Penn State football head coach James Franklin's job might be on the line, and talk about who will replace him if the time comes won't stop until either a new coach is hired or Franklin goes all the way to the national championship game.
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is a popular name going around. Not only is he already in the Big Ten, but he is a Nittany Lion (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) alum.
Like Franklin, Rhule has a ceiling regardless of his history of turning programs around. Penn State needs someone that can take the program beyond what Franklin has. That means winning against Top 25 teams, putting together a respectable playoff run, and developing players with in-game evidence to back it.
Rhule might not be the guy for the Nittany Lions with these goals in mind, but that doesn't mean Big Ten coaches are all off the table.
"He's a Pittsburgh guy," Nick Cellini said of his head coach replacement idea. "He's got that swagger, that Pennsylvania swagger. I don't know what his buyout is, but I would think that the Penn State crowd would love a guy from the state of Pennsylvania that wins in [Indiana head coach] Curt Cignetti."
Curt Cignetti is a new name to enter the conversation of James Franklin replacements
The Hoosiers are currently 5-0 after beating Iowa 20-15 in Week 5 and are ranked seventh on the AP Top 25 Poll. Following a bye week, they prepare to take on No. 3 Oregon, the Big Ten foe that started the downfall of Penn State's season.
In 2024, Indiana finished second in the conference just behind the Ducks. It had an 8-1 Big Ten record and 11-2 overall record. The Nittany Lions finished third behind the Hoosiers with a 13-3 overall record and same conference finish. Indiana also had the same College Football Playoff nemesis as Penn State, Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish beat the Hoosiers 27-17 in the first round of the CFP.
Even with similar 2024 seasons, Cignetti is doing two things in 2025 that Franklin is not: staying consistent and carving out a path to a better season than 2024. Franklin, on the other hand, is doing the complete opposite. The Nittany Lions are inconsistent and dipping below their bare minimum expectations, which are rooted in always beating teams they're supposed to beat.
Plucking Cignetti out of Indiana and placing him in Happy Valley could be the spark Penn State needs to blossom as a program and give fans a reason to root for their team again. However, there are many questions, including if Cignetti will even leave the Hoosiers. Before even getting to that point, though, Franklin's job isn't up for grabs until the Nittany Lions pull the plug.
Cignetti and Franklin face each other in a must-win match for the blue and white in Week 11. Indiana comes to Happy Valley to face a Penn State team that just took the road against Ohio State the week prior.