The UCLA Bruins did a lot to help the downfall of James Franklin’s tenure with Penn State by giving the Nittany Lions a shocking loss. Penn State then lost again the following week to Northwestern, where they lost quarterback Drew Allar for the rest of the season, following the game Penn State fired Franklin. Meanwhile, Curt Cignetti is staying at Indiana.
Penn State is joining UCLA in the head coach search. but whom should the Nittany Lions look at to become their next head coach, with Cignetti not part of the picture? The Big Ten Football Roundtable gave their candidates for who should take over for the Nittany Lions.
Matt Zemek, Editor
Matt Rhule is probably the favorite, if only because Curt Cignetti was never leaving Indiana. Why would he want to leave IU? He is getting paid a lot of money. He owns that state. He is a king and will be revered for a long time. Why go to Penn State, where the expectations are higher and the scrutiny is much greater? Cignetti didn’t jump for Penn State, so the Nittany Lions now need to come up with another heavy hitter. Maybe they will surprise us. I don’t think Rhule is a lock for this job, but he probably is the percentage choice until another strong alternative emerges.
Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire
I’m going to say Manny Diaz. He was great as the defensive coordinator at Penn State, and has done a solid job at Duke. That being said, I do not think that Nittany Lions fans would be thrilled about this hire. (It would also create a rather ironic fun fact—the two largest coaching buyouts in college football history were both replaced by the head coach at Duke who was the former DC at said school.)
Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire
Penn State will shock the world and hire DeShaun Foster. OK, maybe not. My actual prediction is Duke’s Manny Diaz. Diaz is familiar with the Nittany Lions’ program and I don’t see Penn State prying Curt Cignetti from Indiana and I don’t view Matt Rhule as much of an upgrade over James Franklin. With Diaz, Penn State gets a young head coach who could grow with the program while having the talent on-hand to compete immediately.
Micah Huff, Trojans Wire
Curt Cignetti leaving Indiana was always a pipe dream. Matt Rhule, on the other hand, was blushing, talking about Penn State. He wants to be there, and it is clear as day. Penn State might not even have to offer him big money. The question is how many more big games does Rhule win than James Franklin won?
Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire
Not Curt Cignetti because he was never going to decide to pick up and leave Indiana after revamping one of the best teams in college football. In practicality, it’s probably Matt Rhule. He has ties to the organization, has had collegiate success as a head coach and they will be prying him away from Nebraska.
Ethan Inman, Trojans Wire
In the Happiest of Happy Valley scenarios, Nick Saban. The Nittany Lions fired Franklin because they want to compete for national championships. Franklin was a winning coach until this season, and the weakness that got him fired was not winning the big game. None of the other rumored replacements for Franklin feel like upgrades except for Curt Cignetti, and Cignetti is not leaving Indiana. He likes the unique journey he is on with that program and wants to ride that wave to a national title in Bloomington. The Nittany Lions will throw the house at Saban, and what better way for him to back the SEC superiority narrative that he pushes in the media than going to the Big Ten and showing everyone how easy it is to win there?
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Big Ten Roundtable: Who should be hired as next Penn State coach with Curt Cignetti out?
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, Ryan Lorenz and Matt Zemek, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
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