How other head coach openings will impact Penn State search

The college football coaching carousel is already spinning, and Penn State helped that happen when it fired James Franklin in October. Since then, several other high-end jobs have opened up, giving the Nittany Lions potential competition in finding their next head coach.

Let’s take a look at the other important openings, which jobs could come open and how it will all impact Penn State.

What jobs are open?

LSU

If there is a better job open right now than Penn State it’s this one. The Tigers have won three national titles since the turn of the century and have a track record of attracting the best talent in the country. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t negatives — most of which are self-inflicted. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry immediately undermined the search when he said Scott Woodward, the athletic director at the time, would not be making the hire. That led to a separation between Woodward and LSU and an interim AD — Verge Ausberry — leading the search. Other statements from Landry about the structure of the next head coach’s contract could further complicate the matter for LSU, although the job should still attract top candidates. That being said, the pool of candidates at LSU is not expected to overlap too much with Penn State.

Florida

Like with LSU, there may not be a ton of overlap between Penn State and Florida, but there is an exception here. Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz will likely be a candidate for both openings, and it would be a surprise if he chose the Nittany Lions over the Gators. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but Drinkwitz is from the South and fits the profile of a head coach who tends to find success at Florida (offense-focused with a big personality). Beyond him, though, there may not be much overlap. The Gators are much more likely to be competing with LSU for candidates if they don’t hire Drinkwitz than they are to compete with Penn State.

What jobs could come open?

Florida State

This is the biggest shoe yet to drop when it comes to firings (barring a major surprise elsewhere) with Mike Norvell remaining on the hot seat as Florida State sits at 4-4. The job could be one of the most attractive available because it’s a historically great program that is in an excellent recruiting area with one major benefit over the SEC openings — the competition in the ACC is much weaker. There is a path for whoever takes this job to consistently make the College Football Playoff and get repeated bites at the apple when it comes to winning a national title. It remains to be seen who FSU would target if Norvell is let go, but this opening will be one worth monitoring specifically because it’s a potential landing spot for Franklin — which would help Penn State with its buyout of the former head coach. The Nittany Lions are on the hook for $48 million following this season, unless Franklin gets a job in media or coaching. In that case, the amount owed would be offset by the amount he is paid by his new employer — which would likely be more than what Penn State still owes him, effectively reducing the buyout to zero.

Ole Miss

The only way Ole Miss comes open is if Lane Kiffin decides to head elsewhere. He’s routinely mentioned with every job in the South that comes open, and this cycle will be no different. LSU and Florida will likely try and convince him to leave Oxford for their programs, and if either is successful it could open up what has become a very good job. Ole Miss dove headfirst into the transfer portal/NIL era of college football, routinely making big splashes to land high-end talent whenever it needs to fill holes. Part of that has been Kiffin’s doing, and part has been a willingness from the university to do what it takes to win at the highest level. There’s no guarantee that Kiffin leaves, or that Ole Miss will remain at this level if he does, but it will surely try to replace him with an elite coach to keep the train rolling.

Overall impact on Penn State

Despite there being multiple high-end openings to compete with, and more potentially coming, Penn State is in a good spot in its search when it comes to competing for candidates. The program might be the best opening on its own merit, but when geography is brought into the equation it becomes clear that the Nittany Lions could be operating on an island when it comes to targets. The other best openings are all in the South and — right now — there are no other high-end Big Ten jobs coming open that PSU will have to compete with. And, outside of Drinkwitz, there isn’t much overlap between Penn State and the other openings and potential openings.

In fact, the biggest impact for the Nittany Lions with the other jobs is whether Franklin will get one and get them off the hook for his contract buyout. Right now, Virginia Tech and Florida State present the best opportunities for that, and it would be a surprise if the former Penn State head coach isn’t on the sidelines next season leading another program.