$110 million college football coach climbed among favorites to be named Penn State HC

With several SEC programs finding new coaches, Penn State is still in search for the program's next leader. One star college football coach has been linked to the Penn State job.

Nov 29, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) reacts after a rushing touchdown during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The college football coaching carousel is starting to slow down, but Penn State is still searching for James Franklin's replacement. Franklin already found a new home at Virginia Tech, but his former team is still looking for a new head coach.

The latest college football odds indicate a prominent Big Ten coach is in the mix at Penn State. Meanwhile, James Madison's Bob Chesney and BYU's Kalani Sitake are the current favorites to be named the next Penn State coach.

Penn State pic.twitter.com/RTYFhPpl0L

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 30, 2025

Kalshi gives Sitake a 30% chance to land the Penn State job with Chesney's odds listed at 25%. Among the additional favorites is a surprise name: USC's Lincoln Riley.

Early Monday, the USC coach had a 10% chance to be headed to Penn State, but this number had been as high as 23% in recent days. At the time this story was published, Riley's odds dropped dramatically to 3%.

Tennessee's Josh Heupel sits at 12% while former Giants coach Brian Daboll is listed at 14%.

Let's dive into the latest news and rumors on Penn State's coaching search.

USC HC Lincoln Riley's odds to be named the new Penn State coach has had wild swings

Back in 2022, Riley signed a 10-year, $110 million contract at USC. Riley has been linked to several of the recent college football vacancies, but the USC coach has attempted to quiet the noise.

Tremendous volatility in the last 24 hours. Here is the @Kalshi Penn State race chart as of 8:45AM CST. Huge movement for KDB this AM and also big money coming in on Kalani Sitake and Lincoln Riley at the 11th hour. @AdamBreneman81 pic.twitter.com/RjMmDjwUIU

— 617.X (@_JoshWilson) November 29, 2025

"Yeah, like I said before, I'm right where I'm supposed to be," Riley said of the coaching rumors, per USC Trojans on SI's Cory Pappas. "I think nothing other than what we're building literally. I love being here and yeah, that's really the end of it.”

Penn State has missed out on several top candidates including Indiana's Curt Cignetti and Nebraska's Matt Rhule

It has been a challenging coaching search for Penn State. The Nittany Lions were initially linked to Indiana's Curt Cignetti and Nebraska's Matt Rhule. Both coaches signed contract extensions with their current schools amid the coaching carousel rumors.

Odds to be the next Penn State Head Coach, per @Kalshi:

Kalani Sitake - 26%
Josh Heupel - 18%
Brian Daboll - 17%
Bob Chesney - 15%
Terry Smith - 14%
Kalen DeBoer - 9%
Lincoln Riley - 9%
Brian Hartline - 8%
Matt Campbell - 6%

Penn State’s search has been a long one 😳 pic.twitter.com/o1ffynxd8e

— College Football Report (@CFBReport) November 30, 2025

"Among the names that continue to be mentioned by industry sources are Georgia Tech’s Brent Key, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea and Louisville’s Jeff Brohm," On3's Pete Nakos wrote on Nov. 16. "At the offensive coordinator level, the two names to watch are Ohio State’s Brian Hartline and Oregon’s Will Stein."

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