Penn State football is on the hunt for a new analytics coordinator after staff departure
Penn State football coach James Franklin has a hire to make.
The leader of the Nittany Lions is searching for a new analytics coordinator. The job was posted on late last week.
A spot opened on the program’s off-field staff after former Illinois offensive coordinator Rod Smith left an analytics coordinator job at Penn State to join Rich Rodriguez’s Jacksonville State staff as its new offensive coordinator. Smith was only in State College for a few months. But, he was able to work behind the scenes all winter and during spring practice.
“I am extremely thankful to @coachjfranklin and the @PennStateFball program for the opportunity to serve as Offensive Analyst,” Smith wrote on Twitter. “My family and I are excited to start the next chapter!”
According to the job posting, the candidate hired for this analytics coordinator at Penn State will have at least the following tasks:
- Organize, coordinate and perform special teams analysis of practices, competition and future Penn State opponents
- Provide preliminary scouting reports and schemes for offensive coordinator to review prior to competition and practices
- Create self-scout reports for coaches and staff
- Coordinate data related to offensive analytics services used by the program and distribute to coaches and staff as appropriate
- Oversee the relationship with agents to ensure that our specialists are properly advised during the agent selection process
- Coordinate meetings with Penn State University agent Consultant Company and student-athletes, parents of student-athletes and the football staff
Adding off-field staff was a priority for Penn State coach James Franklin
Franklin signed a new contract recently. Part of it helped the program beef up its off-field staff. The program made numerous hires this offseason. Some were to fill vacated roles, while others were for newly-created ones.
“I think we have made some strides there. Obviously my new contract, that was a big part of that.,” Franklin said in March. “Typically these positions, as you could imagine, they’re not usually long-term positions. They’re either young guys that are transitioning from being a GA to a full-time coach, or they’re coaches with tremendous experience that may be out of work that you’re able to bring in for a year. Keeps them involved in the game and allows us to gain some experience and some perspective.
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“Really that’s what it’s about. It’s about manpower in recruiting. It’s about manpower in terms of when we’re breaking down film and when we’re watching tape that we have enough perspectives in the room and enough experience in the room, and then obviously it helps you also — it also helps you obviously in terms of manpower when it comes to game planning and those types of things.”
Penn State opens the 2022 season at Purdue on Sept. 1.
