Pat McAfee says Brian Daboll to Penn State is a move everybody will like

After firing former head coach James Franklin, options to replace him at Penn State weren't pointing towards anything close to an "upgrade," especially as top candidates signed contract extensions that immediately removed them from contention.

With a lot of uncertainty in the air, the New York Giants' recent firing of head coach Brian Daboll opened up a new can of possibilities for the Nittany Lions to jump on.

Pat McAfee says "Daboll to Penn State feels like a lock at this exact moment"

On The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, McAfee said that Penn State's home run hire might just be the former Giants head coach. That's what the Nittany Lions need. They need a home run hire.

"Daboll getting fired from the Giants seemingly opens a door for Penn State to maybe make a move that everybody will like up there, and I assume Pat Kraft and everybody that's making that decision is like, 'Hold the phone. We got a guy who wants to be here,' like very, very bad seemingly and has a big name," McAfee said. "That could be a home run for them. Now, I'm not saying they need to . . . [but] Penn State could be the right spot for him."

Daboll has 12 years of coaching experience either as an offensive coordinator or head coach in the NFL.

He was with Cleveland from 2009-10, Miami in 2011, Kansas City in 2012, and Buffalo from 2018-21 as offensive coordinator. In 2022, he took his first head coaching job and took New York to the playoffs in his first season.

Though he did not amount to that level of success in his remaining years with the Giants, Daboll has a lot of experience with extremely talented players. That also includes his stints with New England from 2000-06 and 2013-16.

While the offense is where his coaching experience lies heavily, something Penn State needs to improve in particular, Daboll is not unfamiliar or removed from the defense. He played safety for the University of Rochester and was a defensive assistant for the Patriots from 2000-01.

In between his second stint with New England and four years with the Bills, Daboll went to Alabama as its offensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide won the College Football Playoff National Championship Game under head coach Nick Saban with the help of Daboll as OC in 2017.

Though his NCAA experience is brief, it's significant.

Daboll knows how to win, and McAfee noted that it's a lot harder to win in the NFL than it is at the collegiate level. The former New York head coach proved he can do both, even if one was not sustainable. At Penn State, Daboll can use what he learned from Saban in terms of recruitment, navigate NIL with Kraft, and bring the best out of his players.

Franklin was a calm, collected head coach that eventually lost his locker room. Daboll is a 180-flip from that. He brings a sort of passion and energy to the room and to his players one-on-one that the Nittany Lions need. Interim head coach Terry Smith did so when he took over and the team looked alive for the first time in 2025, even if it didn't tally wins. Daboll can bring both: energy and success.