When the Penn State Nittany Lions lost their third game in a row on Saturday, it felt like the James Franklin era was on its last legs. On Sunday, the Penn State Nittany Lions pulled the plug firing James Franklin just 6 games into a season where they were expected to compete for a National Championship and the Big Ten Championship.
The search now begins for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and it should be the most entertaining search in the Country. Everyone expects that Penn State will go out and reel in a big-name Head Coach, whether they're actively coaching or spending time away from the sport. As soon as James Franklin was fired, College Football insiders instantly tied another Big Ten coach to the opening.
Matt Rhule is the name to watch in Penn State's search
When James Franklin started to struggle, everyone wondered who could replace him, but as soon as James Franklin was fired insiders started to name Nebraska's Matt Rhule the coach to watch.
The name to watch for this job is Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, according to sources. https://t.co/jp8iOLjfmP
— John Talty (@JTalty) October 12, 2025
Matt Rhule was always going to be tied to the Penn State job, but it'll be interesting to see if both parties are actually interested. Matt Rhule has deep Penn State ties as he played linebacker for the Nittany Lions from 1994-1997 and started his coaching career with his alma mater in 1998 as a graduate assistant.
While Matt Rhule makes a ton of sense as a name Penn State should circle, it also may present some of the same issues they had with James Franklin. Matt Rhule is 0-11 against AP Top 10 teams and 2-22 against teams ranked in the Top 25 which was the problem with Franklin losing in big games.
It'll be interesting to see which names get linked to the job over the next several weeks as this job will certainly start a domino effect felt around the sport.