Who is Terry Smith? What to know about the Penn State football interim coach
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Terry Smith named Penn State interim head coach after James Franklin's firing.
- Smith leverages recruiting ties and roster relationships to retain and recruit talent.
- Athletic director and alumni praise Smith’s Penn State roots and leadership credibility.
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Penn State fires James Franklin
The James Franklin era is over at Penn State.
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Terry Smith did not expect any of this 48 hours ago. At that time, he was preparing the cornerbacks for a matchup with Northwestern and doing his duties as associate head coach.
But Monday morning there he sat in the Beaver Stadium press room — as Penn State’s interim head coach. Smith was hired by James Franklin, but will now replace him for the time being after Franklin was fired Sunday afternoon.
It has been a whirlwind of a two days for Smith.
“I was stunned, like most people in the building, most people around the country,” Smith said at a press conference Monday. “I was fortunate to speak with Coach Franklin last night. It was a heartfelt conversation. I just wanted to express my gratitude and thankfulness for him and all that he’s done for me, my family, and this program. He took us out of a darker era and got us to be a relevant program again. We don’t take that for granted.”
Smith has held down the cornerbacks coach and defensive recruiting coordinator roles since Franklin hired him in 2014, but has seen additional titles in that time. He became assistant head coach in 2016, and elevated to associate head coach in 2021. But his role as the defensive recruiting coordinator is one that could help him most now that he’s the interim head coach.
Smith has relationships across the roster, something he’ll lean on as he tries to right the ship for Penn State. Because, while the Nittany Lions are trying to get back on track this season, the ability to recruit and retain talent is going to be vital for how the program does moving forward.
“I probably recruited almost three fourths of the roster, and a lot of committed guys, I recruited those guys,” Smith said. “We’re just going to continue to press forward. We’re going to continue to recruit. We are going to continue to get in front of these guys.
“One thing that hasn’t changed is Penn State is Penn State. We all know the expectations of being here. Pat made it clear: We’re going to be successful. We have always been successful. It’s the only way we know. So we’re going to recruit the young men that want to be here, and when we suit up come 2026 with a new roster, they will be equipped and ready to go.”
Smith has always been a strong recruiter, which will be an obvious asset to a team that has lost several commits from its future recruiting classes already. He was a high school coach at Gateway High School in western Pennsylvania for over a decade before joining Temple as its wide receivers coach in 2013 for a year ahead of his time at Penn State.
He knows how to build those relationships with young prospects, and more importantly, he knows how to sell the Nittany Lions. His tenure as an assistant is important with that, but so is the fact that his family has deep ties to Penn State.
“My dad sits up top,” Smith said. “He’s a ‘68 grad; I’m a ‘91 grad; my son is an ‘07 grad; and my daughter graduated here recently. I call this place home. I love this place. I love the blue and the white. I’m proud to be sitting in front of you.”
It helps, too, that he played at Penn State as a wide receiver and started for three years. He, better than most, understands what it’s like to play for and coach the Nittany Lions. That will shape how he proceeds and is part of why he was appealing as an interim option for athletic director Pat Kraft.
“Terry is a proud Penn Stater,” Kraft said. “He helped build this program as both a player and coach, and he understands what it means to wear the blue and white. I am confident and I can tell you he will pour his heart and soul into this role and our players, and fans deserve nothing less.”
Yet, Smith is also back at Penn State because of Franklin. And he spoke about the loyalty of everyone in the Lasch Building to the former head coach and his loyalty to them.
It would be fair to wonder what it’s like for Smith to replace someone like that. But there was no question for him. In fact, he said Franklin backed him as the person to take the helm if he ever left.
“James has always told me that if something happened to him, he would recommend that I be the next person to lead. So he understood,” Smith said. “We’re all under contract. We have to press forward. We’re dealt a certain hand in life, and whatever that hand is you have to play it. This is the hand that I’ve been dealt to lead this program. When I woke up yesterday morning I had no idea I was going to be the interim head coach of Penn State University. Today I’m super proud to be that. I will lead this program to the best of my ability and we’re going to get it back on track.”
So now the attention turns to the current team and maintaining what’s there. That will be Smith’s job — to keep this group moving forward and to give the players who can come back in 2026 the reason to do so.
Because while Smith said he’d be remiss to say he wouldn’t love the opportunity to be the full-time head coach, odds are he won’t be. But there are much better odds that he’ll still be a part of the next staff in some role. Because any head coach would have to consider a lifelong Nittany Lion, who has excelled as a recruiter and position coach.
That’s part of why Smith can succeed in his interim role — and in a long term one regardless of who leads the Nittany Lions out of the tunnel in 2026.
