8 Names to Watch in Penn State’s Coaching Search as Pat Kraft’s Hot Board Takes Shape
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft is in week four of his national search to replace James Franklin as the head football coach of Penn State Football.
Through the last four weeks, there has been little clarity on which direction Penn State will go in replacing Franklin, but names have been picking up steam and others have been dropping off of Penn State’s hot board.
In the last week, both Urban Meyer and Matt Rhule were effectively removed from consideration for Pat Kraft.
With the betting favorite (Rhule) for most of the search because of his relationship with Pat Kraft off the table after an extension with Nebraska, here are what could be considered the top eight names on Penn State’s hot board right now (in no particular order).
Penn State Football latest coaching Hot Board and Top Targets
Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri head coach
Eli Drinkwitz has done a fine job with the Missouri Tigers in his six seasons at the helm, taking over a .500 team and leading the Tigers to consecutive double digit winning seasons the past two years.
With Missouri’s starting quarterback Beau Pribula likely to miss most or all of the rest of the Tigers’ regular season with an injury, Missouri’s playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread. If the Tigers miss the playoffs, with No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 11 Oklahoma still on the schedule, Drinkwitz could be a heavily pursued candidate that could be on the market as soon as November 30 (the day after the Tigers’ last game).
Drinkwitz is the current favorite to land at Florida, but if he passes on the Gators, or if the Gators go a different direction, Drinkwitz could be intrigued by a move to Happy Valley.
Manny Diaz, Duke head coach
With Pat Kraft’s most likely backup option (Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule) off the market after signing an extension last week, Manny Diaz could be seen as the best quality backup option if Penn State misses on a few names on this list.
Diaz is very familiar with Happy Valley after his two-year stint as Penn State’s defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023, where he led the No. 1 ranked defense in the country in 2023. Diaz has Duke at 5-3 on the season and produced the best recruiting class in Duke history in his first season with the Blue Devils.
Diaz will likely not be one of the top options for Pat Kraft throughout the search, but Diaz would be a high quality coach to pursue if Penn State misses on top targets.
Jeff Brohm, Louisville head coach
Jeff Brohm entered this list for the first time last week. The former Louisville quarterback is coaching at his alma mater and has the Cardinals playing at a high level.
Since taking over the Cardinals program, Brohm has recorded a 26-9 record. Importantly for Penn State fans, Brohm excels against top opponents and has four career wins over top five opponents in his stints at Louisville and Purdue.
It would take a lot for Pat Kraft to convince Brohm to leave his alma mater, but Brohm could be very successful moving to a program with better resources.
Brian Hartline, Ohio State offensive coordinator
After Matt Rhule signed an extension with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Ohio State offensive coordinator became the betting favorite to end up as the next head coach at Penn State.
On BetOnline.ag, Hartline holds -250 odds to become Penn State’s next head coach. The former Buckeye receiver was given a glowing recommendation from former Buckeye’s head coach Urban Meyer last week after Meyer expressed that he had no desire to coach again.
Pat Fitzgerald, former Northwestern head coach
With Meyer off the board, Pat Fitzgerald becomes the only likely candidate who is not currently employed and could start before the end of the college football regular season. Fitzgerald coached Northwestern for 17 years before his firing over a hazing incident (after which Fitzgerald and Northwestern settled a wrongful termination lawsuit).
Fitzgerald held a career record of 110-101 with the Wildcats and led the team to two Big Ten west titles. Fitzgerald also held a career bowl record of 5-5. Fitzgerald is an unlikely candidate for Pat Kraft during the coaching search.
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Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady is an intriguing candidate because of his relationship with Penn State mega donor Terry Pegula (the Buffalo Bills owner) and his resume (which includes his time as the passing game coordinator for the legendary 2019 LSU Tigers).
Brady has long been seen as a potential offensive coordinator in college football, but has chosen to remain in the NFL since leaving LSU after the 2019 season. Whether Brady has any real interest in returning to college football (there are quite a few articles about his distaste for recruiting) and how he would transition from offensive coordinator of an NFL team to the head coach of a college program remain to be seen.
The two biggest hurdles to hiring Brady might be whether he has any interest in the open LSU job, where he won the national championship in 2019 with the Tigers, and the timing issue, with Buffalo’s season likely not over until well into January or February.
Mike Elko, Texas A&M head coach
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko has popped up as a name to watch in the Penn State search, because of his success at both Duke and Texas A&M and his ties to the northeast.
Elko has the Aggies undefeated in the SEC so far this season and ranked number three in the nation.
If the success this season continues for the Aggies, Elko is unlikely to leave his position, and A&M has plenty of money to match any offer Penn State could make to Elko this offseason. Timing could also be an issue for Penn State’s pursuit of Elko if the Aggies win the SEC and earn a playoff bye or make a deep playoff run.
Brent Key, Georgia Tech head coach
Georgia Tech’s Brent Key is another coach that is currently having a lot of success at his alma mater. Since taking over as Georgia Tech’s interim head coach in 2022, Key has compiled a 26-17 record over a little over three seasons.
This year, Key has led Georgia Tech to an 8-1 start, surpassing his win total for the past two seasons and ranked seventh in the nation. Like Brohm, it would likely take a strong offer from Pat Kraft to pull Key away from his alma mater.
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