Why Terry Smith Could Be a Great General Manager at Penn State

Terry Smith is unlikely to be Penn State's next head coach. But there's a significant role that Smith could play in the future of Penn State football.

What if Smith becomes Penn State's next general manager? It's a complicated question that the Nittany Lions' new coach and athletic director Pat Kraft must prioritize. But Smith, Penn State's interim head coach, could make a compelling case for his candidacy. His players already are making it for him.

"Coach Terry has done a great job of just emphasizing that we're not quitting," defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton said Saturday. "You can't quit. You can't quit in life, and if you quit now, you're going to be a quitter forever."

Smith's message, neither revelatory or revolutionary, nonetheless is resonating in a Penn State locker room that took another haymaker Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and receiver Omar Cooper Jr. combined for what might live as the defining play of the 2025 college football season to beat Penn State 27-24.

That's what it took to beat a Penn State team that hasn't won a Big Ten game, fired its head coach, lost its starting quarterback, also lost one of its best defensive players, gave up three fourth-quarter leads (and one in overtime) and hasn't won a game since Sept. 13.

This team should have dissolved in Saturday's third quarter, when Indiana took a 13-point lead after an interception. It probably should have evaporated after the loss at Iowa. Players should be texting agents about options for next year — and perhaps they are. This team should have been anywhere but leading the unbeaten, second-ranked Hoosiers with a minute left in regulation.

But it was because Smith, a Penn State letterman and former receiver, is in exactly the right place at the right time. He won't lead the Nittany Lions to a miracle rebound from their 3-3 start. He might not win a game. But Smith will make sure the players don't cave to what has happened this year.

"It would mean a lot," Penn State center Nick Dawkins said of getting a win for Smith. "I really thought we were going to get this one today. We thought we were going to win this one, because he pours so much into us, and he takes it on the chin.

"... It means a lot, because he is Penn State."

'He is Penn State'

Fifty seconds with Penn State interim coach Terry Smith after a bitter loss. pic.twitter.com/hrYamV20Bm
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) November 8, 2025

Franklin once told Smith that, should something happen regarding his job, Smith should take over the program. As Penn State's assistant head coach, Smith became one of Franklin's most trusted coaches, quite a feat considering Smith actually was the outsider in 2014.

When he arrived from Vanderbilt, Franklin hired Smith from Temple, believing he needed a letterman and Penn State voice on the staff. Over the next 11+ years, Smith played critical roles in roster recruiting, retention and development from multiple perspectives. Over the past month, Smith incrementally but noticeably has imprinted himself into the head-coaching role.

For his head-coaching debut at Iowa, Smith led the team into Kinnick Stadium wearing a T-shirt that read "IF," a single word with multiple interpretations. The Nittany Lions lost by one point.

For Game 2 at Ohio State, Smith led Penn State into Ohio Stadium with a clear-and-present gameplan: Make some big plays, don't let the Buckeyes' receivers beat you deep. The Nittany Lions couldn't do that in a 38-14 loss.

For Game 3 at home vs. Indiana, Smith insisted that the Nittany Lions could compete if they curbed those defensive shock plays, loosened the downfield-throwing reins on quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and untangled running back Nicholas Singleton.

They got that close. Penn State outgained Indiana by 10 yards (336-326), Grunkemeyer outthrew Mendoza by one yard (219-218) and Singleton was the game's leading rusher with one play (his second-half 59-yarder).

But Penn State's biggest imperfection this season has been its inability to hold a lead, which Smith hasn't been able to fix. The Nittany Lions got into a 3rd-and-long late in the fourth quarter, punted 63 yards into the end zone (what if Gabe Nwosu's attempt goes 60?) and then couldn't stop Mendoza from delivering his theatrical Heisman moment.

For that, the players blamed themselves, not Smith.

"I thought we had a pretty decent game as a defense," Dennis-Sutton said, "but when it mattered, we didn't show up. And that's what defense is about."

"He works his ass off, and we have so much respect for him and we're just dissatisfied that we're not able to get a winning result for him," Dawkins said.

Terry Smith's future at Penn State

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Terry Smith looks on prior to the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The college football general manager is a required role that schools define broadly. Some hire alums with NFL experience, others look for expert talent evaluators, still others want salary-cap quants who can build the right algorithm.

Smith could be Penn State's right choice for GM when paired with the contract and money subject-matter experts. He works smoothly in recruiting circles and identifies talent sharply. In 2020, after losing some Philadelphia-based prospects, Penn State sent Smith into the region.

He earned the trust of staff and players, who appreciate his blunt approach and respect for their ability to accept criticism. Linebacker Amare Campbell said that Smith "calls everybody out" in a way that feels authentic.

"That's the way I like to be," Campbell said. "Don't sugarcoat anything."

Further, as Dawkins said, "he is Penn State." Following the Indiana game, Smith did something in the Beaver Stadium media room that no one has for a while. He mentioned Joe Paterno by name.

Smith was a three-year letterman and standout receiver for Paterno in the late 1980s. Though he wasn't on the team, Smith once said, "I can recite every play of the [1987] national championship game." On Franklin's staff, he was the primary bridge linking past and present. For the next coach, Smith could extend that bridge through Franklin's tenure.

"it's just very humbling to know that I'm running out on the field [as head coach at Beaver Stadium]," Smith said. "I think back to Joe Paterno, and him running on the field. I'm in the same position as he was. I have to do better for my guys. We have to taste victory, because they deserve it."

Smith has stated clearly that he wants to be Penn State's next head coach. He's also pragmatic about the prospect.

"The reality is, no one knows who is going to be here [next season]," Smith said before the Indiana game. "When the next head coach is hired, that person could wipe the whole building out."

"That person" would be wise to convince Smith to stay in a significant role. Penn State football is about to change dramatically. Smith could facilitate that change while binding the new program to some sense of its history.

'He is Penn State'

Terry Smith's future at Penn State

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