Penn State Still in Coach Limbo Months After Franklin Firing

Penn State was in College Football Playoff purgatory with James Franklin, but has descended into coaching carousel chaos since firing him. 

The Nittany Lions became one of the premier openings in college football when the school fired Franklin on Oct. 12, giving athletic director Pat Kraft a head start on finding his replacement. The calendar gave the program time to retain its top-20 recruiting class and current roster. But since then, the school has looked like the Knicks, with several candidates parlaying PSU’s interest into a contract extension or gig elsewhere. 

At the center of the mess is interim coach Terry Smith, a former star wideout for Penn State in late 1980s and early 1990s, who has never left Pennsylvania in his nearly 30 years of coaching. Smith has been a staple on Franklin’s staff the past 11 and a half years and has gone 3–3 as interim head coach, getting his alma mater to bowl eligibility along the way. Smith interviewed for the position last week, but has yet to secure the full-time job. 

Meanwhile the program had perhaps the most underwhelming signing day in its history on Wednesday, with just two players announced after the recruiting class was raided by Franklin, who took 11 commitments with him to Virginia Tech, while other programs flipped most of the remaining players. 

The situation has raised alarm bells throughout State College, which is why the school’s boosters and alumni are pushing to give Smith the full-time position. 

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency to wrap this up,” a source with knowledge of the coaching search told Front Office Sports. 

Smith has made his case to be the full-time coach since he was appointed interim, and made it again after the team beat Rutgers on Saturday to secure bowl eligibility with a 6–6 record. 

“It taught me that I know I can truly do this job,” Smith said about his tenure running the program. “It taught me the role of one of the biggest jobs in college. It taught me that I have a special bond with people and players, and when I go forward in coaching, I have to take advantage of that.”

Part of Kraft’s problem started when he fired Franklin, who is represented by CAA’s Jimmy Sexton. Sexton is widely considered to be one of the most powerful agents in college football. Former ESPN analyst Todd McShay went on Bill Simmons’ podcast Monday and said Sexton is single-handedly holding up Penn State’s coaching search. 

“He’s messing around with Penn State right now because Penn State let go one of his guys, James Franklin, in a manner that he didn’t appreciate,” McShay said. “And so now they’re kinda sitting back and every time they go try to hire a coach or get serious with the coach, that coach who’s represented by Sexton winds up with an extension or winds up going to maybe UCLA. So it’s fascinating to see.”

UCLA hired James Madison coach Bob Chesney, who was pursued by Penn State and is one of Sexton’s clients. Sexton also represents Ole Miss-turned-LSU coach Lane Kiffin, whose candidacy at multiple schools hurt Penn State’s search. Other reported candidates such as Matt Rhule (Nebraska), Mike Elko (Texas A&M), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), and Curt Cignetti (Indiana) have also received extensions, though none of them are represented by Sexton. 

Sexton did not respond to a request for comment. 

Penn State awaits its bowl fate while it continues to search for a coach and risks losing players to the transfer portal, which opens in early January. The program has gone from a big head start on its future coach to miserably falling behind.