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Who's Hot, Who's Not in the Penn State Coaching Search

The Nittany Lions are getting closer to naming a coach to replace James Franklin, now at Virginia Tech.
Mark Wogenrich|
A general view of the end zone at Beaver Stadium prior to the game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Penn State Nittany Lions.
A general view of the end zone at Beaver Stadium prior to the game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Penn State Nittany Lions. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

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Penn State's coaching search is heating up as the window narrows with only two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Nittany Lions conclude their regular season Nov. 29 at Rutgers, and the next coach should be named soon after.

In the meantime, the rumor mill churns with names from across the country. Here's a look at where Penn State's coaching search stands.

RELATED: Why Penn State should be nervous about James Franklin at Virginia Tech

Does Penn State have a real shot with Kalen DeBoer?

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer walks the sidelines in his black hoodie during the game vs. the LSU Tigers.
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer walks the sidelines in his black hoodie during the game vs. the LSU Tigers at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer remains the most intriguing propsect on Penn State's expected board. Trouble is, the timeline doesn't work at all.

DeBoer has Alabama (8-2) on the outer edge of playoff contention with two games remaining. The key game is the Iron Bowl vs. Auburn on Nov. 29. A loss would eliminate Alabama from contention and likely DeBoer from the fan base's donations list. If DeBoer seeks a fresh start, Penn State would roll out a warm welcome.

But Penn State will have a difficult time waiting for a playoff contender, because what if Alabama goes from contender to Final Four qualifier? Penn State needs a coach in place to administer the program's transfer-portal strategy beginning Jan. 2. Without a coach, there's no strategy and potentially no roster for 2026.

As a resuls, CBS Sports' Josh Pate suggested that DeBoer isn't involved at Penn State.

The first part of Pate's comment might be more intriguing.

Who has Penn State "zeroed in on?"

One fascinating riser of Penn State's search is James Madison coach Bob Chesney, who has many people believing that the Dukes (9-1) should be a playoff contender. Chesney took a roster depleted by Curt Cignetti's 2024 departure to Indiana and spun even more success out of it. He is fielding calls from every athletic director with a vacancy hoping to replicate Indiana's model.

Penn State should be interested in Chesney as well, since he has won 141 games as a head coach. But one concern is that Chesney, who spent much of his career in Division III football, hasn't coached against a Big Ten team, much less for one. Chesney is ready for a bigger program, but is this the right leap at the right time for both parties?

Another riser is Georgia Tech coach Brent Key, who also has a playoff contender, albeit at his alma mater. Key is Georgia Tech and hasn't coached north of Western Carolina. Even if Key leaves his alma mater, he's more likely to do so for one of the SEC openings.

Still, Kalshi, the online trading market, considers Key a contender at Penn State. According to Kalshi, Key's chances have risen to 18 percent of late. He's now behind only Chesney, whose stock as climbed to a 30-percent chance, and Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, who still is the favorite.

Is Penn State waiting on Lane Kiffin?

Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin stands on the sideline during the second half against the Florida Gators.
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin stands on the sideline during the second half against the Florida Gators at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Not to be its next coach, but yes, Kiffinwatch is impacting Penn State's search. The Ole Miss coach reportedly is weighing a huge offer from LSU, according to college football national reporter Matt Fortuna, and Ole Miss has given Kiffin a Nov. 29 deadline.

Kiffin's decision will have downstream effects involving multiple coaching searches, including Penn State's. Two of Penn State's expected targets, Drinkwitz and Key, are involved with other SEC jobs. The situation is tangled.

Complicating matters further is the college football calendar. If Kiffin accepts the LSU job, and Ole Miss makes the College Football Playoff, does he have a decision to make? Same goes for Penn State and DeBoer, as noted earlier. On ESPN's College GameDay, Nick Saban called the timeline fundamentally unfair.

"We need to take a better approach to the business aspect of what we do in college athletics," Saban said. "In the NFL, you cannot leave your team until you're finished playing. You can't talk to another coach in the regular season. There's a defined time when you can talk to them if they're in the playoff. That's the way it should be. We shouldn't match the academic calendar with the football calendar.

Another alumni candidate?

Former Penn State offensive lineman Landon Tengwall has a growing media platform in the film-review space, where he excels. Tengwall also has some sources in the program from his playing days. Therefore, his report that Bobby Engram is interviewing for the Penn State job is intriguing.

Engram hasn't been a prominent name in the search to this point, though a conversation wouldn't be out of the question. He's a former Penn State receiver (lettermen are popular) in his third season as receivers coach with the Washington Commanders.

However, Engram has spent most of his coaching career in the NFL (with St. Louis, Baltimore and Washington) and has little experience in college. He spent two seasons coaching receivers at Pitt and was Wisconsin's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022.

Meanwhile, Penn State's current players say they've already found their next head coach in Terry Smith.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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