Following Michigan’s 24-15 win over Penn State Football on Saturday afternoon, head coach James Franklin relieved offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich of his duties on Sunday.
At the time of the announcement of Yurcich’s firing, Penn State revealed that for the remaining two games of the season (and probably any bowl game the Nittany Lions play in), Franklin will turn to Penn State’s co-offensive coordinators tight ends coach Ty Howle and running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider.
In his press conference Monday, Franklin answered questions about the decision to relieve Yurcich, how game planning and play calling will be shared by Howle and Seider, and the ideal timeline for hiring Penn State’s next offensive coordinator, James Franklin’s sixth at Penn State.
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On timeline for hiring a new offensive coordinator:
At his weekly press conference Monday, James Franklin spoke about wanting to hire a new offensive coordinator “sooner rather than later”, noting that ideally he would make the hire before Penn State’s bowl game and already has a list of candidates.
Franklin mentioned the timeline for hiring an offensive coordinator would ideally be similar to how Penn State hired Manny Diaz, who was hired by Penn State Football on December 11, 2021, five days after Diaz was fired by Miami.
Franklin wants to fill OC position “sooner rather than later” but notes that it depends on where they look. If its a college coach finishing out the season, an NFL guy, etc.
— Penn State FB Thoughts (@PSU_FB_Thoughts) November 13, 2023
Franklin further noted, however, that the timeline may depend on the route that he decides to go and the circumstance of the coach selected; whether the coach is a current coordinator or coach in college or the NFL.
Whatever way Penn State decides to go with the offensive coordinator search, Franklin mentioned that making sure the new offensive coordinator “complements” the pieces that Penn State has in its building, specifically the quarterbacks, was a priority.
Franklin also noted that his priority would be to let the quarterbacks and the team know, along with calling the parents of the quarterbacks, before releasing publicly who the new offensive coordinator will be.
Franklin wants to fill OC position “sooner rather than later” but notes that it depends on where they look. If its a college coach finishing out the season, an NFL guy, etc.
— Penn State FB Thoughts (@PSU_FB_Thoughts) November 13, 2023
Since this is Franklin’s first in-season vacancy, Penn State fans will likely have to wait longer than usual to find out how Franklin fills the latest vacancy on staff.
Seider and Howle will have the opportunity to make an impression with both of their roles expanding in both play calling and game planning over the next two weeks until the season ends, and Franklin can spend more time on the search.
Franklin noted that the hiring process was like a “full-time job” and he already has the full-time job of coaching and finishing the season the “right way.”
MORE: 5 Candidates Penn State Football MUST Interview for Offensive Coordinator Vacancy
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Education: Saint Vincent College, Penn State Law School
Location: Washington, DC
Experience:Robert Casturo has covered Penn State football for NittanyCentral since 2022. Casturo previously covered Penn State football through a social media presence (@PSU_FB_Thoughts on X) since 2019. Casturo earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Vincent College in 2015, where he was a punter for 1 season on the Saint Vincent College football team and worked in the athletic department for 2 years as a student manager. Casturo earned his JD from Penn State Law in 2018 where he was a senior editor of the Penn State Law Review.
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