Penn State made 'lucrative' offer to Micah Shrewsberry; coaches Lions should target include current assistant: What they're saying
Penn State basketball will be searching for a new coach after just two seasons now that Micah Shrewsberry is leaving for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are not officially expected to announce Shrewsberry as their replacement for longtime coach Mike Brey until Friday, per CBS Sports. But, it and numerous other outlets reported the pending hire.
It leaves first-year Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft with his first major hire to make. Here’s what is being said about the breaking news across social media.
Penn State made Shrewsberry a ‘lucrative offer’
The early reporting on Shrewsberry leaving for Notre Dame makes one thing clear: Penn State made a strong offer at some point during the negotiations.
“[Shrewsberry] turned down a lucrative long-term contract extension from Penn State, sources said, with the pull of going back home being a factor in his decision,” Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello write for ESPN.
Writes Matt Norlander for CBS Sports:
“Penn State’s coach decided Wednesday morning to accept the Irish’s seven-year offer, sources told CBS Sports, and in the process left an enticing contract upgrade on the table from the Nittany Lions”
On Twitter, Matt Fortuna of The Athletic shared the following commentary:
“Micah Shrewsberry had a $4 million buyout and was staring at a significant extension and raise at Penn State that would have more than doubled his salary. Credit to Notre Dame for not letting money get in the way of landing its top target.”
No specifics have been shared on what Penn State offered. According to Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports, who cites a source, “Micah Shrewsberry’s deal with Notre Dame is 7 years and worth well more than $4 million per year.”
Shrewsberry returns home with Notre Dame deal
An Indianapolis Ind., native, Shrewsberry has spent a lot of time in the Hoosier State as a player and coach. He came to Penn State from Purdue, where he’s made two stops as a college coach. He’s also been at numerous other universities in the state. This will mark his first stop in with the Irish. But, his roots run deep in Indiana. That’s the direction Ben Jones of Statecollege.com went with his immediate reaction, writing on Twitter that:
“Micah Shrewsberry was born in Indiana and six of his nine professional jobs in basketball were in the state of Indiana. There’s no reason to think Penn State didn’t give him a competitive offer, if anything it’s the opposite. Sometimes you can’t beat home.”
Who could the Lions target?
It did not take long for one national media member to start pondering who the Lions could target next. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports tweeted out three potential candidates:
Matt Langel, who is the head coach Colgate
Dusty May, who is the head coach at FAU
Mike Rhoades, who is the head coach VCU
Rhodes is from Mahanoy City, Pa., and starred at Lebanon Valley College about two hours from State College before entering the coaching ranks. Langel, then, is from New Jersey but has coached twice in the Keystone State, at Penn and Temple as an assistant. May, then, has never coached in Pennsylvania.
Kraft will undoubtedly vet many candidates, including internal options, before making a decision. One of those is expected to be associated head coach Adam Fisher. He quickly received vocal support for the job from Andrew Funk, Jalen Pickett, and Camren Wynter.
