Penn State lost the top target of its coaching search earlier this week, with BYU head coach
Kalani Sitake opting to stay in Provo. The Nittany Lions will also not be hiring Louisville’s
Jeff Brohm, who
informed his bosses on Wednesday of his intentions to stay with the Cardinals.
Sources have told On3 that, throughout the day on Wednesday, there has been a groundswell from high-level donors pushing for athletic director
Pat Kraft to hire interim head coach
Terry Smith. He orchestrated the signing of former Auburn quarterback commit
Peyton Falzone with Penn State on National Signing Day. And he closed out the regular season with three consecutive wins to get the Nittany Lions to bowl eligibility.
Outside of Smith, the name that continues to come up the most at Penn State is former New York Giants head coach
Brian Daboll. He’s a former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator, working for
Terry Pegula’s franchise, who is a Penn State alum. Duke’s
Manny Diaz and Iowa State’s
Matt Campbell were other names initially mentioned at the beginning of the search. Army’s Jeff Monken has also popped up in conversations.
Update on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7:20 a.m. CT: Sources tell On3 that Iowa State’s Matt Campbell and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley are at least names to know.