NSN’s Penn State Head Coach Hot Board 4.0

Penn State needs a new head coach, and just about everybody who’s anybody is going to be mentioned as a possible candidate.

Over this past weekend, some possible candidates helped their cause, and others laid an egg.

Now, let’s talk about who remains from our previous hot boards, and who are some new names to keep an eye on.

NEW NAMES

ALEX GOLESH

Here’s a guy that wasn’t mentioned in the first three hot boards but maybe should have been.

South Florida has been one of the better stories in college football this year, rising to the top 20.

Golesh has been at the center of it, taking a program that had been 1-11 in 2022 and leading it to consecutive winning seasons, and now a likely double-digit win campaign.

He knows how to win, and is an offensive mind, having been Josh Heupel’s offense at Tennessee from 2021-22. The issue is that South Florida is a different animal from Penn State, and it’s hard to know whether Golesh can win the big games that have been lacking at Penn State because he hasn’t done it much at South Florida (his signature win is over a Florida team that just axed its coach, Billy Napier.)

Golesh’s reputation is one of a program builder, which is what James Franklin was, too.

JEFF BROHM

Brohm doesn’t have to prove that he can win big games.

He is 4-1 against top five teams over his time at Purdue and Louisville, which is as many wins as Franklin’s had in 20 fewer tries.

Brohm has done well aside from the occasional upset win, too. He finished with a winning record over six seasons at Purdue, which normally is a coaching graveyard. At Louisville, Brohm is 24-9 and 14-5 in the ACC, with the latest win being a stunner at No. 2 Miami.

He’s also an offensive mind, which Penn State needs, so, yeah, there’s a lot to like about Brohm.

The problem is, he was a legend at Louisville before he became the head coach, so convincing him to leave his alma mater wouldn’t be an easy thing to do.

BRENT KEY

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated listed Key as a potential candidate, and there’s a lot to like.

He took over a program in the basement and has it ranked No. 7.

He’s an offensive guy who has a national championship ring, having worked under the great Nick Saban at Alabama.

But like with Brohm, Key is a Georgia Tech man, so it would take a lot to get him to leave The Ramblin Wreck.

THE RETURNERS

RHETT LASHLEE

 

Lashlee is certainly an offensive mind, having been the OC at three Power Four schools.

He’s also a winner, having brought SMU to the College Football Playoff(before getting trounced by Penn State).

He’s only 42 as well, so Lashlee checks a lot of boxes, and helped his cause by beating Clemson in Death Valley over the weekend.

The problem is, SMU could be a monster in the NIL era (oil money, baby), so it’s not an easy place to leave.

If Lashlee is looking to leave Dallas, the job at his Alma Mater, Arkansas,is also open.

PAT FITZGERALD

I won’t say too much about Fitzgerald since my colleague Kyle Golik laid out the pros and cons of hiring him.

What I will say is that Penn State is a different animal from Northwestern. 

At Northwestern, James Franklin’sPenn State resume would warrant a statue.

At Penn State, James Franklin got fired.

The question of how Fitzgerald would perform at a big school is a fair one, as is the PR firestorm that would brew because of the circumstances that got Fitzgerald fired in July 2023.

KENNY DILLINGHAM

Dillingham is awesome.

He’s 35, led Arizona State of all places to the College Football Playoff and is only two inches taller than I am.

He’s also an offensive guy, which I and many others believe Penn State needs, and has built a culture that kept talented players from leaving in the age of the transfer portal.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is, right now, there’s nothing that says Dillingham wants to leave Arizona State. He made a brief joke when asked about his name appearing on lists like this, and there’s nothing now that says Dillingham is looking to leave his Alma Mater.

35 is insanely young for Dillingham’s position, so it’s not like this will be Dillingham’s only shot at a big-time job.

D’Anton Lynn

Lynn played at Penn State, which will be the first thing anybody thinks about when discussing his candidacy.

He’s also young at 35 and already has experience as a Power 4 coordinator.

The problem is, he’s a defensive coordinator, going back to my point about Penn State ideally hiring an offensive mind. Also, Lynn isn’t somebody who would fire up the fanbase should he get hired, which also plays into it.

TERRY SMITH

This remains highly unlikely at best, but Kraft did say that the Penn State interim coach was “absolutely” a candidate for the job, so Smith must at least be mentioned.

Unless Penn State runs the table or gets close to it, it’s almost certain that Penn State will go after somebody else, and although Smith had Penn State ready to play at Iowa, the team is 0-1 in his tenure.

MARCUS FREEMAN

It’s been reported, so it needs to be addressed. There’s no reason for Freeman to leave Notre Dame so soon after making the national title game, but if Penn State is thinking big, there’s no reason not to consider him.

KALEN DEBOER

DeBoer is rolling at Alabama, which is ranked No. 4. Unless things go south, he ain’t leaving.

Based on what Nittany Sports Now knows, Penn State has a greater chance of landing DeBoer than Freeman. But that isn’t saying much, and there remains little reason to think DeBoer would leave Alabama.

WILL STEIN

The first assistant (not counting Smith) on our hotboard. Penn State fans should know all about Stein, since he runs the offense that started Penn State’s downfall. The 36-year-old doesn’t have any head coaching experience and has only been a full-time college offensive coordinator for three seasons.

But he’s made a huge impact in that short time at Oregon. In 2023, he helped Bo Nix become a Heisman finalist, and did the same with Dillon Gabriel last year.

Now, Nix and Gabriel were each successful college starters before going to Oregon, but Dante Moorewas unproven before this season.

Up until a rough outing this past weekend, Moore was a Heisman favorite, and he has plenty of time to play his way back into contention.

Penn State fans want somebody who can develop a QB, since many feel they failed Drew Allar. Stein’s track record makes him an attractive candidate.

Something else to consider is that Oregon has a good chance to make a deep Playoff run, which could impact Stein’s desire to take the job due to the timing.

That concern also applies to the next name on his our list.

BRIAN HARTLINE

Speaking of offensive minds still in their 30s, Hartline is a guy who is going to be a head coach one day, and there’s a compelling argument for him to fit at Penn State.

Hartline has a national championship ring, which not a lot of people can say, and there’s nobody better at developing receivers.

Now, he’s 6-0, and first-year starting QB Julian Sayin has been fantastic, so maybe he does know what he’s doing as a coordinator, too.

Hartline has a better recruiting record than Stein and, with Ohio State fans being crazy at times, knows what he would be getting into with the Penn State fanbase.

LANE KIFFIN

Wouldn’t this be something? The odds of Kiffin coming to Penn State are slightly higher than those of DeBoer or Freeman, since Ole Miss probably isn’t a better job than Penn State.

But… since NSN’s last update, Ole Miss’ AD expressed a desire to extend Kiffin, and there’s Florida job opened up. So, yeah, this seems less likely now.

MATT RHULE

Rhule has been the elephant in the room since Franklin was fired. A lot of Penn State fans don’t want Rhule, citing his poor record against ranked teams (2-23) as evidence that he’d be a worse version of the man Penn State just fired. But three undeniable factors make Rhule a realistic candidate:

1. His connection with AD Pat Kraft, who he worked with at Temple
2. The fact that he played at Penn State
3. He’s won enough that Penn State should at least consider him.

Rhule turned around Temple (2013-16) and Baylor (2017-19) and now has Nebraska 5-1 and ranked.

Last Thursday afternoon, he said Nebraska is a “destination job,” so it’s fair wonder if he’ll be extended should the Huskers win a few more games.

The next night, he lost to Minnesota by three touchdowns, a reminder that, if Nebraska doesn’t win, none of this matters.

MANNY DIAZ

Like with Rhule, the connection hereis obvious.

Not only did Diaz coach at Penn State, but he did so during Kraft’stenure, leading elite defenses in 2022 and ‘23, which helped him to become the head coach at Duke before the 2024 season.

Diaz went 9-4 in Year 1 at Duke and is currently 4-2 with a 3-0 ACC record.

He’s a defensive mastermind with years of Power 4 head coaching experience, having also run Miami from 2019-21. But it’s fair to question if hiring a guy who worked with Franklin is the best way to move on from him.

Kraft was also the one who hired Diaz for his incredibly brief run as head coach after the 2018 season. Diaz and Duke have a clash with No. 12 Georgia Tech Saturday. If Duke wins, it will be ranked, and the Diaz hype train will pick up steam.

Diaz has the endorsement of at least one Penn State defender, so there’s that.

But like Rhule, Diaz didn’t help his cause this weekend, with Duke dropping one to Georgia Tech at home.

Based on what Nittany Sports Now has heard, Diaz’s candidacy is mainly based on the fact that he used to work for Penn State.

MATT CAMPBELL

Campbell has been a hot name for years, but he just doesn’t seem to have a desire to leave Iowa State.

Campbell has been a hot name for years, but he just doesn’t seem to have a desire to leave Iowa State.

Not even last year, when Campbell led Iowa State to its first-ever 10-win season— even winning the legendary Pop Tarts Bowl— did he leave, and now he’s in Year 10.

Campbell is only 45 years old, so he’sa guy who could lead Penn State for two decades if he wanted.

Campbell was one of the names mentioned by national college football analyst David Pollock as a potential fit.

“I think Matt Campbell is a really, really good one,” Pollock said. “He’sdone it at Iowa State, where he’s done it with less talent. He wins close games and always puts good offense and discipline on the field. They’vestruggled fresh off a Colorado loss, and that’s not a good place to be.Probably a couple of years ago, the name was hotter, but he’s still a heck of a football coach.”

CLARK LEA

“If he can turn Vanderbilt into a winner, imagine what he could do at Penn State?”

That’s the attitude that got Franklin hired 11 years ago. Could lightning strike twice?

Like Franklin, Lea took over an awful program in Nashville, and also like Franklin, he made Vandy relevant again.

With that said, it’s hard to say that Lea has proven enough at Vanderbilt to warrant a job as big as Penn State.

He did lead Vandy to its first winning season since the Franklin era last year, and is off to a 6-1 start this year, with the latest being a win over LSU that for Vandy into the top 10.

It’s hard to argue at this point that Lea isn’t qualified.

But, he grew up in Nashville, went to Vanderbilt and is at a place that put a lot of money into its football program.

It’d be hard to walk away from that.

JOE BRADY

The second-leading receiver in Penn State history endorsed Brady for the job. As great an offensive mind as he is, the 36-year-old Bills offensive coordinator has never been a head coach in his life.

With that said, he’s the betting favorite to land the Penn State job.

Penn State has had bad luck with quality offensive minds since Joe Moorhead left. If Brady comes, he could well break that cycle. At the very least, it would get fans excited.

With that said, the Bills are a team that could win the Super Bowl. If that happens, Brady would have to juggle the Penn State job and Bills OC job for almost two months.

Can anybody manage that?

ELI DRINKWITZ

Since we published our first hotboard, NSN has confirmed that Drinkwitz is a candidate.

Drinkwitz had a lot to say about his name floating around when asked last Monday afternoon.

But he never said “I’m not leaving Missouri,” so take that for what it’sworth.

He’s 42 and has made Missouri one of the best programs in the SEC. He also has Beau Pribula, who plenty of Penn State fans wouldn’t mind seeing coming back.

It also might not be the worst thing for Penn State to move from a program builder to an offensive guru, which Drinkwitz is.

But… as buzz around Drinkwitz isn’t what it was last week, and it’s worth pointing  out that Drinkwitz is one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, having just signed an extension over the summer.

URBAN MEYER

Meyer is one of the greatest college football coaches who has ever lived. It’s documented that Meyer was a candidate for the job after the 2011 season.

Of course, that didn’t happen. Meyer went to Ohio State, won a national title, and won seven of eight games against Penn State.

The first question to ask regarding Meyer’s interest in coaching Penn State is if he wants to return to coaching at all. He hasn’t coached since 2021 and hasn’t coached at the college level since 2018. Since then, NIL and the transfer portal have changed the game.

Does Meyer want to return to coaching at all? If not, then the point is moot.