The Penn State football team is in shambles. With the firing of James Franklin and the loss of 11 different Penn State student-commits who chose to uncommit from Penn State University(PSU) and follow Franklin to Virginia Tech to play under his coaching, the position at Penn State was open for whoever was deemed fit.
Franklin’s continued inability to lead his team to victory against teams ranked in the Associated Press top 10 contributed to his firing. Over 12 seasons at the forefront of Penn State, Franklin guided the team through six seasons with double-digit wins, including three consecutive seasons from 2022-24.
The Nittany Lions came in under high expectations and were poised to meet them early on, considering Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the country, starting off the season with three wins and no losses. However, that was quickly followed by three straight losses, with only one of them coming at the hands of a ranked team. The first loss came during double overtime to No. 6 ranked Oregon, which ended when Drew Allar threw an interception to Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman. The next two losses came during games against UCLA and Northwestern, both solidifying the program’s decision to fire Franklin.
The final interest to fill this detrimental hole in their coaching staff was Iowa State’s Matt Campbell. Campbell was highly-valued in the Iowa State football program, becoming their winningest head coach last season. Campbell’s tenure with Iowa State lasted 10 seasons, his final record being a very solid 72-55. Despite being such a prestigious coach, Iowa State moved on very quickly, hiring Washington State’s Jimmy Rogers as a replacement. Campbell was quick to meet with Penn State officials, meeting just last Thursday, December 4, and negotiating a deal the very next day. The deal is for an eight-year-contract, which offers $70.5 million.
While the position was open, Penn State did look for others to fill this spot in their coaching staff. Their first interest to take over was Alabama’s head coach, Kalen DeBoer. This interest was quickly lost, with DeBoer being “glad he can put that to bed right now.” With this information, Penn State went straight to their next candidate.
Coach Kalani Sitake of the Brigham Young University(BYU) Cougars was the next candidate. Sitake has been at the wheel for BYU since 2016, during which time he won more than 65% of his games. Even though there was mutual interest, Sitake stuck with BYU, receiving a long-term contract extension amidst the hiring rumors.
The hopes for Campbell are high, considering his first ever game at the reins of the Nittany Lions is a Bowl Game against the Clemson Tigers. What he holds for Penn State’s future is yet to be shown, but this upcoming Bowl Game will reveal to the fans and the players if he can handle coaching such a respected program, or will crack under the pressure.
