The Penn State Nittany Lions have not had the season they hoped for after getting one win away from the national championship game last season. While the team started its season strong with three straight wins, it has now lost five straight games and looks nothing like the dominant force it was last year. As a result, head coach James Franklin was fired on Oct. 12.
On Wednesday, analyst Josh Pate posted a video where he discussed four leading candidates to replace James Franklin as the head coach of the Nittany Lions.
Josh Pate’s 4 Leading Candidates to Replace James Franklin at Penn State
Mike Elko
Josh Pate had a long list of possible head coaching candidates for Penn State. However, the person at the top of his list is Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko. He is in the midst of his second season with the Aggies and has them playing like one of the best teams in the nation. They have an impressive 8-0 record and look like a contender to win the SEC. Pate believes that Elko would be an excellent fit for the Nittany Lions if they can pry him away from the Aggies.
Clark Lea
Another candidate that Josh Pate brought up is Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea. He has the Commodores playing one of the best seasons in their history. They have picked up wins over top SEC teams this year, including No. 19-ranked Missouri, and could contend to make the College Football Playoff with a strong finish. Josh Pate thinks Lea could bring a culture to Penn State that is missing.
Eli Drinkwitz
Josh Pate had Elko and Lea as his definitive top two candidates. However, he also mentioned Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz as an interesting option. He has brought the Tigers back into SEC contention over the past two seasons and would be an interesting hire for Penn State.
Matt Campbell
The off-the-board candidate from Josh Pate was Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. He admitted that many people have cooled on him because of the Cyclones’ struggles in recent weeks. Josh Pate is not one of those people, and he still has a lot of faith in him and would be happy if Penn State hired him.
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