What’s new with Penn State football’s coaching search? What we know
Penn State’s coaching search has taken another turn after the program’s top target decided to stay with his current school.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake signed an extension with the Cougars Tuesday night after removing himself from contention in the PSU search, according to a source.
Now Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft and the Nittany Lions need to regroup and determine a new top target in order to make a decision.
Let’s take a look at where things stand on Day 53 without a head coach and where they’re going, based on conversations with multiple sources.
Where things stand with Penn State’s coaching search
Penn State has done a reset on its search, with new candidates coming to play and many of those previously involved now out of it. Of note, Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm fielded interest from the Nittany Lions before deciding to stay with the Cardinals. Former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll was also connected to the job, with the program circling back to him Wednesday after expressing initial interest previously. However, he’s no longer expected to be involved in the search.
Now Penn State will turn to other candidates. The Nittany Lions have expressed interest or had conversations with three notable names who are currently the focus of the search — Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell.
It’s important to note that this is a very fluid situation, with a reset coming following the very public negotiation with Sitake, but at this moment those are the three most likely candidates to be offered the job. That does not preclude additional candidates from being added to that pool, however.
As for Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith, there remains support for him from the outside, but right now he’s on the outside looking in.
What to know about the potential candidates
Rees is a former Notre Dame quarterback who was also the program’s quarterbacks coach from 2017-2022 and its offensive coordinator from 2020-2022 before taking a job with Nick Saban at Alabama as his OC. He was there for a year before Saban retired. Rees then moved on to a job with the Browns as the pass game specialist and tight ends coach before becoming OC this season.
Campbell is the current head coach at Iowa State, where he has been for the last 10 seasons. He’s compiled a 72-55 record in that time, while having five 8+ win seasons. The Cyclones have had only 10 seasons with at least eight wins since 1907. Prior to his time there, Campbell spent just over four seasons at Toledo, going 35-15 and earning nine wins three times in that span. He was promoted to the job after he was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2010 and 2011.
Patricia is a Bill Belichick disciple who spent most of his career in the NFL with the New England Patriots. He was a position coach until becoming their defensive coordinator in 2012, a role he held until 2018 when he became the Detroit Lions’ head coach. Patricia spent three seasons with the Lions, going 13-29-1 and dealing with locker room issues during his tenure. During that time, it was also revealed that he was indicted, but not tried, for sexual assault in 1996. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said he vetted the situation when making the decision to hire Patricia.
When will Penn State hire its next coach?
Because National Signing Day has passed and current candidates are not head coaches playing in the College Football Playoff, the decision could really come any time. It can’t come soon enough though for antsy Penn State fans, who are seeing the program take a beating on social media as the biggest program still without a head coach.
