Matt Rhule tabbed as 'smart money' replacement for James Franklin at Penn State

There is no bigger open job in college football right now than the Penn State Nittany Lions. Unsurprisingly, the expectation is that the Nittany Lions go big-game hunting, and now analyst Josh Pate knows who he’d put the safe money on.

Pate was asked for his safe money pick to be the next Penn State head coach on Get Up this Thursday morning. There, he pointed to Matt Rhule, the Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach, as the safest bet to take over in Happy Valley.

“Taylor Lewan, do me a favor,” Pate said. “Earmuff our boy [Will Compton] for just a second. Hands on the ears. You asked me smart money. Smart money is the guy who lowkey has made it his dream job, the guy who is best friends with the athletic director there in Pat Kraft. It’s Matt Rhule until we see otherwise. It’s gotta be Rhule, the smart money.”

Pate isn’t the only one taking a long look at the chances that Rhule goes to Penn State. Joel Klatt recently linked him to the job as well. Then, David Pollack listed him among the possible candidates to take over for James Franklin.

The logic is there for Rhule to go to Penn State. Since he was a teenager, he lived in State College and would become a walk-on at Penn State under Joe Paterno. He’d then begin his coaching career there as a volunteer assistant. So, in some respects, it would be a return home for Rhule.

On Penn State’s side, Rhule has proven his ability to win at multiple stops at the college level and is currently doing a good job rebuilding Nebraska. One of those stops was Temple, where current Penn State AD Pat Kraft was the AD. So, there’s also familiarity there.

The whispers about Penn State and Rhule got so loud that Matt Rhule recently felt the need to address them. There, he downplayed the job and insisted he’s committed to Nebraska.

“I’m not going to talk a lot about job openings when they come,” Rhule said. “I’m not going to talk about my contract here… I absolutely love it here. I want to continue to take the steps needed to turn this place into a beast.”

Paul Finebaum takes strong stance on Matt Rhule comments, Penn State job

One analyst who thinks Matt Rhule wants the Penn State job is Paul Finebaum. He looked at those comments that Rhule made about the job, including some praise for the program, and felt that Rhule was actually campaigning for it in public.

“He did everything but beg Kraft to hire him. Usually, coaches say, ‘I’m happy with my job. I don’t want any part of it.’ But the very first thing he said, ‘I love Penn State. I met my wife there. I wore a Penn State Jersey in the crib.’ And then later on, he mentioned how much he likes, love-like where he is. I have never heard anybody wanting a job more than Matt Rhule,” Finebaum said.

“By the way, he’s a very good choice. I mean, in addition to the relationship with the AD, he is a Penn State man. You’ve been there enough time that really matters in Happy Valley.”