It has been a whirlwind of a season for the Penn State Nittany Lions. After starting out 3-0 in the non-conference, they then proceeded to lose their next three contests, all in conference play, resulting in long-time head coach James Franklin's abrupt and unexpected termination. Under interim head coach Terry Smith, the Nittany Lions have clawed their way back to 5-6 with a bowl game still in sight.
But let's be real for just one second. For as much as some of the players on the Nittany Lions roster would love to see Smith have the interim tag removed and become their head coach full-time, Penn State was never going to fire Franklin, just to eventually promote the interim. That is why the powers at be are still big-game hunting. The right guy to lead Penn State might be coaching in the Big Ten...
While reading Josh Yourish's Table for 12 article recapping Week 13 for Saturday Blitz, he was especially glowing in his commentary about Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein. The Ducks played their best game of the season vs. the USC Trojans in the penultimate week of the season. Oregon is now one win away from being in the College Football Playoff in back-to-back years.
Let's now unpack why Yourish and others are high on the possibility of Stein coming to Happy Valley.
Will Stein might be the offensive mind to get the most out of the talent
For lack of a better word, the Penn State offense has been largely disjointed under Andy Kotelnicki's direction. The idea in poaching Lance Leipold's greatest protege away from Kansas was to have a high-octane KU offense going gangbusters in State College. That has not always been the case. No, it has not helped that starting quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury midway through.
What Yourish wrote in his glowing praise of all things Stein is he is making the most of Oregon's depleted receiving corps. Injuries have ravaged the Ducks outside the numbers this season, meaning he has had to design plays to get the running backs and tight ends the ball more within the context of his offense. It has worked out wonderfully, as Oregon's is multi-faceted and can sort in multiple ways.
While it remains to be seen if Penn State will be able to poach Stein away from Oregon, it should be noted that he has never been a head coach before. Penn State has been tied to other Power Four coaches thus far, but all of them have had major head-coaching experience. Whether it is Eliah Drinkwitz, Brent Key or Kalen DeBoer, all three are far less unproven than Stein is as a head coach.
If Penn State decides to punt on promoting Smith, it owes it to itself to pursue a hot-shot candidate.