Penn State Football Coaching Search: 6 Big-Name Candidates Who Could Replace James Franklin
Penn State’s coaching search to replace James Franklin, who was fired as head coach of Penn State Football, after nearly 12 seasons in Happy Valley, is now in its second week and could be beginning to take shape.
While the Nittany Lions may realistically be waiting until the end of the regular season to find out who will be the next head coach, there are a few candidates that Penn State could hire before the end of the season because of their current positions.
In part two of this hot board, let’s focus on five coaches who are not head coaches right now, but should be on Athletic Director Pat Kraft’s hot board for the coaching search.
Penn State Football Dream Head Coaching Candidates
Urban Meyer, Fox Sports analyst
Despite being out of the college coaching world since 2018, Urban Meyer’s name constantly comes up in coaching searches every offseason.
The legendary head coach of the Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes already has three national championships on his resume and would certainly be on Pat Kraft’s list of potential candidates that could win one at Penn State.
The questions on Meyer are does he still have it being away from the college game so long (especially now in the NIL and transfer portal era), and how do you protect the program if you hire him (as some sort of scandal has followed his tenures at multiple places).
If Pat Kraft can get satisfactory answers to both of these questions, he could be one of Penn State’s top targets in the coaching search to replace James Franklin.
🦁 Love Penn State Football?
Get insider news, recruiting updates, and game analysis delivered straight to your inbox — FREE.
Join the NittanyCentral Newsletter ➜ Subscribe for Free TODAY
Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
Former Penn State graduate assistant Joe Brad had a meteoric rise since his time in Happy Valley in 2015-2016.
In 2019, Brady led LSU’s immaculate national championship season under Joe Burrow as the Tigers’ passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.
After that, Brady has spent the past six seasons in the NFL as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at various stops, including for Matt Rhule in Carolina and for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills the past four seasons. Brady is an intriguing name to return to college both because of his ties to Buffalo Bills owner and Penn State alum Terry Pegula and because of what he did at LSU with Joe Burrow.
The question on Brady is how much he actually wants to be in college, since most of his coaching experience outside of LSU is in the NFL and how he would do in recruiting as a first-time head coach. It’s certainly a risk to hire a first-time head coach with mainly NFL ties, but Brady is an intriguing option for Pat Kraft nonetheless because of the offensive upside of a Joe Brady offensive scheme.
Buy The Newest Penn State Gear From Fanatics | Shop Penn State Merchandise on Amazon
Mike Shanahan, Indiana offensive coordinator
One of the biggest names in the coaching carousel, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, is already off the board after a massive extension to keep him in Bloomington for the next eight years.
However, the mastermind behind Indiana’s aggressive offense could be available as a promotion for a first-time head coach. Under Shanahan’s tutelage, Indiana’s offense ranked second in the nation in scoring offense (41.3 points per game) and earned the program’s first college football playoff berth.
After spending the past two seasons learning under Cignetti, Shanahan could be ready to lead his own program. In year two as Indiana’s offensive coordinator, Shanahan is proving that he is not a one-hit wonder and could be ready for a promotion to head coach. At only 35 years old, Shanahan would give Penn State a young, energetic head coach with a very high ceiling.
Pat Fitzgerald, Loyola Academy volunteer assistant
Pat Fitzgerald’s time at Northwestern ended in scandal as Fitzgerald was fired for a hazing incident within the football program.
Given Penn State’s history with the Sandusky scandal, this could be a hard sell for Pat Kraft to the Penn State board of trustees.
While Fitzgerald could start building a staff and recruiting immediately since he is not currently employed at a school, his name is still tough to see actually being the hire for Kraft. His name keeps popping up by other outlets, however, so I will add him here.
D’Anton Lynn, USC defensive coordinator
Another young coordinator that could be primed for an opportunity to lead his own program is USC’s defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.
After turning around UCLA’s defense three seasons ago, Lynn has now done the same under Lincoln Riley at USC over the past two seasons. From 2023 to 2024, Lynn improved USC’s defense by 10.3 points per game in his first season on the job.
Lynn is also a Penn State letterman, playing four seasons under the late Joe Paterno from 2008 to 2011, earning three All-Big Ten honorable mentions at cornerback. Lynn’s ties to Penn State in the past could spark his interest if Pat Kraft comes calling.
Brian Hartline, Ohio State co-offensive coordinator
Ohio State co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach is perhaps the best wide receiver developer in the nation, a place where Penn State has struggled mightily during James Franklin’s tenure, especially recently.
Coming from the Ryan Day coaching tree, Hartline has produced four first-round wide receivers at Ohio State during his tenure.
At least at the receiver position, Hartline’s recruiting chops are unprecedented around the country, something that could be intriguing for his promotion to head coach.
While Day does mettle in the play calling in Columbus, the question for Pat Kraft is whether Hartline is ready for the promotion to head coach.
A note to our readers; If you make a purchase through one of our affiliate links, we may receive a commission
- Penn State Football Coaching Search: 6 Big-Name Candidates Who Could Replace James Franklin - October 21, 2025
- Penn State Football Coaching Search: The Case For and Against Joe Brady - October 21, 2025
- Penn State Coaching Hot Board: 5 Head Coaches Rising and 3 Falling in Pat Kraft’s Search to Replace James Franklin - October 20, 2025