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Penn State hot board: ESPN names top five coaching candidates to replace James Franklin

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Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The latest Penn State head coaching hot board from ESPN is up now that James Franklin has been fired. Following the change, there is an intriguing list of candidates to watch for over the next few weeks and months.

The coaching carousel was already going to go nuts this year, but Penn State’s opening provides the latest monkey wrench. There are five head coaches in college football, per ESPN, that we have to look at first.

So without further ado, let’s dive into the candidates that could be looked at. We’ll start with one coach with a direct connection.

Matt Rhule, Nebraska head coach

Rhule is the obvious target here if you were going to pick one off the top of your head. The third-year man at Nebraska is slowly rebuilding the Huskers to national and relevant competitiveness again.

He’s a program reviver, having done so at Temple and Baylor before. Not only that, he’s a Penn State alum. Rhule is 64-57 in his career, including 5-1 this season with the Huskers. But like Franklin, Rhule is still searching for his breakthrough set of wins, such as a Power Four conference crown or CFP appearance.

Curt Cignetti, Indiana head coach

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Cignetti promised he’d win right away at Indiana and boy has he. He led the Hoosiers to an 11-1 regular season and the College Football Playoff last year.

In 2025, Cignetti and Indiana have surpassed Penn State by a lot through six games. They’re 6-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country right now. Granted, Indiana gave Cignetti a lot of resources so he could quickly transform the program. Penn State might want to get out its checkbook.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach

Campbell’s been at Iowa State since 2016, becoming a highly successful coach with the Cyclones. He’s 69-53 at the school and has led them to two top 15 finishes, including an 11-3 squad just last year. 

Campbell’s been linked to bigger jobs before, such as Michigan a little while back. At least rumored anyway. Penn State could give Campbell a lot more at his disposal and it’d be interesting to see how he’d do at a major Power Four job compared to the middle tier right now.

Manny Diaz, Duke head coach

Diaz was just at Penn State from 2022-23 as the defensive coordinator, which he parlayed into a new head coaching gig at Duke. Diaz wasn’t anything special coaching Miami for three years, but he wasn’t bad either (21-15 in three years).

But, Diaz has certainly reinvented himself at Duke, winning nine games last year and sporting a 4-2 record this year. This could be an interesting pairing if Penn State believes Diaz can take them to the next level.

Dan Mullen, UNLV head coach

UNLV Football

A second chance for Mullen? Mullen coached Florida to a 34-15 record over the course of four years before being fired after 2021. 

Right now, Mullen is 6-0 at UNLV as the team’s head coach, four years after his last job. It seems the time off did him some good. Mullen had success at two SEC programs in Mississippi State and Florida, so maybe going to the Big Ten to coach Penn State would be a third time’s the charm scenario.