Head-coaching candidates Penn State should avoid: Why Matt Rhule, others would be disastrous

The point of firing Franklin was to upgrade to a head coach who can fulfill Penn State's championship aspirations. Rhule isn't that. He's proved to be a successful program builder at Temple, Baylor and Nebraska, but that's where his accolades subside. Sure sounds a whole lot like Franklin, right?

Hiring Rhule would be a lateral move for Penn State. 

Oregon OC Will Stein

Stein is an up-and-coming coach who's starting to garner head-coaching buzz. The Oregon offensive coordinator has a bright mind and an even brighter future in this business, but he's not the type of coach Penn State can afford to take a chance on right now. 

This is a make-or-break hire for Kraft and his staff. The new head coach will have (arguably unfairly) high expectations from the second he steps on campus. If he fails, Kraft needs to be able to say he made the right decision with a proven commodity who had past success in the same position. 

Stein is only 36 years old. He's been an offensive coordinator at a Power Four school for just two full seasons and doesn't have any head-coaching experience. Stein may be a future star as a college football head coach, but Penn State can't be the first team to take that risk. 

Duke HC Manny Diaz

Diaz has a complicated relationship with Kraft. In 2018, Kraft hired Diaz to be the head coach at Temple. Two weeks later, Diaz bailed on the Owls and accepted the head job at Miami instead, forcing Kraft to scramble for a new coach on a time crunch. 

This is probably water under the bridge for Kraft seven years later, but an act of betrayal and disrespect like that never leaves your mind. Diaz was a great defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions, but he fell flat on his face at Miami, the only big-time head-coaching job he's held in college football.