The Key Members of Penn State's Staff Who Could Follow James Franklin

Franklin built a loyal group of Penn State assistants and staffers, many of whom could join him at his next program.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin watches pre-game warmups against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

As James Franklin noted during his ESPN College GameDay appearance, firings ripple far beyond the head coach. They unsettle entire programs and athletic departments, setting off a domino effect of change.

At Penn State, like most places, employment lines are blurry. Some people are full-time employees of the university, others are independent contractors or in temporary roles. So when a head coach is fired, it’s not always clear which staff members the next coach might replace, who might have security that transcends a coaching change, or even who the fired coach might bring with him. 

Penn State’s athletics directory is only a partial listing of people with the football program. While not unique, it does cast a slight haze over the true scope of the program itself. 

When a head coach is fired, the vast majority of the football program changes. Here are some names that rise above the rest if/when they leave Penn State, whether by their choice or someone else’s.

RELATED: How James Franklin could have a major impact on Penn State in 2026

Chuck Losey: Assistant AD, Performance Enhancement

Penn State Nittany Lions strength coach Chuck Losey signals to players during a pre-game warmup at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

You really can’t undervalue a good strength and conditioning coach. Losey took Penn State’s strength program to an even higher level following the departure of Dwight Galt and is one of the people in the Lasch Building who players see more than anyone else year-round. 

There is obvious value when it comes to developing players physically, but a head strength coach is akin to a second head coach when it comes to relationships and bond-building within the program. Speaking of relationships, it’s hard to imagine Losey not following Franklin.

“I knew as soon as he announced that he was going to Penn State, I knew we were going to Penn State,” Losey told me years ago of Franklin heading to Penn State from Vanderbilt. “There was no hesitation, between myself, my family and my wife.

"You know, we knew right away that we were going to State College. My wife and I lived in Nashville for 15 years before we moved up to State College. So Nashville is very, very close and very dear to our hearts, as is Vanderbilt, but there was never a second hesitation. We knew exactly where we were going once he announced it.”

RELATED: What went wrong with Penn State's offense? Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki answers

Kenny Sanders: Director of Player Personnel

Sanders came to Penn State in 2015 and left in 2019 for a two-year stint as director of recruiting at Oregon before returning to Penn State in 2021. Sanders does a little bit of everything, and while Penn State’s recruiting success stems from many places,

Sanders is a center of gravity within that ecosystem. He’s a relationship guy, a logistics guy and a marketing guy. Sanders is the quintessential example of someone behind the scenes who impacts success on Saturday. Chris Mahon, a recruiting coordinator for personnel, is an honorable mention here.

Andy Frank, General Manager of Personnel and Recruitment, and Kevin Threlkel, Chief of Staff

Former Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks on from the sideline during the third quarter against the Washington Huskies at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Frank and Threlkel will almost certainly be out the door the moment Franklin finds another job. They’ve been with Franklin since Vanderbilt, and it’s impossible to imagine them not following his lead. This duo used to be a trio with Michael Hazel, but Hazel followed Brent Pry to Virginia Tech to be the Hokies’ chief of staff.

([Hazel only did this, much to Franklin’s chagrin, because Penn State administrators at the time were unwilling to carve out a new role/pay raise to keep him.)

If Franklin has had to bury any bodies over the years, these three know where they are. Whoever Penn State hires to replace Franklin will have his own versions of Frank and Threlkel, but there is some institutional knowledge lost by their departure. It will be interesting to see if Hazel links up with them again.

Assistant Coaches Terry Smith (cornerbacks) and Anthony Poindexter (safeties)

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith enters Kinnick Stadium before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

We could parse which assistant coaches are the best or worst on Penn State’s staff, but few have been as consistent and as reliable as Poindexter and Smith. It’s not hard to imagine Smith, now the interim head coach, sticking around on the next staff for continuity reasons, a move that would play well with fans and the program. 

But Poindexter has perpetually been on the edge of becoming a head coach. Hard to say if that job will come this offseason, but if we assume that the new coach will bring in a new staff, one or both of these guys could be a casualty of that.

Much like Frank and Threlkel, the departures of Poindexter and Smith are potential losses you can mitigate with good hires. But Penn State won’t have been made better by either of them leaving.