When Does Penn State Want to Hire a Defensive Coordinator? 'Yesterday'
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Penn State coach James Franklin, frayed by a hectic week on the road meeting recruits and interviewing coaches, was asked Friday when he want to hire a defensive coordinator. "Yesterday," Franklin sighed, before even hearing the word "coordinator.
The Penn State football coach is in Week 2 of a nationwide search that should end soon, though the job description carries some strict qualifications. Basically, Franklin wants the next Manny Diaz, whom he acknowledged will be difficult to find.
"That's what makes it challenging," Franklin said Friday at Penn State's media day ahead of the Peach Bowl. "Then also being able to hire somebody that's not intimidated to walk into that room with the No. 1 defense in the country. A lot of times you're taking over a job, and you say, 'Hey, my job is to improve the defense.' That's going to be hard to do statistically, right?"
Anthony Poindexter, Penn State's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, will handle the defense for the Peach Bowl along with defensive analyst Robb Smith, who has been a defensive coordinator at Rutgers (twice), Arkansas, Minnesota and Duke. Poindexter, a former defensive coordinator at Connecticut who served as Penn State's interim coordinator for the 2022 Outback Bowl, said he has had conversations with Franklin about the position.
On Friday, Franklin detailed the kind of resume he's looking for without discussing candidates. That includes extensive defensive coordinator experience and a similar scheme to Penn State's. Previous head coaching experience is a bonus.
"I've had three defensive coordinators that have all been able to play at a high level, and we've taken a similar approach with all three," Franklin said. "But then we've also recruited towards a certain scheme, as well. I'm not saying that what we have played is the only way you can play defense. There are guys that run a 3-4 that are highly successful. There are guys that are running a 3-3 stack that are highly successful. I just think there's a lot of gymnastics that go into making that change and can create a lot of questions if guys are asking am I going to fit into the new scheme. [I] prefer not to do that."
Of the process, Franklin added, "you study the data and the analytics and what they say, and then on top of that, I think most importantly, you're looking for a fit. You're looking for a fit with our players. You're looking for a fit with the staff, a fit in the community."
Penn State's players are curious as well, calling Diaz a difficult coach to replace.
"He’s the best there is," defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton said of Diaz, now the head coach at Duke. "It’s going to be tough to replace him both on and off the field. But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. He said being a head coach is like going as a first-round pick as a player. You have to respect it."
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