Paul Finebaum labels Penn State coaching search 'embarrassing,' 'a disaster'

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum called the Penn State coaching search an absolute “disaster” as the carousel rolls on. The Nittany Lions also recently struck out on BYU head coach Kalani Sitake.

Not only that, Ohio State OC Brian Hartline is expected to become the new head coach of USF. Whether or not Penn State was looking in conference at Hartline is anyone’s guess, but that’s another young candidate off the board. Others like Jon Sumrall are already signed with Florida.

For as glamorous and resource-rich Penn State is right now, Finebaum can’t believe the school hasn’t gotten a coach yet. Remember, Penn State fired James Franklin after a 3-3 record this year, over six weeks ago.

“It’s a disaster,” Finebaum said on Get Up. “How you can go as long as they have gone without hiring a coach? I mean, we’ve been here every day. 10, 15, 20 schools have replaced coaches. What is wrong with Penn State and Heather said something interesting. They have all the money in the world. They had the best class in the country coming into the season, and James Franklin still found a way to screw it up. 

“I think this program is a shell of its former self. I don’t care how much money they have, but when you’re now heading into the first weekend in December without a coach, it’s pretty embarrassing.”

Sitake emerged as the top target in Penn State’s coaching search this week. When asked directly about the position ahead of the Big 12 Championship, he made it clear his focus was on the task at hand, which is beating Texas Tech in Saturday’s conference title game.

“I’m all about the Big 12 championship and keeping our team focused on that,” Sitake said in a press conference. “We’re going to avoid all of the distractions.”

BYU is preparing to commit between $10 million and $15 million in NIL dollars on top of the revenue-sharing commitments in place under the House settlement, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. Sitake is expected to receive a new deal worth roughly $9 to $9.5 million annually over the course of the contract.

At this point, you could get nuts when it comes to the Penn State coaching search. Former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger floated Mike Tomlin’s name. He’s already under the gun despite being the Steelers’ head coach for two decades.

“It’s being talked about around here a lot: Maybe it’s a clean-house time. Maybe it’s time,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin. But maybe it’s best for him, too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what’s best. Whether that’s in the pros, maybe go be Penn State’s head coach. You know what he would do in Penn State? He would probably go win national championships. Because he’s a great recruiter.”