Penn State Football head coach James Franklin is sticking to the playbook when it comes to handling a coordinator vacancy.

On Friday at a press conference, Franklin announced Penn State’s plan for defensive coordinator duties ahead of the Nittany Lions appearance in the Peach Bowl, highlighting that Penn State would stick to a similar approach to how it has handled the absence in offensive coordinator opening post-Mike Yurcich’s firing.

Who Will Call Plays on Defense for Penn State Football?

Franklin stated that Penn State analyst Robb Smith and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter will share defensive coordinator duties for the Peach Bowl.

Coach Poindexter and Coach Smith will be sharing coaching duties when it comes to the defense at the Peach Bowl. #WeAre

pic.twitter.com/6PlTExkjGw

— State Media (@StateMediaPSU) December 15, 2023

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Robb Smith

Although Smith spent 2023 as an analyst at Penn State, he previously served as defensive coordinator at Duke, Rutgers, Minnesota, and Arkansas.

Anthony Poindexter

Poindexter on the other hand has served as Penn State’s safeties coach since 2021 and has previous experience serving as UConn’s defensive coordinator from 2014 through 2016.

Poindexter also announced Friday that he has had “several conversations” with Franklin regarding Penn State’s open defensive coordinator position for next season.

Poindexter is seen as a great internal candidate to replace Manny Diaz in leading Penn State’s top ranked defense next season.

Franklin did not get into more specifics about which, or both, would be calling plays for the defense at the Peach Bowl.

MORE: Breaking Down Penn State’s All-Time Bowl Record

 

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