Penn State Pitches 'Elite' Resources in Search for New Football Coach

Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft says the Nittany Lions have the money to win a national championship.

Penn State football fans cheer during the White Oute game between the Nittany Lions and the Oregon Ducks. | James Lang-Imagn Images

James Franklin helped modernize the Penn State football program, getting significant upgrades to the football building, expanding staff, hiring high-priced assistant coaches and pushing for more NIL funding. The next Penn State coach will have to press those initiativess even further.

Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft specifically highlighted NIL and the transfer portal as two areas in which he wants the next head coach to excel. Though Kraft wasn't critical of how Penn State operated in those spaces under Franklin, he did suggest that the next head coach must be an exceptional strategist regarding portal recruiting and NIL.

Kraft also said that the next Penn State coach will have access to "elite-level resources," a pitch to candidates and fans alike as the program moves into its future.

"We want someone who will attract elite talent, retain players in the NIL era, and make Penn State a destination," Kraft said. "This is also about the modern era of college football. Our next coach needs to be able to maximize elite-level resources, attack the transfer portal, and can develop at the highest level."

According to ESPN, funding wasn't a problem for the 2025 Nittany Lions. Franklin had "everything he needed to win a national championship" this season, a source told ESPN, which included money for roster retention, coaching hires (including defensive coordinator Jim Knowles) and portal acquisitions.

With that came expectations, which Franklin embraced this season more than any other in his 12 seasons at Penn State.

"I'm extremely proud and I'm extremely confident," Franklin said at Big Ten Media Days in July. "But again, there is complete recognition and embracing what we've got to do and where we've got to go. And the best part about it is, we're in we're in total control of it, right?

"If we want the narrative to change, we got an opportunity to change it. We want people to shut up? We can shut them up real easy, so we embrace it all. But there's also balance with me and perspective, because people don't always talk with perspective."

Selling Penn State's funding power

Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft gives two thumbs up to the student section following a Nittany Lions win at Beaver Stadium. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

Having gone 3-3 without a win over a Power 4 team, Franklin finished his Penn State career last Saturday with a 22-21 loss to Northwestern. Kraft announced his decision to fire Franklin the following day, later saying that he "felt there was no other course."

Kraft also pointed out that college football is in a "different era," as coaches can rebuild rosters quickly through the transfer portal. Even though Penn State's recruiting is taking an expected hit, Kraft said that Penn State's next coach will have "elite-level resources" to rebuild the roster quickly.

"Honestly, when you get into a search and start to have those hard conversations — 'How do you envision the program looking, how do you envision winning a national championship' — the facts are the facts," Kraft said. "You've got got to recruit at a high level. And now with the transfer portal, you have to be able to recruit in the transfer portal at a high level, and so how do you use your resources in the right way to build a roster."

Kraft has not been shy about selling Penn State as a resource-rich program. He was instrumental in forging a merger between Penn State's former two NIL collectives into Happy Valley United, a move he called "imperative" to the program's NIL success. Kraft also has said that Penn State is in a "position of strength" regarding revenue sharing and funding scholarships to their maximum limits.

"One of the biggest pieces to the House [vs. NCAA] case is pulling the restriction of scholarships off," Kraft said. "That's huge. That allows us to offer scholarships to all of our athletes if we can afford it. As we're out there raising money, we're trying to let people know that that as important as a $20.5 [million revenue share], and that gets all the headlines.

"... And so, we have the ability now to not only help our teams in the space of revenue share but also put a lot more of our student-athletes, If we do it right and we raise the right amount of money, on scholarships. That is a huge advantage for us."

Kraft, in his fourth year as Penn State's athletic director, is about to make the most significant hire of his career that, coupled with the $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium, will steer the football program in a significant new direction. Which is why he is pitching Penn State as a program willing to invest.

"I am very blessed, and I don't have anything to do with this I don't believe, to be the athletic director at Penn State," Kraft said. "We are blessed because of our fans, alums, and the support we receive that we can do more than most and that we have elite resources here. So that allows us to be able to have real conversations and put our resources to the test in the best direction."