It’s been 42 days…and counting…since Penn State vice president for intercollegiate athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft fired James Franklin, after the head football coach’s Nittany Lion football squad lost three games in 15 days and did a stunning free-fall from the No. 2 team in the country to a mediocre and perplexing 3-3.
The next day, Kraft met with local and national press at high noon in the media room at Beaver Stadium. It was Day No. 1,200 of the Kraft regime and came on the heels of his most important day on the job, the Sunday when he fired Franklin.
Standing behind a lectern, Kraft delivered a 600-word opening statement, addressing the firing in person and announcing the program’s interim head coach, Terry Smith — a co-captain of the No. 3-ranked 1991 Nittany Lions, a stellar wide receiver with 108 career catches and 1,825 career receiving yards, and a 12-year PSU coaching veteran and the longest-tenured member of Franklin’s staff.
Kraft’s presser that day lasted 23 minutes and 48 seconds. Counting his opening statement, it covered 2,345 words worth of answers, insight, explanations and expectations. Overall, he answered nine questions.
The final question, perhaps the most germane now, the day after rhuling over Nebraska and Terry wearing the Joe Button, and in light of the Nittany Lions’ last two wins and a damn near tsunami of support for Smith’s candidacy to succeed Franklin in a permanent fashion — was this:
Question: You mentioned Terry Smith and what he brings to this role. You mentioned the national search for the next head coach. Could those two things become intertwined? Is Terry Smith going to be under consideration?
Kraft’s answer: “Absolutely. Everybody is under consideration. And I’m going to help Terry do everything he can to run the table. But, yes, he will be considered a candidate.”
These were — literally — the last words we have heard from Kraft, publicly, on the subject.
We do know that Curt Cignetti, Matt Rhule, Jeff Brohm and Mike Elko — all potential candidates to be Penn State’s next head coach — were crafty enough to secure contract extensions since then.
And we do know that Smith, 56, has said — emphatically, again and again and again — that he wants the job. Terry is clearly wearing those sentiments on his sleeve and his lapel, as well as his X account. Many…many…others have chimed in with similar sentiments. There have been nearly 409 such Hallmark and Lifetime moments over the past six weeks.
Candidates few and far and faux between have been and are being bandied about as either being considered by Kraft and/or being interviewed quite possibly by the good doctorate:
Brady (Joe, not Tom; we’re talking Pat Kraft, not Robert), Campbell, Chesney (who I see as the front-runner), DeBoer (last spotted in State College when he came to watch his daughter, Alexis, play softball for Washington vs. PSU), Diaz, Dillingham, Drinkwitz, Engram, Fitzgerald, Freeman, Hartline, Key, Kiffin (I know, I know), Kingsbury, Lea, Meyer, Silverfield, Stein and Sumrall. I may have missed a few, but I don’t think I’ve seen a Tengwall on any list. Pity.
For the most part, previous incumbents at Dear Old State have been wildly successful — one is the all-time wins leader in major college football (hello, JoePa) and two of the last four are tied for second on the all-time PSU wins list at Penn State, at 104 (Franklin and Rip Engle). Three guys, 617 wins.
Still, the job is not without risk. Both Joe and James got fired in the midst of a season. (Paterno was 8-1 when the BOT axed him in 2011; Franklin was a crazy good 37-11 in his last 48 games.) And the full-timer in-between, Bill O’Brien, got frustrated by the PSU alignment and leadership, feelings exacerbated by his yearning to be an NFL head coach.
And, while we have not heard from Kraft about the process, he did lay out the job description back on Oct. 13. That will have to do, since I have not seen the job posted on Indeed, LinkedIn, D1.ticker or the Penn State jobs website.
So, for this week’s Top 10, we resurrect and slice and dice the Penn State AD’s statements about the still-vacant position of full-time, permanent head football coach at The Pennsylvania State University (salary negotiable; starting date preferable before the Jan. 2 opening of the transfer portal). All Kraft comments are direct quotations from his press conference nearly six weeks ago.
WHAT KRAFT SAYS HE’S SEEKING
1. Answer These Questions: “…Quite honestly, when you get into a search and start to have those hard conversations, ‘What do you envision this program? How do you envision the program looking? How do you envision winning a national championship?’ The facts are the facts.”
2. The ROI of Football U. “Football is our backbone. We have invested at the highest level. With that comes high expectations.”
3. Be No. 1. “I believe a new leader can help us win a national championship…We’ll find a coach who can achieve excellence at the highest level, doing it with confidence and conviction.”
4. Be PSU. “Our next coach will be someone who embodies everything Penn State stands for: Integrity, accountability, toughness, humility and an elite motivator.”
5. You Are… “This person has to fit Penn State. They need to represent the toughness, the blue-collar work ethic and the class that defines this institution.”
6. We Are…But New, Too. “We want someone who honors our tradition, but isn’t afraid to evolve — someone who understands the weight of ‘We Are’ and leads us forward with a vision of championships.”
7. United We Stand. “The right coach will rebuild the unity and pride that defines this historic program, and they will ignite this fan base around a shared belief that we’re capable of greatness. We’re going to do it in the right way and we are the best program in the country.”
8. Recruit on the Money. “Recruiting will always be a pillar here. We want someone who will attract elite talent, retain players in the NIL era, and make Penn State a destination. This is also about the modern era of college football. Our next coach needs to be able to maximize elite level resources, attack the transfer portal and can develop at the highest level.”
9. Portal State University. “You’ve got to recruit at a high level. And now the transfer portal. You have to be able to recruit in the transfer portal at a high level. So, ‘How do you use your resources in the right way to build a roster?’ ”
10. Make Krafty Use of the AD. “I’ll talk to any recruit — whether it’s fencing, football, wrestling, basketball, volleyball. I don’t care. I will continue to be active in that process.”
