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When the Penn State football program fired head coach James Franklin in early October, it sent off shockwaves through the college football world.
It also led to a chain events that saw Florida fire Billy Napier, LSU fire Brian Kelly, and Auburn fire Hugh Freeze, all in an effort to get a jump on one another.
Now, as we reach the final week of the regular season, none of those programs have a head coach. Although it sounds like the Nittany Lions are nearing an answer.
Penn State Could End Up With ‘Mystery Hire’ At Head Coach
The first name that came up in the Nittany Lions’ coach search was obvious: Nebraska’s Matt Rhule. Rhule is a State College native, Penn State alum, and previously worked with Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft at Temple.
However, Rhule signed an extension in Lincoln and his team is now 6-4 after a 5-1 start and recently got blown out, 37-10, by interim Penn State head coach Terry Smith.
Other names have also fallen by the wayside. Curt Cignetti secured the bag from Indiana. Mike Elko signed an extension with undefeated Texas A&M. Eli Drinkwitz and Clark Lea now have extensions with Missouri and Vanderbilt, respectively, and it sounds as if Penn State has cooled on options such as Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll.
So, who’s left?
Well, what if there was someone who hadn’t been talked about?
Is there a “mystery” candidate in Penn State’s coaching search?@TDsTake @danieljtgallen & @MarkXBrennan discussed that topic and much more on the latest @Lions247 Podcast: https://t.co/Zc57toPAo5 pic.twitter.com/d4fyPSDiCH
— Lions247 (@Lions247) November 25, 2025
In the last week or so, several Penn State message boards, as well as On3 show host Josh Pate, have discussed the fact that the Nittany Lions are negotiating behind the scenes with a “mystery candidate.”
Nobody, however, will say who that mystery candidate is.
Posters have suggested names such as Marcus Freeman, Lincoln Riley, Kalani Sitake, Kenny Dillingham, and several others.
But nobody in the know seems to be budging.
Notably, the Nittany Lions have reportedly met with both Georgia Tech coach Brent Key and James Madison coach Bob Chesney, neither of whom has signed extensions at their current schools.
While they wouldn’t fit the mold of a “mystery” hire, they would be logical moves.
If not, are we looking at a Lincoln Riley to USC type shock deal in Happy Valley?