Penn State coaching search: Why Nittany Lions hot board features big names, unlikely candidates

With the news that Penn State fired James Franklin coming Sunday, early candidates have begun to emerge in the coaching search. On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Nebraska coach Matt Rhule is currently the lead candidate on the hot board among a few other big names.

Others on the early list included Indiana coach Curt Cignetti and Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. Nakos also reported that Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft might be inclined to take a “couple of big swings,” with Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman a name he potentially has his eye on.

College football analyst Josh Pate digested the news in the Tuesday episode of Josh Pate’s College Football Show. He took a look at some of the candidates outside of Rhule, saying he sees Freeman as a longshot.

“I don’t think there’s more than meets the eye right now,” Pate said. “It’s early. …When Pete Nakos tells you Matt Rhule is the lead candidate right now, until further notice Matt Rhule is the lead candidate. Curt Cignetti absolutely will be coveted here. I told you, I’d go after Matt Campbell. I think he’s on the list.

“The Marcus Freeman stuff is a little interesting to me. I don’t think Freeman would ever go to Penn State. That doesn’t mean Pat Kraft couldn’t take a wild swing him. So there may be legitimacy there in a sense that Marcus Freeman is incredible at his job, so anyone who has a job opening is dumb not to try and lure him. I don’t think he would be lured to Penn State, but again, that’s just my personal opinion speaking.”

Freeman took over the Notre Dame job at the end of the 2021 season after Brian Kelly left for LSU. He has since directed the Fighting Irish to a 37-12 record since, including leading them to the national championship game last season. Notre Dame defeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl to get there.

Of course, it’s unlikely that Freeman would leave an already great situation at one of the most historic programs in all of college football. But it wouldn’t hurt to try if the Nittany Lions think they could lure him away with a big offer.

Rhule is a more reasonable candidate as a Pennsylvania native who grew up in State College and is a former Penn State linebacker. Those personal connections would have to at least get him to consider the job.

“The thing with Matt Rhule, selfishly, I hope Matt Rhule stays at Nebraska because I think Rhule at Nebraska is really good for college football,” Pate said. “I think there’s something to be said in this entire coaching search. Snowglobe, if you will. If you’ve ever been pursued professionally, it’s one thing to deal in 50,000-foot theoreticals. Like, ‘If so-and-so ever offered me, I think I’d probably go’ or ‘If they offered me I don’t think I’d go.’ That means nothing. When they put the paper and says to you, ‘Here’s the offer.’ That and only then is when it’s real.

“So there’s gonna be a moment, if things go the way they look they’re gonna go, where Matt Rhule actually has the Penn State offer. You gotta ask yourself, do you think he would turn that thing down? Not when it’s theoretical in October, but when it is on a piece of paper in front of him in December, would he turn it down? Is his team in the playoff like I predicted them to be? Does that timetable have any impact on this?”

Rhule is in third season at Nebraska with previous stops at Baylor and Temple as well as a brief detour to the NFL as the coach of the Carolina Panthers. He has the proven track record for building a program from the ground up and the Cornhuskers are 5-1 so far this season.

Whether Penn State ends up choosing him or not, it’s still early. There’s potential for the Penn State coaching search to take many different twists and turns from now until when a hire is finally made.

The other thing to think about is, yes, it’s the middle of the season. So right now this stuff is gonna garner big headlines. It’s not gonna garner big headlines after Saturday. …So a lot of stuff is happening behind the scenes. That’s the way the coaching searches are gonna work out. The second thing is more jobs are gonna come open.

“I promise, Penn State’s the first major job to come open, it is not the last top 15 job to come open. Anyone who is in demand knows that. Anyone’s agent who is in demand knows that. So you want to see the entire landscape before you make decisions. A lot of these candidates are gonna be candidates for multiple jobs. So those are just some things to consider. But I do think those early lists out there are on the up and up. Follow Pete Nakos. He’s very, very much in touch with this stuff and spends 27 hours a day on the phone.”