Joel Klatt urges Big Ten powerhouse to hire Nick Saban

During an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt threw out an audacious name for the Penn State head coaching gig: Nick Saban.

Of course, that's seven-time national championship winner Nick Saban, who ended an unprecedented run at Alabama two offseasons ago on his own accord and has since joined ESPN and College GameDay after stepping away from coaching. He seems pretty retired from coaching as he turns 74 years old this coming Halloween.

As Klatt logically points out, though, Saban is worth the call at the very least. You cast the net far and wide and see what sticks.

"I know this sounds crazy," Klatt prefaced, "but I think the first call I would make is Nick Saban and just make sure that that's not going to happen." He adds that Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft is going to aim as high as he can to start off the search.

"Pat Kraft, the athletic director at Penn State, is going to take a big swing," Klatt said. "I don't think that anybody is off of his list to be quite honest with you and if I was Pat Kraft, I would start with the biggest swing possible."

Saban, arguably the greatest football coach of all time, at any level, is just that... the biggest swing possible.

Klatt mentions 2 more Penn State targets

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman gestures | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

After a sure NO from Saban, Joel Klatt suggests: "Then, you start going down the list of the other coaches around the country. I think Dan Lanning would get a call and I think Marcus Freeman would get a call."

Specifically pertaining to Freeman at ND, it's definitely not certainty that the Nittany Lions boast the better position.

"Would Freeman leave Notre Dame?" Klatt asked himself. "I'm not sure. He just went to the national championship. I'm sure he feels like he can build something special."

Klatt had a more definitive response for his next question.

"Is Penn State a better job than Notre Dame?" he asked, then answered: "I don't think it is, personally. But that's a call that I would make if I was Pat Kraft, because again, this is a good job; I don't know if it is a great job in college football. But in this cycle it's probably going to be the best."

A Dan Lanning hire for Penn State feels like nearly as long a shot as Nick Saban given how well Oregon is rolling behind Phil Knight's support.

Klatt mentions 2 more Penn State targets

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