Top 5 best candidates to replace James Franklin after Penn State firing

Penn State made a move Sunday, ending James Franklin's tenure at Penn State after a brutal 3-3 start to the 2025 season. So who's next? The Nittany Lions have a variety of possible options to replace Franklin, some with ties to Penn State, some at top programs. PSU is reportedly already on the hook for somewhere between $49 million and $56 million in buyout money for Franklin. But here are five plausible candidates to be next at PSU.

Alex Golesh, South Florida

Golesh is the up-and-coming choice here. He's done an excellent job at South Florida going 19-13 and turning the Bulls into a potential AAC Playoff gate crasher. Golesh is an Ohio State alum and has coached in the Big Ten at Illinois from 2012 to 2015. He'd likely bring an offensive makeover to a program clearly in need of one. But his inexperience could work against him.

Jim Knowles, Penn State

Knowles would be the potential continuity option for PSU. He's the current Penn State defensive coordinator, which carries its own innate negative side. After all, it was Knowles's defense that Nico Iamaleava carved like Swiss cheese in Week 6.

But he's a respected veteran coach and the defense is generally not considered PSU's major problem. He won a national title a season ago at Ohio State and was well-respected at Oklahoma State running a defense. But his head coaching experience is a 26-34 mark at Cornell and he does carry the burden of being part of the Franklin era.

Curt Cignetti, Indiana

This is the glamorous pick. Cignetti, at 17-2, is probably the hottest coach in college football. He's made Indiana a national title competitor, so it's not hard to see he could do the same thing at Penn State. But would he want to? Cignetti is probably already a hero at Indiana. To go from a place where a 10-win season makes him a legend to one where a 10-win season could shove him out the door is a bit hard to imagine.

Penn State would love his offense and Cignetti has coached at Pitt and IUP. But the man is in a great spot right now already.

Manny Diaz, Duke

There's a decent fit here. Diaz struggled at Miami as a head coach, but has been great at Duke, going 13-6, albeit in much quieter circumstances than Penn State. He was the defense coordinator at PSU in 2022 and 2023 and is generally well-remembered. But he's a defensive guy and that Duke record might be another example of a coach whose resume looks good at football-poor Duke, but might not do much for backers at Penn State.

Matt Rhule, Nebraska

Rhule is a Penn State alum and started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant with the Nittany Lions. That said, he's 64-57 as a college head coach and his best moments are a pair of 10-win seasons at Temple and one at Baylor. He seems to be doing well in his third year at Nebraska and would win the alumni vote, but Rhule's not a slam dunk as a next-level coach.