The common thought is that Terry Smith will not be the next full-time head football coach at Penn State, but one prominent PSU name wants the school to give him a look.
Scott Paterno, whose father, Joe, won a few football games as Penn State’s head coach, tweeted Saturday night that he’s leaning toward wanting Smith to be the full-time guy.
Smith is a part of Joe Paterno’s era of Penn State football.
He played at PSU from 1987-91, captaining a team that won the Fiesta Bowl and finished No. 3 in the country during his senior season.
He’s been coaching at his alma mater since 2014, and Saturday night, got his first win as interim head coach.
WHAT PATERNO SAID
“FWIW I am becoming convinced you take the interim tag off his title. You need a guy who fits your school and your roster. The “names” everyone’s tossing around are all signing extensions,” Paterno wrote.
“Just sayin, last time we promoted from within the guy won 409 games. Worth considering.”
Scott, of course, is referring to his father, who was an assistant at Penn State for 16 seasons before becoming the head coach in 1966.
Paterno later sent a follow up tweet defending his take.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“Anyone who thinks my suggesting we consider Terry is crazy, tell me this:
Who are you hiring then? Serious question,” he wrote.
KEEPING TERRY AROUND
Even if Terry Smith isn’t the next head coach at Penn State, he’d be an important guy to keep around because of what he’s meant to the program.
Earlier this month, Smith was asked about his future with Penn State, and said he isn’t sure what’s coming next,
“When the guys come up and ask me about my future, the truth is, I don’t know,” Smith said. “I’m just like, ‘I don’t know.’ No one’s giving me confirmation and saying, ‘hey, you’re going to be here.’ So again, we live in the moment. So head coach right now, and so I’m making these decisions.”
Whether is as the full-time, an assistant coach or even a general manager, Smith is a guy most people agree Penn State would be wise to keep.
Penn State takes on Nebraska Saturday for senior night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 on NBC.
