As the final weekend of the 2025 college football season creeps up, the coaching carousel is about to get crazy. We may gain some clarity in the coming days regarding some of the larger openings, which could result in coaches vacating their current spot and creating another opening.
One opening that a lot of people are waiting to see who fills is Penn State. Athletic director Pat Kraft has been quiet on his search for his next coach since firing James Franklin in October. Since being fired, Franklin has filled the first opening in this cycle at Virginia Tech.
As for his former position, there has been no shortage of names linked to the job. Greg McElroy of ESPN named one coach who is in a good position to land the job at State College.
Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea Listed as James Franklin Replacement at Penn State
On his ‘Always College Football‘ podcast, McElroy said that Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea is in a good position to be the next Penn State coach.
“I think Clark Lea at Vanderbilt is in a really good position to get this gig. Now, he’s a defensive-minded guy. He’s done a tremendously good job at Vanderbilt. I mean, absurd. He has now taken Vanderbilt to their first nine-win regular season in Vanderbilt history,” McElroy said. “All the different hurdles and barriers and challenges that Vanderbilt has always had, they’ve been crushed. The one thing that might be working against Clark Lea is the fact that James Franklin is also from Vanderbilt.”
Yes, Franklin was at Vanderbilt like Lea, but would that really be a deterrent? Virginia Tech hired Franklin to replace his former Penn State defensive coordinator, Brent Pry. Ties to former schools aren’t always a deal breaker, especially in this day and age of college football.
Lea will lead 14th-ranked Vanderbilt into 19th-ranked Tennessee this weekend in a massive SEC clash with College Football Playoff implications. At 9-2, the Commodores are knocking on the CFP door, and if enough results go their way, could they sneak into the 12-team field?
Clarke Lea Leaving For Penn State Would Be a Long Shot
First and foremost, Lea is a Vanderbilt grad, and getting him to leave his alma mater would not be easy. If Vandy got into the CFP, it would be even more difficult. However, you can’t deny the job he’s done in Nashville, quickly turning things around.
As for Penn State, this feels like it needs to be a home run hire. You don’t fire James Franklin without replacing him with an upgrade. Finding what would be considered an upgrade is going to be tough to do.
Penn State blew out Nebraska, 37-10, this past weekend, and can make a bowl game this year with a win at Rutgers on Saturday afternoon. Interim coach Terry Smith has gotten a lot of support as someone whom the players would like to see hired on a full-time basis, but it doesn’t look like Kraft is jumping to make that move. Kraft’s hiring of his next coach could have a ripple effect of movement across college football.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Fast-Rising SEC Coach Linked as James Franklin’s Replacement at Penn State appeared first on Heavy Sports.