The pressure is officially on for Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft to make a home-run hire for the Nittany Lions. In a shocker, James Franklin is out of a job after six games in 2025, which is something none of us saw coming before the start of the campaign.
Penn State immediately loses elite LB commit after firing James Franklin
Franklin's seat was sizzling hot following the back-to-back losses to Oregon and UCLA. Then, Saturday's defeat against Northwestern wrapped everything up for him with the program. Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, who will take over the program to replace Franklin? Two names immediately jump out as the main candidates for Penn State to go after.
Matt Rhule and Curt Cignetti must be the first 2 calls Penn State makes
Yup, we're of course talking about Matt Rhule and Curt Cigenitti. With Rhule, he's a Penn State alum and his name has been floated around for a little while, even before Franklin was officially fired by the university for his 3-3 performance in '25.
Rhule has Nebraska football back on the map and the Cornhuskers are turning heads this season. Nebraska is 5-1 on the year, taking down Maryland in a thriller on Saturday. If head-turning money is put on the table, would it be enough to convince him to leave his job in Lincoln to coach his alma mater?
As for Cignetti, goodness, what he's getting done at Indiana is nothing short of remarkable and the entire country has taken notice. Behind another brilliant performance on both sides of the ball, Indiana stunned Oregon in Week 7 and improved to 6-0 on the year. It was surely a humbling loss for Dan Lanning.
Not only that, but the Hoosiers are now the new No. 3 team in the country and they've basically got one foot in for the College Football Playoff. Indiana used to be a laughingstock, but that's no longer the case now that Cignetti is working his magic with the Hoosiers.
Yes, there are going to be other names that get floated around to take over at Penn State. Terry Smith is the interim coach, but he's not expected to get the big boy job for 2026. Might Rhule or Cignetti end up being the Franklin replacement? We don't know at this moment, but both head coaches should be considered a top priority for Kraft. He simply can't mess this hire up.