The options are dwindling in the Penn State coaching search, and Wednesday morning, another name came off the board.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report that Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline was expected to take the head coaching job at South Florida.
Hartline had been a name thrown around for a while conversations about the Penn State coaching search. The 39-year-old became Ohio State’s offensive coordinator this year, and before that, made a name for himself as best position coach in the country. Over eight seasons, Chesney has developed players such as Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate become stars.
His first season as OC has gone well, too, with QB Julian Sayin developing into a Heisman candidate.
It was clear that Hartline was going to be a head coach someday.
What was less clear is if he was ready for a job like Penn State.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.It was reported that Hartline was in the mix for the Kentucky job, but ended up being passed over for Oregon OC Will Stein.
South Florida seems to be a solid middle ground.
In Tampa, Hartline will get the experience of being a head coach at a quality program without being in the pressure cooker of the Big Ten or SEC. South Florida’s last head coach, Alex Golesh, had enough success there to be hired by Auburn.
So now, what does Penn State do? It’s hard to say. Possible options such as Louisville’s Jeff Brohm are out there, but they are getting fewer by the day.
Stayed tuned to Nittany Sports Now for more updates on the coaching search.
