Pat McAfee Pitches Former NFL Coach for Penn State Job

The Nittany Lions have entered their second month of the search to replace James Franklin.

Pat McAfee sits on the ESPN College GameDay set prior to the 2024 game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That didn't take long. A day after being spotted wearing a Penn State hoodie, former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is being pitched as a candidate for the Nittany Lions' coaching vacancy. At least by ESPN's Pat McAfee.

"I think he would represent Penn State pretty good," McAfee said. "i think he would be a good representation of what they could potentially be as a team."

The Giants fired Daboll on Monday after a 2-8 start that included four straight losses, the last to Chicago. Daboll went 20-40 in less than four seasons with the Giants, including a 5-22 record over the last two seasons.

In a joint statement, Giants president John Mara and chairman Steve Tisch said "the past few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing."

A day later, the New York Post captured images of Daboll wearing a Penn State hoodie. Daboll's son Christian, a former Giants staffer, was a student assistant with the Penn State football team. Daboll has another child who attends Penn State as well.

RELATED: Terry Smith, Penn State's interim head coach, might make a great general manager

Brian Daboll spotted for first time since Giants firing https://t.co/ExmBUdWU7D pic.twitter.com/HRhXr4qEbN

— New York Post (@nypost) November 11, 2025

With that came the speculation. On his ESPN show, McAfee tossed the idea of Daboll to Penn State to A.Q. Shipley, a former Penn State offensive lineman and football analyst. McAfee said that Penn State needs to "make a splashy hire" to keep fans and booster happy.

Shipley liked it, citing Daboll's previous work with Nick Saban and Bill Belichick and as an NFL head coach.

"And he's an offensive genius," Shipley said. "We haven't had a good offense [at Penn State] in 20, 25, 30 years. We need a quarterback."

Daboll has worked primarily in the NFL, though he did spend the 2017 season as Saban's offensive coordinator at Alabama. Daboll directed an offense that included Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, Damien Harris at running back and Calvin Ridley at wide receiver. Alabama went 13-1 and defeated Georgia in overtime for the national championship.

Daboll built his NFL reputation as a coordinator with the Buffalo Bills (where he worked with Josh Allen) before becoming the New York Giants' head coach in 2022. He was part of five Super Bowl-winning teams during two stints with the New England Patriots.

"I think he would be great," Shipley said on the McAfee show. "He's an offensive genius, he really is, and he understands it. He coached under Nick Saban when they had a great offense. And then you take what he learned from Bill Belichick, you take what he learned from being a head coach, splash hire.

"He's a good offensive mind, and you just need somebody to help you navigate the NIL waters."

"[Brian Daboll] is an offensive genius, and [Penn State] hasn't had a good offense in 20, 25, 30 years."@aqshipley and @PatMcAfeeShow think Brian Daboll would be a good fit at Penn State 👀 pic.twitter.com/7zwPi9E49q

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 12, 2025

Penn State has entered the second month of its coaching search after firing James Franklin on Oct. 12. The Nittany Lions lost three straight games to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern, prompting the cange.

The primary names that have surfaced during Penn State's search are current Power 4 head coaches, including Mike Elko of Texas A&M and Kalen DeBoer of Alabama. Other potential candidates include Eli Drinkwitz of Missouri, Jeff Brohm of Purdue and Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.

Joe Brady, the Buffalo Bills' offensive coordinator, had been floated as a candidate as well, but that discussion seems to have dissipated.

Penn State has no shortage of money to dangle in front of its coaching candidates. Athletic Director Pat Kraft has made it known that the program is investing "elite-level resources" into football, notably through revenue sharing and NIL.

Penn State also could benefit from a significant cash infusion if the Big Ten's planned deal with a California pension fund goes through. According to Yahoo! Sports, the Big Ten wants to broker a deal for a $2.4 billion investment from the fund.

In the meantime, Penn State visits Michigan State on Saturday seeking to end a six-game losing streak. The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.