Penn State football: Elite coaching staff or overrated?

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles are two relatively recent additions to the Penn State football coaching staff. Kotelnicki was hired in Dec. 2023 after spending three years with Kansas and Knowles is going into his first year with the Nittany Lions after three years with reigning College Football Playoff champion Ohio State.

Now with both in Happy Valley, does this mean Penn State has an elite coaching staff? Are there still pieces missing on the field? Does the staff still have lackluster qualities?

PFF seems to think the Nittany Lions go from strength to strength on their staff with these two coordinators on opposite sides of the ball. However, some fans disagree. Are Kotelnicki and Knowles overrated? Or is it head coach James Franklin that dulls out their talent?

PFF says "Penn State has the best coordinator pairing in the country"

Knowles' defense ranked first in the country for four consecutive years: his whole stint at Ohio State and his last year at Oklahoma State. He also leads the NCAA in hard stop percentage, according to Coaches by Numbers. The Buckeyes also had the No. 1 scoring defense, total defense, yards allowed per play, touchdowns allowed per play, and opponents touchdowns scored in the red zone.

Kotelnicki's offenses have ranked first in lowest sack percentage, lowest tackle for loss percentage, and margin of error percentage in the last 10 seasons as offensive coordinator. He's also led offenses to be No. 2 in rushing touchdowns per game, third down efficiency, yards per play, and points per play.

Both coordinators have the accolades and stats to back them up. Whether that means that same success will transfer over to the Nittany Lions in 2025-26 is not 100 percent certain — it never is.

Players and talent on the field, while it doesn't have to be even exactly, has to compare the talent on the sidelines and in the booths.

Take, for instance, the Buckeyes 2024-25 season with Caleb Down at safety. He's considered to be the No. 1 defensive player in the NCAA and he also has a strong candidacy for the Heisman Trophy, never mind every defensive national award he can potentially claim.

When you have a safety, like Down, the defense is obviously going to excel. However, how far can a player's talent go without his defensive coordinator? Down still needed the structure provided by Knowles in order to succeed at that high of a level, even if it was just a little bit. Especially when considering that his defense has been ranked first in the country for the past four years, it's unjustifiable to put all of Knowles' accomplishments on one player alone.

Tight end Tyler Warren, who won the John Mackey Award, is another talent that would boost an offense on any team and certainly assisted Kotelnicki's. Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton can also be grouped into that category of elite players who some offensive coordinators might need in order for their offenses to succeed.

However, the Nittany Lions also saw the flip side of player talent. Kotelnicki's wide receivers struggled immensely in the 2024-25 season. Can all of those struggles be put on Kotelnicki exclusively? Looking at his past 10 seasons, they can't. Penn State brought in a group of transfers to enhance the wide receiver position. Any team that wants or is expected to go far in the postseason needs both player and coaching talent, especially a Power Four team. That's the only way title-winning success is realistically achievable.

So when looking at the Nittany Lions, who have the defensive coordinator from the most recent CFB champion team and an offensive coordinator who consistently puts up high-ranking offenses every year, what are fans really going back-and-forth about? The plight of a less than optimal wide receiver group can't dismiss the success Kotelnicki has had and the burst of talent from one safety can't hold all the weight of Knowles' accomplishments either. Are fans expecting that Franklin might be what's bringing this staff down from an "elite" level that PFF claims?

That seems to be the case.

Franklin has yet to prove he can win those big games when it's time. Falling in the Big Ten Championship and then losing to Notre Dame in the last moments is what sticks with fans. It's an odd dynamic between knowing it's unreasonable to put Franklin on the hot seat considering the success he's had with the program, but also being frustrated that Penn State can't seem to overcome this hump.