Barstool analyst lays out unreal ‘dream scenario’ for Penn State’s coaching search

Penn State was the first program to pull the trigger on a major coaching change this season, and with the way the rest of the coaching carousel has taken shape, there may be a bit of regret seeping into Happy Valley. James Franklin is settled at Virginia Tech, and Pat Kraft’s top targets, Curt Cignetti, Matt Rhule, and Mike Elko, have all signed extensions. 

So, where does Penn State turn? Maybe to a name that, before Week 12, nobody expected to be on the market. Barstool’s Connor Griffin, a vocal Penn State fan, laid out that “dream scenario” on the Mostly Sports Podcast with Mark Titus and Brandon Walker. 

Kalen DeBoer to Penn State would be a massive upset

Kalen DeBoer has been presented with unrealistic expectations at Alabama. He has the Crimson Tide one win away from the SEC Championship, and though they took a tumble on Tuesday night, in the College Football Playoff field. 

Heading into Week 12, he was the bell of the ball in Tuscaloosa, riding an eight-game win streak after a Week 1 upset loss to Florida State that had him on the hot seat in the eyes of the Alabama fan base. The pushback was so harsh, after a 9-4 record in his first season and a Week 1 loss, that Alabama fans were hoping to win the lottery to pay his massive buyout. 

Penn State fans don’t have a ton of room to talk after running James Franklin out of town a year after he took the program to the College Football Playoff Semifinal, but Nittany Lion fans on social media are promising to give DeBoer a bit of a longer leash if he would consider fleeing the SEC for the Big Ten. 

Now, the only way this could conceivably happen is if DeBoer suffers another major upset, losing the Iron Bowl in Week 14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn is currently 3-6 and has fired head coach Hugh Freeze, so the Crimson Tide will be huge favorites with a spot in the SEC Title Game and CFP on the line. Still, if it were to happen, DeBoer wouldn’t be fired, but he may opt to leave on his own volition. 

To be clear, this is a long shot. Even if Alabama loses in Week 14, there’s no guarantee that DeBoer would leave. And, if he leaves, there is no guarantee that it would be for Happy Valley. Still, you can connect a few dots between a coach from South Dakota, not necessarily being the best fit in the south. Though his predecessor was from West Virginia, and I think he did alright. 

In a coaching search that has gone from visions of Curt Cignetti to the fanbase hoping for Eli Drinkwitz and talking itself into Brian Hartline as a first-time head coach, the dream of Kalen DeBoer is at least fun to think about.