I am torn on this...mainly because I fear who the hire would be. I don't have any confidence after the Coker and Shannon years - and the Golden years haven't given us the returns we wanted either. If I believed that Al would realize that his defense cannot be successful against the new era of college offense, I would be more firmly in the Golden camp. The fact is, I don't think Al will just up and change his mind on that if he hasn't done it yet. That mess against Louisville was unacceptable. I do have at least a glimmer of hope that it will happen because Coley came in and incorporated some nice spread elements to the offense - now, granted, situational playcalling seemed to be an issue but I'm just talking in terms of concepts. That is about the only thing that I can hold onto as far as hoping we change philosophically - that Golden at least can recognize that it is the year 2014.
On one hand, I think Golden is a fantastic recruiter and a great CEO, figurehead type. On the other hand, he has shown to lack in gameday coaching and has held onto his Al Groh defense far, far too long.
If I could look into the future and know who the replacement would be....I could answer this with more conviction. Right now I will say YES I would be upset if Al were to take the Penn State job...but if he leaves, and the school shows the willingness to select the correct person, and we can keep the recruiting class together...well then my vote would be changed.
This is such a strange situation.
As an aside...I live and work in PA, and I have had to listen to all of the PSU fans talk about Golden all week. They don't seem to be concerned about Al's shortcomings (my version of them) whatsoever. These are Joe-Pa disciples of course, so maybe Al going to PSU is a win for everyone involved. Again - only if the replacement is the right one.