Penn State should consider these candidates to replace James Franklin

James Franklin is out as the head coach of Big Ten Conference member Penn State after a three-game losing streak dropped the Nittany Lions to a disappointing 3-3 overall in the 2025 campaign.

The team's associate head coach, Terry Smith, will serve as Penn State's interim head coach for the rest of the 2025 season. Besides Smith, here are other candidates that the Nittany Lions' brass should consider to replace Franklin.

Nebraska HC Matt Rhule

Rhule played linebacker at Penn State. He's also friends with Nittany Lions athletics director Pat Kraft. Rhule turned around Temple and Baylor, and he's 5–1 in the current campaign while leading Nebraska, another Big Ten team.

Iowa State HC Matt Campbell

In his 10 seasons with the Cyclones of the Big 12 Conference, Campbell is 69–53 overall. He also went 35–15 at Toledo. Campbell has won five bowl games between those two schools. He also played one season of college football at Pittsburgh and grew up in Ohio.

Indiana HC Curt Cignetti

Cignetti and Rhule could be the top two candidates on the Penn State board. Cignetti guided Indiana to the 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024, and after winning at Oregon on Saturday, the Hoosiers are 6-0 and No. 3 in both the Associated Press and Coaches top-25 polls. Cignetti is 17-2 at Indiana, 136–37 overall as a head coach, grew up in Pittsburgh and previously served as an assistant coach with the Panthers.

Duke HC Manny Diaz

Diaz was Penn State's linebackers coach and defensive coordinator from 2022 to 2023, and the Nittany Lions defense was vastly improved under him. At Duke, he is 13–6 overall, although Diaz's three seasons as Miami's head coach weren't great.

Georgia Tech HC Brent Key

The Yellow Jackets likely don't have anywhere near the financial resources as Penn State, so the Nittany Lions would be impressed with what Key has done in Atlanta. Key led the Yellow Jackets to bowl games in 2023 and 2024. So far this season, Georgia Tech is 6–0 and No. 12 in the major top-25 polls.

Syracuse HC Fran Brown

Brown is earning a lot of high praise for the program he's building in Central New York. The Orange went 10-3 overall in his first season at Syracuse. Although the Orange have dropped two straight to fall to 3-3 in 2025, Syracuse lost its starting quarterback to a season-ending injury a few weeks back and has a young roster. Brown knows the Northeast corridor well, as he grew up in Camden, N.J., and served as an assistant at Temple and Rutgers, among other schools.