Penn State’s head coaching search could “start and end” with a familiar top target following the firing of James Franklin

Penn State football is on the search for their new head coach after firing James Franklin. That search could start and end with the same top target.

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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After two weeks of frustration for the Penn State Nittany Lions, they opted to part ways with head coach James Franklin after just six games so far in the 2025 season. Losing to Oregon in a close game three weeks ago was forgivable. Losing to UCLA and Northwestern in back-to-back weeks, however, wasn’t going to fly. That disastrous stretch was going to be impossible for Franklin to come back from. 

With Franklin now out, Penn State is tasked with finding their next head coach, and this decision will be vitally important. The Nittany Lions are one of the biggest brands in all of college football, and expectations are always very high to compete for the Big Ten and playoff opportunities. In the modern world of NIL and the Transfer Portal, keeping as much stability up top as possible is extremely important. 

There are going to be a lot of names thrown out there for the job over the next few weeks, and some of them will not be legitimate candidates. You are going to hear the likes of Curt Cignetti (Indiana), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss), Bill O’Brien (Boston College), Manny Diaz (Duke), and even Urban Meyer. A couple of those names will be at least a part of the conversation, but not all of them. 

After speaking with a few different people, both in the agent world and on the college personnel level, there is one name that has been mentioned most, and that’s current Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule. One source even indicated that the search “starts and ends with Rhule.” There is a heavy belief that this will be his job if he wants it, but it is still very early on. 

The Matt Rhule appeal 

Rhule is a coach who is very familiar with the Penn State program, which matters a ton in these types of searches. He was a former walk-on linebacker during legendary coach Joe Paterno in the 1990s, and was a native of State College, Pennsylvania after originally being born in New York City. Coach Rhule also spent the 1998 season as a volunteer assistant for the Nittany Lions.

Since Rhule left Happy Valley almost 30 years ago, he has become a very successful college football coach. Aside from his brief underwhelming stint in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, Rhule has made it a habit of taking over struggling programs and turning them into winners quickly. That includes stints with Temple and Baylor, producing multiple 10-win seasons despite taking over programs in very bad places. 

Rhule is currently serving as the head coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. After 5-7 and 7-6 records during his first two seasons, he has led them to a 5-1 record so far this season. This type of turnaround has become a consistent theme for Rhule. He has a great habit of finding under radar talent, and developing them very well. 

At a place like Penn State, it would only up his recruiting game. We have already seen Rhule make an impact in that department with the Cornhuskers. It would only balloon with a potential return to Happy Valley. It’s a huge bonus that Rhule has spent time in the Midwest, as well as in the state of Texas. That could provide a nice ability to attract a diverse amount of talent to Penn State. 

It’s still very early, but Rhule is absolutely the name to know early on. The next steps could depend solely on how interested Rhule is to make a return to the Nittany Lions. It appears that option will be on the table for him if he so chooses. 

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