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Smeltzerโ€™s 7: An Updated Look at Penn State DC Candidates

Dom Brown is an option at DC should Penn State want to hire him.
PISCATAWAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 21: Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator Don Brown during the college football game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Michigan Wolverines on November 21, 2020 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

We are a little more than a week into Penn State footballโ€™s search for defensive coordinator, and hereโ€™s a breakdown of where the search could be going.

Tom Allen left the position after just one season to take the same job at Clemson, meaning that, for the second winter in a row and third in four years, head coach James Franklin and company are looking for a DC.

Report: Penn State DC Tom Allen Leaving For Clemson

Nittany Sports Now published an initial list of candidates last week, and with the coaching search being as fluid as it is, there have been some changes.

Smeltzerโ€™s 7: An Early List of Possible Penn State Football Defensive Coordinator Candidates

Hereโ€™s an updated look at the candidates for the Penn State defensive coordinator job.

NO WAY, JOSE

Looks like former Penn State TE and current Notre Dame DC Al Golden could be returning to the NFL.

SOUTH BEND, IN – SEPTEMBER 28: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defensive Coordinator Al Golden talks into his headset in action during a game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on September 28, 2024 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire)Sportswire)

Al Golden, Notre Dame DC

This was a long shot at best from the beginning but because Golden did play at Penn State, he was inevitably going to be mentioned as a candidate. Now, it seems pretty clear that heโ€™s going back to the NFL as the Bengalsโ€™ defensive coordinator. So cross him off the list.

 

IN-HOUSE

Does Anthony Poindexter make sense as Penn State footballโ€™s next defensive coordinator?

The Penn State Nittany Lions hold a press conference prior to the 2023 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, on Dec. 28, 2023 in Atlanta, Ga. Penn State will face Ole Miss in the NCAA football bowl game on Dec. 30. (Jason Parkhurst via Abell Images for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl)

Anthony Poindexter, co-defensive coordinator/safeties coachย 

If Penn State is to promote from within, Poindexter will be the guy. Heโ€™s been with PSU for four seasons under three defensive coordinators. When Brent Pry left for Virginia Tech after the 2021 regular season and Manny Diaz did the same for Duke two years later, Poindexter was the guy who ran Penn Stateโ€™s defense during the bowl game. Heโ€™s also done an excellent job as safeties coach, helping develop NFL talents such as Jaquan Brisker, Jiโ€™Ayir Brown and soon to be Kevin Winston Jr. and Jaylen Reed. With all that said, itโ€™s fair to wonder if the fact that Penn State has gone this long without hiring Poindexter means that his chances to get the job are slim.

 

FROM THE OUTSIDE

Jim Knowles, Ohio State defensive coordinator

Would Jim Knowles really leave Ohio State for Penn State?

COLUMBUS, OH – AUGUST 27: Jim Knowles defensive coordinator of the Ohio State Buckeyes addresses members of the media during a press conference held at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center in Columbus, Ohio on August 27, 2024 (Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire)

Would Knowles really leave the national champs for Penn State? Thereโ€™s no evidence necessarily that he would, and Nittany Sports Now gets the sense based on conversations that it would take a lot for Knowles to leave Ohio State. But NSN also gets the sense that Penn State is still going for Knowles. So we shall see what happens.

Joe Harasymiak, UMass head coachย 

Harasymiak is a possible candidate to watch. James Franklin has gotten familiar with him over the past several seasons since Harasymaik has been part of the Big Ten family. He was at Minnesota from 2019-21 before leaving to become the full-time DC at Rutgers, a job he held from 2022-24. Harasymaik coached against Penn State in 2022 and 23.

In his press conference leading into the 2023 game, Franklin spoke highly of Harasymiak.

โ€œCoach Harasymiak has done a really good job,โ€ Franklin said. โ€œIt’s year two for him, and their numbers really dramatically increased, really kind of across the board. Playing really good defense. They make you earn everything. They do a great job limiting explosive plays both in the run and pass. Their numbers are a little bit better in the pass, but really in both areas they’re playing well.โ€

Franklin wasnโ€™t lying.

Under Harasymiak, Rutgers improved from the 95th total defense in 2022 to 34th in 2023. This season, the defense regressed statistically to 71st.

But Harasymiak took the head coaching job at UMass. Who knows how long heโ€™ll stay?

 

Lyle Hemphill, James Madison DC

Hemphill just wrapped up his first season at James Madison. Despite James Madison going through a big transition after Curt Cignetti left for Indiana, JMU kept playing solid defense. The team ended 20th in total defense in 2023 and 21st in โ€˜24. So Hemphill knows what heโ€™s doing. He also has Power 4 coaching experience, having coached at Wake Forest (2017-21) and Duke (2022-23). He was Wake Forestโ€™s DC from 2019-21.

Don Brown, most recently HC at UMass

James Franklin respects Dom Brown. Could that mean Brown to Penn State?

YPSILANTI, MI – SEPTEMBER 16: Eastern Michigan Eagles head coach Chris Creighton and Massachusetts Minutemen head coach Don Brown talk prior to the game between the Eastern Michigan Eagles versus the Mass Minutemen on Saturday September 16, 2023 at Rynearson Field in Ypsilanti, MI. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire)

Brown most recently was the boss at UMass (2022-24). He has almost 40 years of coaching experience at many places and Franklin knows him quite well. Not only did Franklin coach against Brownโ€™s Michigan defenses from 2916-20, there was a time when Franklin was the Maryland offensive coordinator and Brown the defensive coordinator (2019-10).

Before Penn State took on Brown and UMass in 2023, Franklin had a lot to say about Brownโ€™s influence on him.

โ€œI mean this in terms of as a head coach, is Don has always run an unorthodox system,โ€ Franklin said. โ€œAnd as a head coach Iโ€™ve got a very structured way of the way we install and the way we teach. And a lot of that comes from Don, to be honest with you.

โ€œWhen youโ€™re trying to install a defense or when youโ€™re trying to install an offense, I donโ€™t allow the offense, when weโ€™re doing install during spring ball or training camp, that Manny (Diaz) got to teach his defense and then also he could get empty, he could get unbalanced, he could get motions and shifts. We donโ€™t do that. So itโ€™s like on this day youโ€™re going to get this from the offense and on this day youโ€™re going to get this from the defense. And that was always a challenge with Don, because Don, that is his base. Itโ€™s like OK, weโ€™re trying to run it against a base defense, well he doesnโ€™t really have a traditional base.โ€

Anthony Campinale, Green Bay Packers LB coachย 

Only 42 and has five seasons of Big Ten coaching experience, plus five more years in the NFL. Could be something to think about.

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