. Ever since I saw that the other day, I freaked out that they were even possible choices.

Even out of those two, really only Al Golden would probably take it. Fitzgerald can only coach something that has to do with Chicago. He could have gone to the Bears that one time, but now he was probably watching MACtion last night wondering about putting in for the NIU job.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

Where are we on the current Big Board?

1. DeBoer - is he really in play?
2. Chesney - Seems like Cignetti 2.0; but, will he excite the fan base and more importantly, the recruits?
3. Drinkwitz - Have cooled on him a bit as well despite success...
4. Key - Personal Dark Horse; but seems set at GT.
5. Rhule - Extension not withstanding, feel like he's still very much in play (bleh).

Missing anyone? If a coach is going to win they're going to do it early and that usually comes with a big bump in recruiting initially. Transfer portal has up-ended this a bit but I think we'll know a lot about the juice our new coach has by next year's recruiting class ('27).

DeBoer is not in play, regardless of what his agent has been able to convince everyone. Maybe if he gets beat by Auburn? But that's not happening.

Chesney seems to be picking up steam. Seems like a huge risk. Definitely isn't going to move the excitement needle.

Drinkwitz has some buzz. He's like a southern version of Franklin IMO. Pass.

Key - if he truly was never out of play, he'd be my pick. A lot of back and forth rumors on him though. Give me his OLs though.

Rhule - barf. But he may be our only option. 15 million buyout isn't bad considering what we saved with Franklin's.

^If this is truly the list, what a huge disappointment. Just give it to Terry Smith and start planning for the next guy. I still don't understand why Hartline was cooled on. Because of HC experience? Who cares. Because he'll go back to OSU? Who cares about that now. Give him the resources and coaching staff and let him recruit HS and the portal. His upside is by far the biggest of anyone on that list.

Pat Kraft talked a big game but it seems like he made a reactionary decision and does not have the candidates in place to make an upgrade. Yes, the coaching carousel has no sure things, but man, Kraft seems to bumbling along in this process.

 

[Chumboshifko1]

golden drops.

 

[Rudy4526]

golden drops.

Golden.....

 

[PSU4U]

Yeah, that would be the concern with Drinkwitz. Would probably be a good coach, but the whole time would be keeping an eye on when he could go back to the SEC. Looks like it's down to Chesney or just letting Smith keep it. Daboll would probably be about like Fitzgerald or Al Golden. Looking tough, no way of relating to the players now and racking up losses.

Of the good coaches I can remember who came north to coach all of them eventually went back to the south. Johnny Majors, Jackie Sherrill, Bobby Ross, Bobby Bowden etc.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

LINK

^"Nittany Lions Wire" is reporting Brent Key has moved into the number one slot as of this morning. Deboer being option 2, but that seems completely based on if he loses to Auburn and gets fired - still a longshot.

Drink and Chesney as next man up.

Hartline, Diaz, Campbell, Stein as fall backs.

For what it's worth, they seem to just be recycling PSU insiders. Who, honestly, haven't really seemed to have a good grip on this search to begin with.

 

[djmccaslin]

Where are we on the current Big Board?

1. DeBoer - is he really in play?
2. Chesney - Seems like Cignetti 2.0; but, will he excite the fan base and more importantly, the recruits?
3. Drinkwitz - Have cooled on him a bit as well despite success...
4. Key - Personal Dark Horse; but seems set at GT.
5. Rhule - Extension not withstanding, feel like he's still very much in play (bleh).

Missing anyone? If a coach is going to win they're going to do it early and that usually comes with a big bump in recruiting initially. Transfer portal has up-ended this a bit but I think we'll know a lot about the juice our new coach has by next year's recruiting class ('27).

Can people stop with the Cignetti-Chesney comparisons? The only similarity is they coached at JMU? Cignetti had 15 years of P4 experience before landing the HC job at Indiana, along with another 5 years between Rice and Temple. 11 years as a HC at IUP, Elon and JMU.

Chesney has zero P4 experience. He's got 6 yrs FCS and 2 yrs FBS HC experience. If Chesney had the same experience prior to JMU and coaches a different Sun Belt school, would he even get this attention?

 

[RolexKong]

DeBoer is not in play, regardless of what his agent has been able to convince everyone. Maybe if he gets beat by Auburn? But that's not happening.

Chesney seems to be picking up steam. Seems like a huge risk. Definitely isn't going to move the excitement needle.

Drinkwitz has some buzz. He's like a southern version of Franklin IMO. Pass.

Key - if he truly was never out of play, he'd be my pick. A lot of back and forth rumors on him though. Give me his OLs though.

Rhule - barf. But he may be our only option. 15 million buyout isn't bad considering what we saved with Franklin's.

^If this is truly the list, what a huge disappointment. Just give it to Terry Smith and start planning for the next guy. I still don't understand why Hartline was cooled on. Because of HC experience? Who cares. Because he'll go back to OSU? Who cares about that now. Give him the resources and coaching staff and let him recruit HS and the portal. His upside is by far the biggest of anyone on that list.

Pat Kraft talked a big game but it seems like he made a reactionary decision and does not have the candidates in place to make an upgrade. Yes, the coaching carousel has no sure things, but man, Kraft seems to bumbling along in this process.

Rhule's buyout is closer to $25 million than it is to $15 million.

 

[RolexKong]

Of the good coaches I can remember who came north to coach all of them eventually went back to the south. Johnny Majors, Jackie Sherrill, Bobby Dodd, Bobby Bowden etc.

Bobby Dodd's entire coaching career was spent at Georgia Tech.

 

[PSU4U]

Bobby Dodd's entire coaching career was spent at Georgia Tech.

Thanks, sorry I was thinking of Bobby Ross who also coached at GT. He was from VA.

 

[DaytonRickster]

Where are we on the current Big Board?

1. DeBoer - is he really in play?
2. Chesney - Seems like Cignetti 2.0; but, will he excite the fan base and more importantly, the recruits?
3. Drinkwitz - Have cooled on him a bit as well despite success...
4. Key - Personal Dark Horse; but seems set at GT.
5. Rhule - Extension not withstanding, feel like he's still very much in play (bleh).

Missing anyone? If a coach is going to win they're going to do it early and that usually comes with a big bump in recruiting initially. Transfer portal has up-ended this a bit but I think we'll know a lot about the juice our new coach has by next year's recruiting class ('27).

Good assessment list. Some have mentioned the UGA Defensive Coordinator (Schuaman - sp?), anyone heard if he has been contacted to gauge interest?

Drink, Rhule, Golden, Fitzgerald, Hartline, Daboll, and Brady are NO GOs from my perspective.

I've been on the Chesney train for a few weeks now. Maybe's he not "Cignetti 2.0" but he has been successful at every level he has coached. Cignetti took the nucleus of the best JMU players to IU and Chesney has continued to win. He has high school recruiting contacts in VA, MD PA, NJ, NC, SC, GA, FLA, Texas, DE and New England. I think he's worth the risk for a 4 yr deal.

 

[WVilleLion23]

I just don’t see Key coming to Penn State. He has never coached north of the state of Georgia. Wife is from FL. GT alum coaching at GT.

Would be shocked.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

I just don’t see Key coming to Penn State. He has never coached north of the state of Georgia. Wife is from FL. GT alum coaching at GT.

Would be shocked.

Double the salary for him and his entire staff.

 

[WVilleLion23]

Double the salary for him and his entire staff.

I imagine as long as not insane, GTwill do almost whatever they can to retain him.

 

[DaytonRickster]

Double the salary for him and his entire staff.

I think that GT and/or southern connection is too strong to pull him away.

 

[4theglory54]

64 pages and nothing but speculation. We need bonified data; you know, SCE reports, Flightaware routings, certified Tavern sitings.....something other than apposing opinions......where are our legitimate sleuths??

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

I think Key makes 4.5m.

What if PSU is throwing 10m at him? Maybe GT can match that. But can they match that sort of raise for his entire staff? I highly doubt it. That's life changing money for everyone involved. His wife can use the private jet to get back to ATL any time she wants. That sort of raise is going to make him think long and hard about it.

 

[Patterson825]

Everybody keeps whining about each candidate saying it’s not an elite hiring and won’t get the fans excited. What college coaches are going to get everybody excited about? Kirby Smart/Nick Saban aren’t coming here. Look at all the big time names that have been fired Brian Kelly and Hugh Freeze. Also, people thought Billy Napier was a slam dunk hire because he was a elite recruiter.

I have no problem with Drink they don’t have a big time NIL budget and he does decent for the resources they have and an excellent recruiter in the Northeast when he’s from the South.

Everybody wants to **** on Brian Dabol and he’s basically had a gigantic pile of crap to work with over the years for the Giants. This is the first year they’ve had a decent team since he’s been there and injuries have been killing them. If anybody wants to bring up Daniel Jones he’s came back to earth the last 2-3 weeks. Everybody forgets Josh Allen was a huge project coming out of college and he learned under Dabol. He’s not my first choice but I highly doubt he would do worse than Franklin.

I have no issue with giving guys like Hartline and Chesney a chance. I wouldn’t mind Pat Fitzgerald as a defensive coordinator.

 

[DaytonRickster]

64 pages and nothing but speculation. We need bonified data; you know, SCE reports, Flightaware routings, certified Tavern sitings.....something other than apposing opinions......where are our legitimate sleuths??

"I got nuttin" Just speculation but it's fun.

 

[SRURock24]

DeBoer is not in play, regardless of what his agent has been able to convince everyone. Maybe if he gets beat by Auburn? But that's not happening.

Chesney seems to be picking up steam. Seems like a huge risk. Definitely isn't going to move the excitement needle.

Drinkwitz has some buzz. He's like a southern version of Franklin IMO. Pass.

Key - if he truly was never out of play, he'd be my pick. A lot of back and forth rumors on him though. Give me his OLs though.

Rhule - barf. But he may be our only option. 15 million buyout isn't bad considering what we saved with Franklin's.

^If this is truly the list, what a huge disappointment. Just give it to Terry Smith and start planning for the next guy. I still don't understand why Hartline was cooled on. Because of HC experience? Who cares. Because he'll go back to OSU? Who cares about that now. Give him the resources and coaching staff and let him recruit HS and the portal. His upside is by far the biggest of anyone on that list.

Pat Kraft talked a big game but it seems like he made a reactionary decision and does not have the candidates in place to make an upgrade. Yes, the coaching carousel has no sure things, but man, Kraft seems to bumbling along in this process.

Would they kick the tires on Jedd Fisch. Originally from NJ and coached all over the NFL and college. Turned Arizona around and doing ok at Washington.

 

[PSU4U]

Everybody keeps whining about each candidate saying it’s not an elite hiring and won’t get the fans excited. What college coaches are going to get everybody excited about? Kirby Smart/Nick Saban aren’t coming here. Look at all the big time names that have been fired Brian Kelly and Hugh Freeze. Also, people thought Billy Napier was a slam dunk hire because he was a elite recruiter.

I have no problem with Drink they don’t have a big time NIL budget and he does decent for the resources they have and an excellent recruiter in the Northeast when he’s from the South.

Everybody wants to **** on Brian Dabol and he’s basically had a gigantic pile of crap to work with over the years for the Giants. This is the first year they’ve had a decent team since he’s been there and injuries have been killing them. If anybody wants to bring up Daniel Jones he’s came back to earth the last 2-3 weeks. Everybody forgets Josh Allen was a huge project coming out of college and he learned under Dabol. He’s not my first choice but I highly doubt he would do worse than Franklin.

I have no issue with giving guys like Hartline and Chesney a chance. I wouldn’t mind Pat Fitzgerald as a defensive coordinator.

IMO that would be a good place at any program for him to start to rehab his career. Winning a lawsuit in no way proves innocence but I hope someone gives him a chance.

 

[DaytonRickster]

I think Key makes 4.5m.

What if PSU is throwing 10m at him? Maybe GT can match that. But can they match that sort of raise for his entire staff? I highly doubt it. That's life changing money for everyone involved. His wife can use the private jet to get back to ATL any time she wants. That sort of raise is going to make him think long and hard about it.

Maybe it's not about $ for him. Him and his wife might just like the South.

 

[DaytonRickster]

Would they kick the tires on Jedd Fisch. Originally from NJ and coached all over the NFL and college. Turned Arizona around and doing ok at Washington.

I heard Brent McMurphy yesterday on radio speculate that Fisch is the Florida fall back if Kiffin says no.

 

[WaffleShopper]

Surprising how many posters are anti-Drinkwitz now. Is it because he made the comment about the playoffs and a “successful season”? That seemed to me to be directed towards his players and not the media or any administrators. They just lost their 3rd game and likely got knocked out of the playoffs and he was trying to keep the players from quitting (like ours did after just 1 loss). By the way, all 3 of those losses were to top 10 teams.

 

[Grant Green]

Where are we on the current Big Board?

1. DeBoer - is he really in play?
2. Chesney - Seems like Cignetti 2.0; but, will he excite the fan base and more importantly, the recruits?
3. Drinkwitz - Have cooled on him a bit as well despite success...
4. Key - Personal Dark Horse; but seems set at GT.
5. Rhule - Extension not withstanding, feel like he's still very much in play (bleh).

Missing anyone? If a coach is going to win they're going to do it early and that usually comes with a big bump in recruiting initially. Transfer portal has up-ended this a bit but I think we'll know a lot about the juice our new coach has by next year's recruiting class ('27).

I see you've cooled on Matt Rhule. Still no closer to making the playoffs even after expanding from 4 to 12 teams.

Much like Lea, I'm concerned that Key's success is largely attributed to the QB. Haynes King may not be NFL material but he's been a really good college QB. GT has improved, but was still 7-6 the last 2 years. Hard to say if this season is a new norm or an outlier.

My pref is Chesney. A little risky but seems worth the gamble. I'd be ok with Drink. Otherwise, let's look at some coordinators.

 

[leinbacker]

Surprising how many posters are anti-Drinkwitz now. Is it because he made the comment about the playoffs and a “successful season”? That seemed to me to be directed towards his players and not the media or any administrators. They just lost their 3rd game and likely got knocked out of the playoffs and he was trying to keep the players from quitting (like ours did after just 1 loss). By the way, all 3 of those losses were to top 10 teams.

trust us, we are all familiar with losses to top 10 teams

 

[Grant Green]

I heard Brent McMurphy yesterday on radio speculate that Fisch is the Florida fall back if Kiffin says no.

Makes sense. Fun fact - he was roommates with Howie Roseman at UF.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

Maybe it's not about $ for him. Him and his wife might just like the South.

Totally. I'm not disagreeing that he may not want the job. But everyone is saying he's "still in it" regardless of what he said a few weeks ago at his press conference. The money could be talking.

 

[WaffleShopper]

trust us, we are all familiar with losses to top 10 teams

Well good luck hiring that multi-time national champion coach with a winning record against top 10 teams.

 

[PSUForever]

Are a lot on this board in favor of Smith? I don't get how he is now a guy everyone would take as our next HC? He beat a bad MSU team that was challenging us into the 4th quarter and now he is a guy who can do much better than Franklin ( which is the goal)? Smith is a PSU guy and seems more no nonsense than James but then again probably 90% of the coaches are more no nonsense than BGJ. I don't want to bash Terry Smith. He has been loyal to PSU and has done decently but he can't be our next HC.

 

[Fred8811]

Initially, I was intrigued by Drink, but I'm cooling on him as he sounds an awful lot like Franklin as of late. Telling fans it's "wishful thinking" they can keep their best players considering their somewhat limited NIL offering. Talking about how success isn't only reserved for the programs that make the Playoffs. Its all well and good and I don't disparage Franklin for some truly reasonable observations about having to upgrade a lot of things at the school to have a success against the big boys, I kind of just don't want my coach being the one to say it. AD, President, a GM.....all fair. Franklin was more competitive against OSU in '16 and '17 then he was in '23 and '24 and they sure as **** werent spending less. Coaches coach and charity drivers drive charity. I know, the whole spot has inverted to the point where it seems like the primary job of the HC is to fundraise....but it was a slippery slope for Franklin....he finally got everything he wanted so he didn't have fundraising or "alignment" to excuse anymore. If we hire a Drink and his press conferences are filled with the fact that the administration and fans arent giving enough, I'll lose my mind.

Recruiting SEC territory is a must, and a lovely downtown State College lunch in January.

 

[Zone-Blitz]

Surprising how many posters are anti-Drinkwitz now. Is it because he made the comment about the playoffs and a “successful season”? That seemed to me to be directed towards his players and not the media or any administrators. They just lost their 3rd game and likely got knocked out of the playoffs and he was trying to keep the players from quitting (like ours did after just 1 loss). By the way, all 3 of those losses were to top 10 teams.

He seems like a weasel and wears a big visor

 

[donaldfair71]

I think Key makes 4.5m.

What if PSU is throwing 10m at him? Maybe GT can match that. But can they match that sort of raise for his entire staff? I highly doubt it. That's life changing money for everyone involved. His wife can use the private jet to get back to ATL any time she wants. That sort of raise is going to make him think long and hard about it.

Yep, and you (nor I nor anyone) can ever know what's going on behind the scenes. He may feel like he has to beg on his knees for resources, maybe he doesn't get along with the new AD. He might feel like being second fiddle in a state surrounded by SEC powers caps his upside, etc. Simply no way to know.

He could also be a REALLY good poker, be angling for that extension, but actually intend to leave if the new AD isn't in the mood for 2 extensions in 12 months.

 

[SRURock24]

Are a lot on this board in favor of Smith? I don't get how he is now a guy everyone would take as our next HC? He beat a bad MSU team that was challenging us into the 4th quarter and now he is a guy who can do much better than Franklin ( which is the goal)? Smith is a PSU guy and seems more no nonsense than James but then again probably 90% of the coaches are more no nonsense than BGJ. I don't want to bash Terry Smith. He has been loyal to PSU and has done decently but he can't be our next HC.

People are sentimental. He is a good guy who played for Paterno.

 

[olelion]

The speculation here is beyond absurd. It's up to Mr. Kraft. You'd better be willing to trust him to ask all of the right questions during the interview process and that a level of trust is warranted for the successful candidate. After all it was a loss of trust that cost Franklin his job. The trust was lost when James went over Kraft's head seeking an extension. It's a safe bet that any real concerns over a candidate will be discussed during the interview with classic techniques such as open ended questions along the lines of..."What do you view as your weakness for this position?", followed by Why?, and or/please elaborate, etc., etc.

 

[PaForest75]

I wouldn’t mind Pat Fitzgerald as a defensive coordinator.

Oh man, I was hoping it would be as the head coach so I could freak out about it being either him or Al Golden. What about Al Golden for a position on the staff?

I see the point. Whoever it is, people are going to be skeptical. It's too late to bring Franklin back now so might as well pull a name out of the hat and see what happens. Whoever it is may not be 10-2 every year, but that was even a thing of the past with Franklin. Wasn't happening this year or next year so it appeared to be over for him.

But it is really looking like it's down to either Chesney or Smith keeping it for a while to wait and hope for better choices later. Just don't see people like Drinkwitz, Hartline or Key really taking it.

 

[Fred8811]

There is an awful lot of buzz the last couple days that Bob Chesney is being pursued hard by both PSU and UCLA, but nobody knows which it will be because Chesney will not give either school an answer until after his current season ends (JMU is in line to finish12-1 with a Sunbelt Championship and potentially be the G5 Playoff Rep - their only loss is to a ranked Louisville team).

Chesney is from Central Pennsylvania (near Shamokin - Kulpmont, PA) and graduated from Dickenson, whose Law School is part of PSU. Apparently UCLA wants him badly, but they cannot get him to give them an answer - UCLA strongly believes he (this is probably all taking place via his agent - not Chesney directly) has also spoken to PSU... that there's potential interest in both programs but he will not provide an answer or engage in serious negotiations until his season is complete.

Chesney fading.
There will be lots of complaints.

 

[SRURock24]

Chesney fading.
There will be lots of complaints.

Tough to fire a guy that won 70 percent of his games and replace him with someone who has never even been a Power 4 assistant let alone head coach. He could turn out to be great but it’s a huge leap to go from
Salve Regina, Assumption, Holy Cross and JMU to one of the top 15 programs in the country.