The Case for and Against Hiring Terry Smith at Penn State

The Nittany Lions' interim head coach is a popular choice for the full-time job. But is Smith the right choice?

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Terry Smith celebrates from the sideline during the third quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

It is hard to ignore the moment as Terry Smith walks off the field, the crowd cheering his name as Penn State’s season begins to turn an emotional corner. And the question that follows rings nearly just as loud.

Should Penn State hire interim head coach Terry Smith as its full-time football coach?

It’s a reasonable question. Continuity often favors promoting from within: Dabo Swinney became Clemson’s interim head coach in 2008 and went on to long-term success; Michigan elevated Sherrone Moore and Lloyd Carr. The list of interim coaches who landed the full-time role is surprisingly long.

But every situation is different. So how does Smith fit in? Here’s the case for and against hiring Smith at Penn State.

RELATED: What we know about Penn State's coaching search as the regular season closes

The case for hiring Terry Smith

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith walks on the field during a warm-up prior to the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Roster preservation: While a handful of social media posts does not make a movement, the prevailing sentiment is that current players who might enter the transfer portal at the conclusion of the season would be less likely if Penn State hired Smith. With James Franklin lurking in the region at Virginia Tech, and the general trend of post-coaching roster turnover, Smith is one of the most obvious band-aids for keeping the majority of the roster intact. A new coach might not be able to win over a Nittany Lion thinking about becoming a Hokie. But Smith might.

Cultural continuity and loyalty: It’s a blessing and a curse, but Smith is Penn State through and through. He understands the ecosystem, understands the program and is unlikely to turn any success he finds in State College into a job somewhere else. Penn State fans need to adapt to the idea that coaches don’t normally stick around for longer than a decade, but Smith provides stability within the program and an immediate connection to the Penn State community outside of it.

Regional familiarity: The world is ever more connected, but Smith’s familiarity with the regional recruiting footprint is an asset another coach is unlikely to bring on Day 1. Of course, a big-name hire will bring his own connections, and a history of success opens doors all on its own. That said, a new head coach will have to shake hands for the first time, while Smith is an established face in plenty of hallways.

A bridge: Not every hire has to be a forever hire. During a coaching search cycle that isn’t short on premium openings, Penn State could opt to hire Smith under a shorter deal and wait for a moment when it could have the best opening on the market. That might not be the best solution to the problem, but it might be easier to hire a career Penn Stater to a bridge-the-gap opening than to hire a Plan C coach just for the sake of having someone new from outside the program. Getting who you want, rather than who you settle for.

The case against hiring Terry Smith

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith is congratulated by athletic director Pat Kraft following the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Experience: Smith has been excellent in his role with Penn State’s cornerbacks, but there’s a big difference between handling the problems of a position group and handling the problems of a major college football program. This unknown is the most obvious reason against hiring Smith to the full-time job. Every great head coach has to start somewhere, but they often don’t make the leap from position coach to head coach.

Philosophy: While the hiring process would uncover all of this, Smith hasn’t likely spent the past decade diving into overarching schematic philosophies, especially on offense. Penn State’s issues have been very specific on this front against a very specific set of teams, and Smith developing an offensive identity and a deeper defensive approach on the fly isn’t really the solution. Smith certainly could hire an offensive coordinator to manage these issues, but it’s never a good sign when a head coaching hire comes with a sticker on the box that reads, “required accessories not included.”

409: There is nothing inherently wrong with Smith embracing his roots as a product of the Joe Paterno era. But it’s worth asking the question whether Penn State wants to hire a coach who requires continuous relitigation of Paterno’s legacy. It might play well with a certain subset of fans and donors, but the program’s national brand is unlikely to flourish under an environment where its most front-facing spokesperson is going to regularly make people talk about all of “that.”

The sell: Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft hasn’t been shy about wanting to take big swings across the department. Hiring Smith is almost certainly the result of hiring who Kraft had to settle for and not who Kraft wanted to hire all along. If nothing else, firing James Franklin just to hire his position coach who has never been a college head coach until this season is not the sign of things going to plan. It might have been one thing if Smith had stolen a win against Indiana and Iowa. But so far, he has two wins against two pedestrian teams. Maybe Kraft doesn’t care what people think, but hiring Smith isn’t an optics win from the standpoint of Franklin’s firing looking like the first step in a well-established plan.

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