Brian Daboll predicted to be a good fit for historic college football program

Former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has only been unemployed for a few days, but ESPN personality Pat McAfee sees a very plausible landing spot for the fired head coach. On The Pat McAfee Show, the host and former Penn State and NFL player A.Q. Shipley discussed Daboll's recent firing and hit on an attractive possible next job: head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Daboll's college credentials

Daboll was in his fourth season with the New York Giants, but is not a stranger to college football. He had coached at Michigan State under Nick Saban before heading into the NFL coaching ranks, but returned to be Saban's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Alabama in 2017. The Tide won the CFP title in his season in Tuscaloosa before Daboll returned to the NFL. The offensive credentials that Daboll burnished in Tuscaloosa are why McAfee and Shipley think he'd work out at Penn State.

McAfee's take

Penn State... great job, in the Big Ten. To kind of keep the boosters happy potentially, or the money happy, or the fan base happy, you have to make a splashy hire. Daboll would do that, right?
Pat McAfee

Shipley Doubles Down on Daboll

Former Penn State alum and NFL player A.Q. Shipley was on the show with McAfee and he strongly concurred with the idea, noting that Daboll has a child currently attending Penn State and fits the profile at an offensively struggling school to break the mold.

I think he would be great. He's an offensive genius, he really is. And he understands it. He coached in college under Nick Saban when they had a great offense. Take what he learned from Bill Belichick. You take what he learned from being a head coach. Splash hire, good offensive mind. You just need somebody to help you navigate the NIL waters.
A.Q. Shipley

Daboll's Pro Credentials

Daboll won five Super Bowls as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots. where he coached as a wide receivers coach and later as tight ends coach. He has coached for seven NFL teams in a variety of offensive roles.

Penn State's Offensive Issues

The criticism of the offensive issues at Penn State is accurate. Heading into a season with potential All-American Drew Allar returning at quarterback, the Nittany Lions vastly underachieved on that side of the ball, failing to top 24 points in four of their last five games. Penn State is 15th in the Big Ten in yardage with 335.7 yards per game.

The Possible PSU competition

Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz has been considered the top candidate for the Penn State job, but Drinkwitz is in the midst of a successful run at Missouri. Daboll is immediately available and might offer Penn State a chance to hit the recruiting road and transfer portal in a hurry.