I think that Rhule will talk to them but ultimately settle for a raise to stay at Nebraska. Ditto Cignetti, he's due a raise regardless of what other jobs open up. Matt Campbell has done a good job at Iowa St, and they're having financial struggles right now, I bet PSU could get him 7 yrs 49m. ESPN listed Manny Diaz and Dan Mullen, I'd put a lot more stock in Mullen than Diaz, especially b/c Mullen would be a whole lot easier to poach. We saw this sort of financial constraint with A&M when we fired Jimbo. it's REALLY tough to consider $10m+ a year for an A tier coach when you're still paying the last guy $7m a year for 7 years. I think that PSU will balk at what it costs to hire Campbell and they ultimately settle for someone like Mullen or an up and comer, probably on a low-ish price and short term deal "prove it" deal.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/st...-transfers

What do you guys think?

I just can't imagine that psy would fire Franklin and then settle on a coach (diaz or Mullen) who flamed out at big programs much worse than Franklin did (we are talking orders of magnitude worse flame outs than Franklin). I imagine they probably go for a P4 coach at a smaller program like Georgia techs coach (not saying gt coach in specific what so ever, just suggesting that type of higher) before Mullen or Diaz. That's also exactly what y'all did.

Folks might say that Rhule was always the one for the job, but I think he may as well be Moses wandering around the Holy Land because of his previous experiences under the Paterno-Sandusky years. It’s just those optics.

It makes one wonder, though.

As Bear Bryant said “When mama comes calling…”

Linebacker U will get their hometown hero and linebacker graduate back to Happy Valley. Matt Rhule gets the job.

(10-13-2025 02:44 PM)Formerluerker_redbirdfan Wrote:  I just can't imagine that psy would fire Franklin and then settle on a coach (diaz or Mullen) who flamed out at big programs much worse than Franklin did (we are talking orders of magnitude worse flame outs than Franklin). I imagine they probably go for a P4 coach at a smaller program like Georgia techs coach (not saying gt coach in specific what so ever, just suggesting that type of higher) before Mullen or Diaz. That's also exactly what y'all did.

No, we hired Elko, who was our DC during Jimbo’s best years. Elko’s time at Duke reinforced our already very high opinion of him, but you could see a marked positive impact when we hired him, followed by a marked negative impact on our program when he left for Duke. Elko was always at the top of our list.

Rhule is a tough one to sort. Will Nebraska pay him $10m to stick around? Certainly Nebraska can afford to pay him more than PSU, unless he just really wants to leave. I think he’ll stay, bc 8-10 wins a year at Nebraska buys him a whole lot of time and a big raise, whereas 8-10 wins at PSU gets him fired in 3 years. And, people might not want to acknowledge this right now, but Nebraska has just as much potential in the long term as PSU.

So, lower and more reasonable expectations with the same ceiling, or insanely high expectations where 13-3 and a CFP semifinal 10 months ago means nothing? The only reason Rhule should even talk to PSU is so he can get a raise and extension from Nebraska. And don’t even get me started on Cignetti, Indiana is a much better place for him today than PSU.

Dan Mullen is a great offensive mind but he has three major issues.

1) While he has a good eye for talent, he hates recruiting.
2) He is not a likable person and really good assistants don't want to work with him.
3) He quit at Florida

1 can be alleviated some by NIL and some by the fact that in the B1G, he can probably still finish in the top 20% of the conference each year in recruiting.

2, I dunno... a tiger can't change its stripes, can it? Everyone thought the issue at MSU was that it was hard to get good assistants at MSU and he would have a better pool at UF. But he really didn't. He had some good hires but they seemed to leave as soon as they could. Maybe if PSU gives him a budget greater than all others, but it's not like he was short of funds at UF.

3, he was trying hard for an NFL gig in 2020. He wanted out of college football. He neglected recruiting not expecting to be back at UF in 2021. When he didn't get any job offers, he pretty much quit and dared to be fired since he knew he had a big buyout.

I think because of his ego he likes to be in the world of college football and stay relevant and will keep putting his name out there, but I think his issues are still there and he'll probably quit again.

I voted Cignetti. Al Golden could be a dark horse candidate.

It won't happen but Ryan Silverfield would do a great job there. His personality is a perfect fit for them.

One issue with Rhule would be if Nebraska won out and made the playoffs. The early portal opening is a killer.

Cignetti or bust. If its anyone else we messed up firing him and I've got a place that booster can stick his 50 million dollars.

Another name I've heard mentioned as a candidate by national media a good bit is Fran Brown from Syracuse.

(10-13-2025 04:05 PM)The Beaver Wrote:  Cignetti or bust. If its anyone else we messed up firing him and I've got a place that booster can stick his 50 million dollars.

I think that's the play, but I also think it'll end up a bust.

Bob Chesney

(10-13-2025 04:13 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  Bob Chesney

Ha, that would be a hell of a leap.

(10-13-2025 04:05 PM)GoBuckeyes1047 Wrote:  Another name I've heard mentioned as a candidate by national media a good bit is Fran Brown from Syracuse.

Fran is who I think will get the job.

PSU is a great job but a new coach is walking into a situation where he basically has to win the B10 (and possibly a natty) in order to keep his job. This works to their detriment in this search.

Joe Brady (Bill’s OC) might be a possibility, according to their 247 boards.

(10-13-2025 03:32 PM)aTxTIGER Wrote:  It won't happen but Ryan Silverfield would do a great job there. His personality is a perfect fit for them.

Program builder at a top g5 program would be a perfect fit for PSU. They can start him at $5-6m per year, then ramp it up when/if he performs, or cut ties after a couple years if not.

(10-13-2025 04:05 PM)The Beaver Wrote:  Cignetti or bust. If its anyone else we messed up firing him and I've got a place that booster can stick his 50 million dollars.

My buddies REALLY wanted Dabo when we fired Jimbo. Sometimes, you're better off not overpaying for somebody. You guys would be pushing $20m a year for HC + former HC salary through 2031 if you get a guy like Cignetti.

I don’t think it would be about money for Cignetti. He’s a PA guy.

(10-13-2025 03:16 PM)Squiggles Wrote:  Dan Mullen is a great offensive mind but he has three major issues.

1) While he has a good eye for talent, he hates recruiting.
2) He is not a likable person and really good assistants don't want to work with him.
3) He quit at Florida

1 can be alleviated some by NIL and some by the fact that in the B1G, he can probably still finish in the top 20% of the conference each year in recruiting.

2, I dunno... a tiger can't change its stripes, can it? Everyone thought the issue at MSU was that it was hard to get good assistants at MSU and he would have a better pool at UF. But he really didn't. He had some good hires but they seemed to leave as soon as they could. Maybe if PSU gives him a budget greater than all others, but it's not like he was short of funds at UF.

3, he was trying hard for an NFL gig in 2020. He wanted out of college football. He neglected recruiting not expecting to be back at UF in 2021. When he didn't get any job offers, he pretty much quit and dared to be fired since he knew he had a big buyout.

I think because of his ego he likes to be in the world of college football and stay relevant and will keep putting his name out there, but I think his issues are still there and he'll probably quit again.

You listed good points. Dan Mullen during stints at Mississippi State and Florida, received complaints about his lack of energy being put into recruiting. He is known for signing several excellent players that later have shown to be very impressive in the NFL. Dak Prescott is one of those.

Mullen is doing exceptionally well at UNLV. Let him stay there for awhile.