The search for the next head coach of Penn State is on after the firing of James Franklin. Nittany Lions athletic director Pat Kraft now has a tall task on his hands replacing a head coach who had spent over a decade at the program, garnering multiple double-digit win seasons.
Kraft’s search is said to be far and wide, with no one off the table.
“This is a fantastic job with tremendous resources and the ability to win,” ESPN’s Heather Dinich said on The Pat McAfee Show. “… They have the money to hire anyone they want.”
Dinich reiterated that Penn State falls in line with other top schools around the country financially, like Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State.
That should be apparent if the university is willing to fork over $50 million or more to pay Franklin’s buyout. Nevertheless, a new report from Nittany Sports Now says that one SEC coach is emerging as a strong candidate.
Penn State Reportedly Has Eyes On Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz
That coach is Eli Drinkwitz, who is currently in the middle of his sixth season at Missouri. His Tigers teams have become a bit of a pest to the rest of the SEC in recent years. Over the last two seasons, the Tigers are 21-5 and off to a 5-1 start to the 2025 season after a close loss to No. 8 Alabama in Week 7.
What even led Missouri to come calling years back was Drinkwitz’s success in his first college head coaching job at Appalachian State, where he led the Mountaineers to a 12-1 season. It took him a few years to get things going with the Tigers, but his consistency over the last two seasons — which included two top-25 finishes — has made him a top coaching candidate for current job openings. Overall, he’s 55-26 as a head coach.
“Eli Drinkwitz is a name that I think has to be on their list,” CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli said. “I think you’re doing a disservice to yourself if you don’t at least check to see how interested he would be in this gig.”
The top name to replace Franklin currently is Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, a former Penn State alum with ties to athletic director Pat Kraft. But Drinkwitz can’t be counted out and could be more inclined to leave the SEC, knowing his ceiling at Missouri has likely been met.
Eli Drinkwitz Could Bring QB Beau Pribula With Him to Penn State
There would be an extra caveat to Drinkwitz coming to State College that would likely excite Nittany Lions fans — it would allow quarterback Beau Pribula to come back.
A former three-star from the 2022 class, Pribula spent three years at Penn State before transferring this season to Missouri. And he’s looked good, leading the Tigers to a 5-1 start and No. 16 ranking. He’s completed 72.8% of his passes for 1,365 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, plus another 182 yards rushing for four more scores.
This would obviously be a major homecoming of sorts for Pribula, not to mention begin to remove the stain of inept offenses under Franklin in recent years. He would have just one more year of eligibility to prove he was perhaps the right quarterback for the job over Drew Allar all along.
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