Penn State Football: Five Potential Offensive Coordinator Candidates

After two seasons at Penn State and having the offense rank near the bottom of FBS football in several categories, head coach James Franklin parted ways with his offensive coordinator John Donovan. This had to be a difficult decision for Franklin, as he has worked with Donovan for 12 years between Maryland, Vanderbilt and Penn State.

Franklin has stated in the past he is very loyal to his assistants, however, the writing was on the wall for the Penn State offense under Donovan and a change had to be made.

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In order to improve the offense and get Penn State to compete for Big Ten titles, the reins to the offense will be given to someone new. The new coach will be given a ton of talent to work with at the skill positions and what we all hope will be an improving offensive line as the recent recruits start to earn spots on the depth chart.

This is also an opportunity for Franklin and the new coach to actually define the offense because the last two years have lacked an offensive identity.

With all that said, let’s take a look at a few potential candidates for this very important hire. Feel free to leave comments on these candidates or any others you feel might be a good fit.

Penn State Offensive Line Coach Herb Hand

If Franklin decides to hire from within the program, Herb Hand is probably the most likely candidate. Out of the staff, he’s the only one with offensive coordinator experience. In 2007 and 2008 while co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricanes were ranked number one in the country in total offense for two straight seasons. He is well liked among the students and alums with his social media presence and he seems like a genuine good person.

The drawback here is that many fans are also tying the offensive line struggles to him and think Hand should also be replaced. It’s more likely that Hand will be the interim OC for the bowl game. However, if Franklin wants continuity for next season, Hand is his guy.

St. Louis Rams Offensive Coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.

This would be an interesting pick as Cignetti Jr. has a ton of college and NFL experience as an offensive coordinator and position coach. He currently is the OC for Jeff Fisher and the St. Louis Rams. His FBS experience includes stops at Fresno State, Cal, Pitt and Rutgers. His most successful stint as an OC was at Fresno State from 2002 to 2006. In 2004 the Bulldogs offense was ranked fifth overall and in 2005 they were ranked seventh. The 2004 team became the sixth team in NCAA history to score over 50 points in four consecutive games. Now that’s impressive and would be real exciting to watch in Happy Valley.

Cignetti Jr. also has ties to PA as he played safety at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and coached under his father there as well. If he wants to get back into the college ranks and move close to home, Cignetti Jr. would be a great choice.

Tennessee Titans Quarterbacks Coach John McNulty

John McNulty is a Scranton native and a Penn State graduate, so there plenty of ties to Pennsylvania. He has a lot of NFL experience as a position coach, however he was the OC for Greg Schiano at Rutgers from 2006 to 2008. For three years, his offenses were ranked in the top 50, with a top 20 finish in 2008. Sounds like an improvement to me over Penn State’s current state of affairs.

McNulty most likely also still has some recruiting ties to New Jersey which is a big plus for Penn State trying to keep that state in the recruiting pipeline. Another positive is he’s coached some big names in the NFL, such as Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer. I think McNulty is a little off the radar but would be a solid choice for James Franklin.

Bowling Green Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Sean Lewis

Sean Lewis would be an exciting pick as his offense this year at Bowling Green is really explosive. Falcons quarterback Matt Johnson has thrown for nearly 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns, making them the third-best passing attack in the nation and third overall in total offense. In 2014 the Bowling Green wide receivers were some of the most productive in the nation and with as much talent as Penn State has at that position, that could be a really good fit.

Lewis is a former Wisconsin tight end and coached that position at Nebraska-Omaha for one season so it would be nice to also start utilizing Penn State’s tight ends again in the offense.

Lewis is young, energetic and would bring excitement to that side of the ball.

Western Kentucky Offensive Coordinator Tyson Helton

Another up-and-coming coach who brings an exciting offense to the table is Tyson Helton. In his first year as offensive coordinator at WKU in 2014 the Hilltoppers broke 49 school and conference offensive records. This year they rank tenth in the nation in total offense. Helton was the tight ends coach at Cincinnati before moving to his current post and has previous experience with special teams. If he’s looking to make a jump to a Power 5 program, Helton just might be Franklin’s man.

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