Why Penn State will be better off after Terry Smith’s tenure as interim head coach
Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith was illuminated by flashing red lights as he walked toward the locker room after his team’s 40-36 win over Rutgers on Saturday night. Smith had just hugged several players and family members in the tunnel, wiping away tears from his eyes until he disappeared from view.
Smith may have made that walk for the last time as Penn State’s interim head coach Saturday night, and if it was, he left the field a winner.
It’s possible he’s still the interim coach when the team heads to a bowl game, which it became eligible for with Saturday’s win — but that’s no guarantee. The team will likely have a permanent head coach by then and Smith will know where he’ll be coaching next year. If it’s not Penn State, then there will be a different coach in charge for the bowl.
But that doesn’t change what Smith did in just under two months.
There were highs and lows in his six games leading the program, but there’s little doubt both Smith and the Nittany Lions have improved since he first took over the role on Oct. 12. He said as much postgame.
“We all learn from experience,” Smith said. “I’m a ton better coach than I was the night of Iowa.”
Smith was much more muted in Piscataway than he was in his last win. That came against Nebraska, with him speaking with passion in his on-field interviews and at the postgame podium, saying the locker room was his and making his case for the job.
His players made the same case, parading around on the field last week with papers that said “Hire Terry Smith” and shoving them at every camera they could find. Everything about the win over Nebraska — and its head coach Matt Rhule, who had long been connected to the Penn State opening — demanded Smith be taken seriously.
But against Rutgers, that scene did not happen. He handed out those hugs as players came off. Some of the players tried to hand out the papers, but their teammates did not unanimously take them and parade around — most of them politely turned them away. And even Smith said he came in a little over the top last week.
“So uh, last week I came in with a lot of energy,” Smith said with a laugh. “This week, I’m just thankful we won a game. I’m thankful we have an opportunity to go to a bowl game. Thankful for these guys that played their hearts for all of us.”
Smith had never been a head coach in college football and had only led a high school team as a head coach previously. It would make sense that he would become a better version of himself as time passed and he grew.
That was evident in his actions, as he embraced winning and what it meant for the team. And it was easy to see on the field with how much better the team played, and how it kept fighting. He called it “Terry Smith tough” previously — and he told Andrew Rappleyea he embodied that as the tight end did his postgame media availability.
Smith was no longer selling himself Saturday. He was selling his players. He helped them improve and because of that, helped the program improve. And in turn, those players again pitched why he should be the next head coach.
“I would love to see Coach Terry get hired,” Rappleyea said. “I think he deserves it. He’s a great dude. We’ve beaten opponents up badly the last couple weeks. You see the way this program has changed in three weeks, four weeks or the last couple wins we’ve had behind Terry. He’s a gritty dude. Everybody wants to play for that guy. Everybody wants to go to battle for him.”
Despite that, there is no denying that hiring Smith is unlikely. But that does not mean he will never be a head coach again. If anything, this stint proved he’s capable of doing that.
And he has seen how much he’s learned in that time.
“It meant a lot,” Smith said about his time as the interim head coach. “It taught me a lot. It taught me that I know that I can truly do this job. It taught me patience. It taught me the role of one of the biggest jobs in college football. It taught me that I have a special bond with people and my players — and that when I go forward in coaching, I have to take advantage of that and really build on that.”
But what comes next is unknown. Smith could be an assistant at Penn State or Virginia Tech with former PSU head coach James Franklin or somewhere else. But wherever he is, he will be better for what he’s done over the last seven weeks.
And so will Penn State.
