Penn State coaching search: Pat Freiermuth pitches Eli Drinkwitz to replace James Franklin

As Penn State goes through its search to replace James Franklin, On3’s Pete Nakos reported the expectation is the Nittany Lions will take some big swings. Wednesday, program great Pat Freiermuth pitched the target he thinks Penn State should chase.

Freiermuth, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, listed two names. The first was Bob Chesney, who has James Madison rolling to a 7-1 record and a five-game winning streak following Tuesday’s win over Texas State. The other was Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, who would fit the mold of a “big swing.”

Drinkwitz’s name has come up a few times in the early part of what’s expected to be a wild coaching carousel. But Freiermuth said he should be on Penn State’s radar.

“The head coach at JMU, I saw some things online. I think he’s pretty cool,” Freiermuth told Kay Adams on Up And Adams. “Him or Eli Drinkwitz from Missouri.”

When Adams told Freiermuth she went to Mizzou, she said she didn’t want Drinkwitz to leave. But Freiermuth said Penn State might “need him.”

On3’s Pete Nakos reported Drinkwitz’s name is one that has come up in Penn State’s coaching search. He has built Missouri into an SEC contender, leading the Tigers to back-to-back 10-win seasons as the program looks for a third such season in 2025. All told, since his arrival in 2020, Drinkwitz has a 44-26 overall record in CoMo and a 24-22 mark in conference play.

When asked by Paul Finebaum about the coaching carousel rumors, Drinkwitz jokingly took a swipe at the SEC Network host. Of course, he later made it clear he wants his team to stay focused on the task at hand, which is finishing the 2025 season.

“We have an opportunity in front of us right now that doesn’t come very often at the University of Missouri, and I’ll be damned if I let distractions or outside noise or people try to influence that through social media, which, by the way, isn’t real,” Drinkwitz said. “There is no candidacy list, I don’t care what’s on 247, there is no people calling. What really matters for us right now is having the best winning Wednesday practice that we can have to take advantage of the moment in time.”

But in the early stages of the search, ESPN’s Rece Davis listed another “big swing” he thinks Penn State should take. He argued the Nittany Lions should make a run at Texas A&M coach – and Penn alumnus – Mike Elko.

“The big swing,” Davis said. “These people are taking big swings. Everybody knows what Florida‘s big swing is going to be, it appears. I would say, to your point, Elko and the Brink’s truck brought up, the big swing for Penn State would be to try to lure Mike Elko back home.”