Surprising Coach in ‘Good Place’ to Change James Franklin at Penn State

[ad_1] The Penn State Nittany Lions are in want of a brand new head coach after firing longtime coach James Franklin within the midst of a shedding streak that noticed the crew lose its coach and star quarterback to a season-ending harm.

Interim head coach Terry Smith has gained his final two video games and the help of his gamers, nevertheless it's unclear if athletic director Pat Kraft sees him as a viable long run substitute for Franklin. Numerous spectacular names have been tossed round like Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Georgia Tech's Brent Key.

James Madison's Bob Chesney has additionally been mentioned as a attainable Franklin substitute - and maybe most-linked to the Penn State program proper now. Nonetheless, ESPN's Greg McElroy believes there is a totally different coach in "good place" to land the gig.

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<img id="11109813" alt="An unexpected replacement for James Franklin was named." caption="Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions looks on during the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium on October 11, 2025 in State College, Pennsylvania." src="(Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="3865" height="2577" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" style="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2240861754.jpg?w=640&quality=80&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2240861754.jpg?w=750&quality=80&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2240861754.jpg?w=1000&quality=80&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2240861754.jpg?w=1200&quality=80&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2240861754.jpg?w=1360&quality=80&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2240861754.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2240861754.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1"/> Extra NFL: Al Michaels Underneath Hearth for ‘Tough’ Payments-Texans Sport

McElroy pointed to Vanderbilt - the place Penn State plucked Franklin from.

"I believe Clark Lea at Vanderbilt is in a extremely good place to get this gig. Now, he is a defensive-minded man. He is achieved a tremendously good job at Vanderbilt. I imply, absurd. He has now taken Vanderbilt to their first nine-win common season in Vanderbilt historical past," McElroy mentioned. "All of the totally different hurdles and obstacles and challenges that Vanderbilt has at all times had, they have been crushed. The one factor that is perhaps working towards Clark Lea is the truth that James Franklin can be from Vanderbilt."

The Commodores got here in at No. 14 within the newest Faculty Soccer Playoff rankings and have solely misplaced two video games this season - to No. 9 Alabama and No. 16 Texas. Lea and firm have the prospect to complete the season with an exclamation level towards No. 19 Tennessee.