Sifting Through the Rumor Mill of Penn State's Coaching Search

Penn State has entered the second month of its search to replace James Franklin. Here's the latest look at the hottest names.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll watches his team warmup during a week 9 game against the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State's coaching search is in its second month, as Athletic Director Pat Kraft continues identifying James Franklin's replacement. Kraft has kept his search terms quiet and the inner circle close, so actual news is scant.

However, the Penn State coaching search speculation races ahead, underscoring the importance of this job in college football. Even Pat McAfee had a suggestion regarding former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and Penn State.

What to make of this swirl? Here's a look at the Penn State rumor mill and who we think makes sense and doesn't.

RELATED: How long should Penn State wait to hire a football coach?

The NFL names

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Daboll has replaced Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady on the hot list among coaches from the NFL. Perhaps that's because he just got fired, and the New York Post captured images of him wearing a Penn State hoodie.

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

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

And then The Athletic referenced Daboll and Penn State in a story about coaching searches across the country. Specifically, The Athletic called Daboll a "wild card" in Penn State's search, largely because he 1) is available and 2) coordinated Alabama's 2018 national-championship offense.

This one sounds like agent-shopping. Daboll hasn't run a college program, has spent most of his career in the NFL and did that college season under Nick Saban at Alabama, where coordinators go to coach ball without much hassle otherwise.

Penn State is looking for a head coach who not only understands the off-kilter world of college football but also has experience in it and is willing to hug it. According to The Athletic, Penn State and Daboll are expected to consider each other. It likely won't go further than that.

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The comeback tours

Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald walks the sidelines during a 2022 game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Before Pat Fitzgerald, Urban Meyer was the primary name in this category. Meyer has not coached a college team since Ohio State in 2018, when the was launched and three years before NIL. Meyer certainly is a student of the game and no doubt could adapt at Penn State, but that initial song has faded on the playlist.

RELATED: Urban Meyer suggests some names for Penn State's search

Now there's Fitzgerald, the former Northwestern coach who was fired in July 2023 during a hazing scandal within the football program. Fitzgerald settled a wrongful termination lawsuit with Northwestern and told ESPN's College GameDay podcast that he feels "100 percent vindicated" by the process.

Fitzgerald also said on the podcast that he wants to get back into coaching and has had "conversations with a lot of folks" about jobs. According to The Athletic, Penn State is one of those jobs.

Fitzgerald certainly would fit Penn State's historic football ethos, but is that the direction the program is headed now? Kraft wants the next coach to align philosophically with Penn State's foundation, but the athletic director has a bigger world-building approach than that.

"Football is our backbone," Kraft said in October. "We have invested at the highest level. With that comes high expectations. Ultimately, I believe a new leader can help us win a national championship."

Fitzgerald will find fits with plenty of programs. For now, that doesn't seem like Penn State.

The quiet candidate

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko prior to the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

One name missing from most national media surveys is Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, and for good reason. Elko leads the undefeated, third-ranked Aggies, who are virtually locked into a College Football Playoff spot.

If the Aggies earn a bye as a top-four seed, they wouldn't begin the playoffs until Dec. 31 or Jan. 1. That cramps Penn State's schedule, since the NCAA Transfer Portal opens Jan. 2 for 15 days. Elko can't coach at Texas A&M and recruit at Penn State simultaneously, right?

On3's Brett McMurphy addressed this concept recently in an interview with former college football coach Jim McElwain. Though he doesn't expect that would happen, McElwain did lean to a fallback position by saying, "who knows?"

Elko and Alabama's Kalen DeBoer fall into this category, but Elko is the more intriguing option. The Washington Post recently published a fascinating profile of Elko, who is popular at Texas A&M because he's winning. But, according to the Post, he's also a "hood-and-sweatpants Jersey guy who hates meetings, dodges pretense and measures success in minutes, not money."

Kraft is a splash-the-pot kind of athletic director. Just this past February, he agreed with Franklin to make Jim Knowles the highest-paid assistant coach in college football. That signaled what Kraft is willing to do to win. Hiring Elko might be his next major move.

The rising contenders

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key celebrates a victory over the Syracuse Orange at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Athletic and Pro Football Focus also namedropped some practical candidates, crossing over with one name: Georgia Tech's Brent Key. He's a fascinating coach, having built his alma mater into a top-20 team but one with only a 34-percent chance to make the playoff this season, according to ESPN.

Key also delivered the ultimate rebuttal, without saying "no," to a question about having his name associated with other jobs. "Slice me open and see what colors I bleed," he said.

Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key had a strong response today when asked about his name circulating as a potential candidate for the open head coaching jobs 🐝

“Slice me open and see what colors I bleed.” pic.twitter.com/UkEx24AoAS

— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) November 6, 2025

The Athletic also suggested James Madison's Bob Chesney as a candidate for Penn State, which makes sense. Chesney has continued Curt Cignetti's success there and is next in line for a promotion. There's something to be said for Penn State to find who's next rather than who's hot.

Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus has settled on Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz as its favorite, suggesting that Drinkwitz has been a recruiting and portal whiz in Columbia. "Drinkwitz could do even better at a bigger program like Penn State."