Less than a month ago, Penn State had legitimate national championship aspirations. Now, the school is looking for a new coach after firing James Franklin on Sunday.
Franklin’s fall was stunning, swift and historic, beginning with a type of loss (Oregon) that has come to define his Penn State tenure, and continuing with two other losses (against major underdogs UCLA and Northwestern) that have not. A season-ending injury to starting quarterback Drew Allar against Northwestern added even more anguish to an awful afternoon in Happy Valley.
Just like that, Franklin’s tenure of 11-plus years at Penn State is over, within the same calendar year as Penn State reached the cusp of the national championship game, only to fall in overtime to Notre Dame in a CFP semifinal. Penn State entered this season with a championship-or-bust mission, and boy, did things go bust. Although things fell apart quickly for Franklin, it also became harder to envision a path forward, despite his many successes at Penn State.
Where does PSU go from here? The school has made significant investments in facilities, NIL and other areas. Athletics director Patrick Kraft is a football guy who wants to win at the highest level. Penn State has access to talent in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, and can compete for major goals on a regular basis. The team can aim high with candidates, including from within the Big Ten, and certainly target those with a track record of winning the biggest games.
Here are several candidates Penn State could pursue, as well as the roster and recruiting situation amid a coaching transition. — Adam Rittenberg
Candidates | Transfers | Recruits
Five candidates for the job
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule: The fit factor with Rhule at Penn State is off the charts. Rhule walked on for the Nittany Lions and played linebacker, and he also worked under Kraft at Temple, where he was head coach from 2013 to 2016. The two remain extremely close, although that friendship — and preserving it — might end up reducing the chances of a reunion. Then again, how many coach-AD combinations who know each other this well get a chance to link up again and chase a national championship? Rhule has won at his previous college stops, Baylor and Temple, and has Nebraska positioned for a Year 3 breakthrough at 5-1. He’s a former NFL coach who now has some Big Ten experience and wouldn’t shy away from the magnitude of the job. Rhule, 50, also likes his gig at Nebraska and has lifted the program out of an extended slump. But can he win a national title there? He certainly can at his alma mater.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti: Arguably, no move would shake up the Big Ten more than Coach Cig to Penn State. He doesn’t have the relationship with Kraft that Rhule does, and he’s more connected to Penn State’s regional rivals in Pitt (assistant from 1993 to 1999) and West Virginia, where he played quarterback and where his father Frank coached. But Cignetti has won bigger than anyone could have imagined at historic bottom-feeder Indiana, where Kraft played football. Cignetti wins and wins big, including at his first head coaching stop, Indiana University-Pennsylvania, where he went 53-17 with three Division II playoff appearances. Cignetti, 64, could ride out the rest of his career at Indiana, but if he makes a move, it should be to a place with the resources to consistently compete for national titles.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell: His name has appeared often on lists such as this over the years, but Campbell has stayed loyal to Iowa State, a program he built into a Big 12 contender. Penn State has long been mentioned as a program that would intrigue him, along with fellow Big Ten heavies Ohio State and Michigan, as well as Notre Dame. Campbell would bring a background on offense and with quarterbacks that could serve Penn State well after the end of Franklin’s tenure, where the offense never consistently reached its potential. He played a season of college ball at Pitt before finishing at Mount Union, in his home state of Ohio, where he spent his entire coaching career before taking the Iowa State job. The time seems right for the 45-year-old to make a big move, and Penn State would be a sensible landing spot.
Duke coach Manny Diaz: There are a range of opinions on how Diaz’s tenure went at Miami and ultimately how things ended for him there. But he’s positioning himself for a possible jump to a program on a similar tier to the U. Could it end up being Florida State, his alma mater, or another program in the ACC and Southeast, where he has primarily lived and coached? It’s quite possible. But he also spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons as Penn State’s defensive coordinator, boosting the Lions’ defense to nationally elite levels before heading to Duke, where he is 13-6 in his second season. Diaz would bring a different energy to Penn State’s program and an aggressive defensive philosophy that served the Lions well during his two seasons there. He can recruit throughout the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic, and he is 34-21 overall as an FBS coach.
UNLV coach Dan Mullen: As UNLV has surged to a 6-0 start in Mullen’s first season, the market will view him in several lights. Yes, his Florida tenure fell apart in a hurry, but the issues in Gainesville clearly go beyond Mullen, who still went 34-15 with the Gators and had three AP top-15 finishes. Mullen’s overall record of 109-61 is very impressive, and other than Florida, he hasn’t been at the top resourced programs. He might not be a rabid recruiter, but he’s a superb quarterback developer and has the big-game wins Penn State lacked under Franklin. Although most of Mullen’s career took place at two SEC schools, Florida and Mississippi State, he was born in Pennsylvania and played college ball in the state at Ursinus College. Mullen, 53, might seek a move closer to the Northeast. — Rittenberg
Five important players to retain
DE Chaz Coleman: The true freshman pass rusher has made a huge impression since arriving on campus and would be extremely coveted if he explored a transfer. Coleman was an ESPN 300 recruit as a 6-foot-4, 220-pound athlete who also played quarterback in high school. In his first year in the program, he has already bulked up to 246 pounds and has flashed big-time potential with 11 pressures through his first five games, three tackles for loss and a strip sack against FIU that he returned 39 yards.
LB Tony Rojas: We’re finding out just how valuable Rojas is for a Nittany Lions defense that’s struggling to stop the run without him. Rojas, a 20-game starter, went down with an unspecified long-term injury in practice days after the Oregon loss, and it’s unclear when he’ll return. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior was tied for the team lead in TFLs with 4.5 when he went down and would have two more seasons of eligibility if he needs to take a medical redshirt for 2025.
OL Anthony Donkoh: If we’re assuming Olaivavega Ioane goes pro after this season, Donkoh would be Penn State’s most experienced returning lineman next year. The 6-foot-5, 323-pound redshirt sophomore started 10 games at right tackle last year, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition, before suffering a season-ending knee injury in November. He started the first four games this season at right guard. Donkoh has two more seasons of eligibility and should be a leader for this offensive line next year.
CB A.J. Harris: Harris transferred in from Georgia in 2024 and immediately proved he was ready to be a difference-maker as a sophomore, earning 15 starts and finishing with 48 tackles, one interception, five pass breakups and the seventh-best defensive grade among Big Ten starting corners, according to Pro Football Focus. If Harris stays in school for his senior season, he could compete for All-Big Ten honors. True freshman cornerback Daryus Dixson looks like a future star as well and would be another important cover man to hold onto.
TE Luke Reynolds: Tyler Warren is emerging as one of the top tight ends in the NFL as a rookie, and now it’s up to Reynolds to replace him as Penn State’s next great tight end. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound sophomore earned four starts during his debut season and ranks fifth among Big Ten tight ends with 197 receiving yards on 18 catches this fall. He’ll be a key target for Penn State’s inexperienced QBs to finish out this year and will have two more seasons of eligibility. — Max Olson
Three key recruits
WR Davion Brown, No. 71 in the ESPN 300: Not since the 2022 recruiting class — the same cycle the Nittany Lions landed quarterback Drew Allar — has Penn State signed a wide receiver rated as highly as Brown. It’s part of the reason Franklin and his staff had to hit the transfer portal so heavily to surround Allar with pass-catching talent ahead of the 2025 season. A productive, 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver from Richmond, Virginia, Brown has been Penn State’s top 2026 commit since May when he picked the program amid a slew of ACC, Big Ten and SEC offers. That could soon change if pledges start pouring out of the Nittany Lions’ class.
OT Kevin Brown, No. 80 in the ESPN 300: ESPN’s No. 2 prospect in the state of Pennsylvania this cycle, Brown is the type of offensive tackle talent Penn State has at times struggled to land as it strived to compete atop the Big Ten in recent years. That’s what made Brown such an important piece of Franklin’s latest recruiting class as one of the Nittany Lions’ earliest pledges in the cycle. Brown, out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has visited Penn State more than a dozen times, but with offensive tackle talent at a premium at this stage, home ties might only do so much in keeping the 6-foot-5, 245-pound blocker committed to the Nittany Lions.
RB Messiah Mickens, No. 135 in ESPN 300: Mickens is a teammate of Brown’s at Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) High School and stands as the longest-tenured member of the Nittany Lions’ class. ESPN’s 14th-ranked running back in 2026, Mickens flirted with a flip to Notre Dame earlier this year before shutting down his recruitment in March. Mickens has been sidelined by an injury over the past month. But with upheaval at Penn State, Notre Dame — with former Nittany Lions running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider on staff — should be one of the many programs to circle back with Mickens, Pennsylvania’s 2024 Gatorade Football Player of the Year. — Eli Lederman
