Penn State hot board: The Sporting News names top six coaching candidates to replace James Franklin

Penn State made the bold decision to fire head coach James Franklin on Sunday afternoon, following a third straight loss in the 2025 season. With that, the focus shifted to who the Nittany Lions might target as its next head coach.

To that end, The Sporting News has provided a list of potential candidates who could fit the bill. Naturally, the list includes a lot of sitting head coaches.

Who might Penn State be able to pull away that would make sense to succeed Franklin? Well, let’s dive into the list, which was curated by Bill Bender, below.

Matt Rhule, Nebraska head coach

The current Nebraska coach has plenty of ties to the Penn State program. First, he’s an alumnus, having played there from 1994-97. He reportedly still maintains great relationships with many in the Penn State power structure from his time around the program.

Rhule has proven he can get it done at a high level at multiple programs, starting with Temple and Baylor. His Nebraska rebuild is in progress currently and going well, with Rhule sporting a 5-1 record at the midway point of the 2025 season.

Manny Diaz, Duke head coach

Like Rhule, Diaz has some ties to Penn State. He served as defensive coordinator there from 2022-23, a highly successful stint, before he headed out to take the Duke job. Has he done enough to merit a job as big as Penn State? That will be the key question.

Diaz has previously been a head coach at Miami (21-15 overall) and now at Duke. He won nine games in his first game in Durham, while he’s currently at 4-2 in his second season.

Curt Cignetti, Indiana head coach

Bender notes he has some doubts about whether Cignetti would leave for Penn State if offered the job, given his current level of success at Indiana. But he’s already got College Football Playoff experience, at a place with way more challenges and hurdles to overcome than in Happy Valley.

At 17-2 in two years in Indiana, there’s little questioning the resume. He’s one of the hottest coaches in the game. Again, it’s about fit and whether he’d entertain it. But an interesting name to keep an eye on for sure.

Alex Golesh, South Florida head coach

Maybe the biggest “outsider” candidate in terms of his previous stops relative to Penn State, Golesh is viewed as a big-time up-and-comer in the sport. He has previously worked as a graduate assistant at Ohio State, so he’s got some minor familiarity with the league and the recruiting territory.

Golesh would represent a very different style from Franklin. He’s a spread guy who is having major success at USF this season, to the point that the Bulls are one of the favorites to reach the College Football Playoff from the Group of Five. But The Sporting News reports correctly that it’s a big, big jump.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach

Can Penn State afford to take a chance on a coach who has done quite well at a program that historically hasn’t been great? That’s the bill Campbell fits. He’s had historic success at Iowa State, but he’s also never truly broken through at an elite level.

Would the sustained success over a long period translate with better resources and arguably in a tougher league? That’s the gamble the Nittany Lions would be taking based on his overall body of work, potentially. Bender admits it would be a “swing.”

Pat Fitzgerald, former Northwestern head coach

Hard to get much more Big Ten experience than what Fitzgerald would provide. He was chased out of Northwestern and won a huge wrongful termination suit against the program over that whole ordeal. His football coaching acumen, though, was never in question.

He compiled a 110-101 record with Northwestern from 2006-22, a historically difficult place to win. Fitzgerald wants to get back into coaching, he’s been open about that. Penn State would be one heck of an opportunity for him.