Penn State recommended to pursue $35 million coach as James Franklin replacement

Penn State’s coaching search has become one of the most scrutinized storylines of the season. After losses to Oregon, UCLA, and Northwestern, the school moved on from James Franklin in just seventeen days.

College football analyst Josh Pate called the decision “ludicrous,” saying on his College Football Show that he still views Franklin as “the best option for Penn State,” but acknowledged the administration “thought there was no other choice.”

Pate explained that many within the fan base believed a grand slam replacement was waiting. Instead, early swings for Mike Elko and Kalen DeBoer came up empty. “Hoping you can hit a grand slam is not a plan,” Pate said. “Because if you swing and miss in baseball, it’s just strike one. In coaching searches, you swing and miss and it’s over.”

He added that Penn State’s decision to act midseason created complications with recruiting and perception. “You just fired a 10-win head coach,” Pate said. “The replacement’s got to do as good or better than that guy was doing.”

Josh Pate Endorses Matt Campbell As Penn State’s Best Option

Pate believes Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell checks every box the Nittany Lions need. “Matt Campbell’s a stud as a head coach,” he said. “The edge, the grit, the attention to detail, the different way you have to sell Penn State—everything you would want in a Penn State coach, he has.”

He also noted that Campbell’s biggest flaw is his unwillingness to promote himself. “Matt Campbell sucks at promoting Matt Campbell because he doesn’t really care to do it,” Pate said. “If I changed nothing about that guy other than publicizing the head coaching jobs he has turned down, he would be viewed as a premium candidate.”

Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell — Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell and the Cyclones are 6-4 overall and 3-4 in Big 12 play this season. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In August, Iowa State and Campbell agreed to a contract extension valued at $5 million per year through 2032.

Pate closed by arguing that Campbell has been overlooked for too long. “He’s been the guy for a number of the big openings over the past several years,” Pate said. “If the Penn State fan base understood that, they’d be totally open to him.”

Penn State will host Nebraska on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. Iowa State plays Kansas on Saturday at noon ET on Fox Sports 1.