Penn State coaching candidates: Four options to replace James Franklin, from Matt Rhule to Fran Brown

Penn State entered the season ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, was picked to win the Big Ten, and was primed to be a national title contender. Seven weeks into the college football season, the Nittany Lions are searching for a new coach and have lost their starting quarterback for the season. Plenty of uncertainty lies ahead.

James Franklin leaves behind a complicated legacy after being fired by the program on Sunday as the school’s second-winningest coach. In his 11-plus seasons, he led the Nittany Lions to 10 or more wins six times, including a program-record 13 last season, but fell short in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Franklin and his teams, though, consistently flopped in games against Associated Press top-10 teams, finishing with a 4-21 record.

» READ MORE: ‘It was time’: Penn State players and fans react to James Franklin’s firing

“We have the best college football fans in America, a rich tradition of excellence, significant investments in our program, compete in the best conference in college sports and have a state-of-the-art renovated stadium on the horizon,” athletic director Pat Kraft said Sunday in a release. “I am confident in our future and in our ability to attract elite candidates to lead our program.”

» READ MORE: James Franklin’s arrogance always outstripped his accomplishments. That’s why Penn State fired him

That last line, in particular, will be tested over the next two months as a national coaching search begins. Here are four candidates Penn State could consider for its next head coach:

This link is obvious, isn’t it? Rhule, a former Penn State linebacker, who worked under Kraft at Temple from 2013-16, and whose team plays at Penn State on Nov. 22, the penultimate regular-season game, should be among the first calls the program makes.

One thing to keep in mind for Penn State’s next coach: How well does he know the Pennsylvania recruiting scene? Having relationships in the Philly and South Jersey areas, along with Pittsburgh and its suburbs, was critical for Franklin and his staff throughout his tenure.

Rhule knows the recruiting scene well. It led to his success at Temple, and at Nebraska there’s still plenty of Philly representation on the roster. On-field results won’t make this a “splashy” hire, since the Cornhuskers are just 17-14 under Rhule, and he flamed out of the NFL with the Carolina Panthers in less than three years.

But his third seasons at Temple (10-4), at Baylor (11-2), and now at Nebraska (5-1) continue to be promising. At Penn State, he’d have the best resources and the highest expectations of any other stop.

Ultimately, if Penn State feels that he can get the Nittany Lions over the hump, Rhule will be the top candidate. It’s worth noting that his record vs. AP-ranked opponents is 2-23 in his career, his last ranked win coming at Temple in 2016.

The second-year coach just led the Hoosiers to an upset victory over Oregon on Saturday and figures to at least factor in as a potential coaching candidate. Through 1½ seasons at Indiana, Cignetti has a 17-2 record.

The Pittsburgh native has had stops as Temple’s quarterbacks coach (1989-92), quarterbacks and tight ends coach at Pittsburgh (1993-99), recruiting coordinator and tight ends/wide receivers coach at N.C. State (2000-06), recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach at Alabama (2007-10), and head coach at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2011-16).

Success has followed Cignetti throughout his coaching career. As a head coach, he turned around FCS school Elon to earn back-to-back playoff appearances in 2017 and 2018; helped James Madison to an FCS national title-game berth and led its seamless transition from the FCS to FBS; then brought Indiana to the CFP in his first season at the helm last year.

Indiana already has two AP top-10 wins this year (vs. No. 9 Illinois and No. 3 Oregon) under Cignetti. The Hoosiers, too, will make a trip to Happy Valley next month, and it’s possible his team makes a deep playoff run this year, which would make bringing him to Penn State complicated.

Still, considering that Cignetti knows the recruiting scene well, gauging his interest in the job is worthwhile, along with his track record of immediately making his teams contenders.

The first two names will be on most coaching lists, but what Brown has done at Syracuse already in less than two seasons in the same region as Penn State can’t be ignored. The Camden native has a 13-6 record through 1½ seasons at Syracuse, had a signature win over Miami last season, and led his Orange into Clemson to take down Dabo Swinney a few weeks ago.

This season is off to a much tougher start (3-3), but the program’s culture has shifted dramatically. He is one of the best recruiters is the country and has Syracuse in the top 30 of 247Sports’ 2026 recruiting rankings.

Although Brown is much less seasoned as a head coach than the names ahead of him, he’d bring a championship mindset to the Nittany Lions. He was the defensive backs coach at Georgia when it won the 2023 national title; worked under Rhule at Temple and Baylor, both successful tenures; and knows the recruiting scene in the state as well as anyone.

Brown has said several times that he’s in it for the long haul at Syracuse, but he’s worth bringing in for an interview. How he connects with players and the lack of attrition he faced from Year 1 to Year 2 at Syracuse speaks volumes.

Whenever a big program’s job opens up, Campbell’s name is mentioned, and for good reason. Through 10 seasons for Iowa State, Campbell has compiled a 69-53 record, with winning seasons in eight of the 10, although he has won double-digit games in just one season (2024).

Although he hasn’t won the Big 12 in his tenure, he’s made two championship game appearances (2020, 2024), and has consistently maximized his rosters despite Iowa State being ranked outside the top 40 of most recruiting rankings.

Campbell has a 16-27 record against ranked teams, including four wins against AP top-10 opponents. The Massillon, Ohio, native wouldn’t be a popular pick for the job, but he has helped teams punch above their weight at Toledo and Iowa State, plus has had consistent quarterback play (see Brock Purdy, 49ers quarterback).