(OT) Penn State Football - James Franklin no longer

[phillychuck]

I like the idea because it’s out-of-the-box thinking. Whether he’s willing to leave depends on lots of factors, including dollars.

[zambonir]

It is generally believed he is the out of nowhere candidate, though the same people who have been talking about that have also said it probably won't happen. Apparently there was a plane from Provo to State College? That some of the betting markets have made him the "favorite" is a bit hard to believe, though it's not a big number. Josh Heupel, a name I don't think I've seen in weeks, is the #2.

Not hard to see why he would leave. More money would be a given. And a better chance to win a championship, plus much easier recruiting (probably academically, as well as being freed from the religious affiliation and code of conduct). But he's another alum (and a Mormon himself). And he has a championship game to play on Saturday (and the playoff if they win).

There are only two players on the BYU roster from the Eastern time zone, and one of them transferred from UCLA. Around half of the roster is LDS. Can he really build a roster at Penn State, especially on the fly?

[zambonir]

Mark Stoops also not a terrible candidate. Has been awful the last two years so probably unhirable (he already lost the A&M job to Elko due to fan outrage) but someone you would assume could do a lot better at a program like PSU, he still overachieved for Kentucky. Another older coach (no old, but older).

Chesney is still not out of the playoff, is another complication. If he's the guy both schools would probably let him stay. But he has a game this weekend too.

If they really want Key, Campbell or Daboll it should be done tomorrow.

[bigegypt0417]

It's funny...the national people are starting to beat up the coaching search and part of me feels like they are only doing that because the search process seems to have not had any leaks. It's pretty interesting to watch a process where it seems no one has a real clue what is happening.

The coaches who signed extensions did so knowing they weren't in the conversation...in my opinion.

Which leads me to believe it will be "out of nowhere".

[zambonir]

Well, I think it's fair at this point to wonder why the PSU job has been open the longest and is also taking the longest to be filled. 8 jobs have now been filled (nine if you count Stanford but that job's been open all year). Recruiting opens Friday. But if they think there is a guy who is worth waiting for, whether it's another week or another month, nothing wrong with that, especially if you are expecting your guy to bring 40 players with him (which he'll have to).

[zambonir]

UCLA to hire Bob Chesney: Bruins pluck James Madison coach to reinvigorate...

[bigegypt0417]

Not exactly a denial...

BYU coach Kalani Sitake deflects question about Penn State

[zambonir]

It's hard to know what sources are reliable, I saw one thing that said the airplane story was bull and another that said this is all very real (but even that said it still might be to just leverage BYU for a new deal again).

He only makes like $3-4 million so if he wants to leave the comfort and familiarity of Provo he surely would. But maybe he doesn't need to make $10 million.

It's kind of crazy that UCLA is importing a PA coach and PSU might hire a Western coach. Of course everything has changed, and UCLA is in the Big 10.

[bigegypt0417]

Sources: BYU coach Sitake focus of PSU search

[zambonir]

I do think it would be a cool hire. No idea if it means the program will be better than it was, but nobody was guaranteed to do that anyway. Apparently the book on him is he's a CEO type coach, much like Franklin. I wonder if the delay is about deciding who's going to stay on, from Smith to the coordinators.

[zambonir]

Not surprising, but per On3 Sitake would bring his current DC with him. Presumably either way a big buyout coming for Knowles (offset by his next job of course) and few current coaches are staying (and let's face it a few of them would have been gone even if Franklin hadn't been fired).

The latest reporting on the Kalani Sitake-Penn State situation

[bigegypt0417]

PSU may be no match for cookies!!

https://nittanysportsnow.com/2025/12/could-penn-states-sitake-opportunity-crumble-to-cookie-maker/

[bigegypt0417]

Seems like this is now more of an issue of what role the Mormon Church and donors will play...it seems like Penn State was about to close the deal when they got wind of it and are pushing Sitake to reconsider and stay.

This seems like it will be resolved quickly but it seems like no one is sure what the outcome will be.

[zambonir]

Yeah it's a life decision only he can make really. Football-wise, if they match salary and NIL, kind of a toss-up. Penn State a better job and better conference where you can make the playoff as the third or fourth-best team. BYU, you might win the conference more often but not make it otherwise (as they likely won't this year).

I do wonder why either PSU or he would want to be so far away from his recruiting pipeline. Are the Polynesian Mormon players gonna come there? Will their parents?

For better or worse Kraft did a good job keeping the search quiet. Now he looks really bad if this deal doesn't close

[bigegypt0417]

Sitake will stay with BYU.

Hopefully there is a Plan B.

[zambonir]

Amazing. It seems like they have written off the recruiting period (supposedly he was not even going to be officially announced until after the Big 12 game if they had made a deal). Will be disappointing to me if they let Chesney go because they thought they had Sitake on the hook.

Todd McShay claims that Jimmy Sexton has kept them from getting another one of his clients (since Franklin was one. So is Chesney and several of the guys who didn't leave their schools).

Todd McShay: Super agent Jimmy Sexton 'messing around' with Penn State coaching...

[bigegypt0417]

The Sitake news shouldn't be a huge surprise but if an agent is keeping his clients from getting better jobs out of spite...that seems like a bad way to do business...

With PSU starting a 300 million dollar deal with Adidas...I wonder if that impacts coaches?

Also wondering...this could spell the end for Kraft...this coaching search seems to have not gone well.

[zambonir]

I agree it seems like a not-useful thing for him, but he controls college football basically. It's not unlike Boras. You want to be in good with him. Or maybe you don't, since he gets you to do stupid things like sign James Franklin so he doesn't leave for USC.

When this all started I opined PSU is not as good a job as we might think and I believe that has held. It is a very good job but not an elite job, and now in this current reality more teams than ever can be very good. That is partially the good news too though. If Indiana and BYU can do it Penn State can do it.

I don't think Kraft is the problem necessarily; I think the Board of Trustees and Franklin's struggles to get the support he wanted and the fact that they didn't have it together NIL-wise until this year is something all coaches - and certainly Jimmy Sexton - know about. Obviously the mess at LSU didn't hurt them but that's a school where three coaches have won national championships this century. Penn State hasn't even played for one.

As with Franklin, Kraft's future comes down to who actually runs the show there. Has anyone (search firm, President, trustees) besides him even been involved in this stuff? I think it's good if they aren't, but it could also cost him. Was it really Kraft's decision alone to fire Franklin?

I think we have to assume he was planning to hire Rhule or Cignetti. Now I just wish he could have hired Will Stein.

[dcsman]

At this point are you maybe hoping for an NFL coach?

This process definitely seems to have been botched, for whatever reason(s).

[zambonir]

Apparently Kraft did refuse to use a search firm, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but seems like the process was more than he could handle himself.

But also: they aren't necessarily paying top dollar. Sitake is only getting $9-9.5 AAV from his new deal. Kiffin got $13 million. The fantasy of DeBoer would certainly require the latter.

Some are wondering if they can still get Chesney to change his mind.

If they don't hire a sitting college coach it's not going to be a very good team next year. You need someone who can flip recruits and bring in transfers from his old school. Portal doesn't open until January but the NIL offers will be made behind the scenes before then. Hiring Smith might keep you some players but not as many as you'd like. Even the guys tweeting about him now aren't necessarily going to turn down better offers (or Franklin).