If there's one thing that Penn State truly has on its side entering the offseason when it searches for its next head coach, it's the fact that the Nittany Lions are one of the best programs in college football history.
History is a big part of what college football is nowadays, so Penn State shouldn't have too hard a time landing a superstar head coach. Factor that in with Penn State's ability to spend with the best of them in college football, and there's really no excuse for Pat Kraft not to figure things out.
After Matt Rhule took an extension with Nebraska, and while that doesn't mean everything, it seems like Penn State's next head coach won't be the current Nebraska head man.
Among the many options that Penn State could look at, one in particular makes a lot more sense than perhaps any other.
That's none other than Mike Elko at Texas A&M. According to the latest from ESPN Insider Adam Rittenberg, it sounds like there's a possibility that Elko could end up in Happy Valley.
"Those would have meant Rhule at Penn State and Kiffin at Florida, but that has changed. Elko, who has Texas A&M off to an 8-0 start, certainly would fit the PSU program, given his roots and how he spent the first 15 years of his coaching career in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic or Midwest.
"Elko might be deciding between two well-resourced programs. The difference is that Penn State has accomplished way more on the field than Texas A&M has and is now clearly striving for national titles...
"Being the coach to elevate a historic underachiever is enticing. Elko also has followed college football for decades. He knows that outside Ohio State and Michigan, Penn State has had fewer barriers to success over the years, including no rival like Texas in the same state,” he wrote.
The only thing that could hold back Elko and Penn State is the fact that Texas A&M has some of the best resources in the country, and it's much easier to recruit in Texas than in Pennsylvania.
Texas is widely regarded as the best high school football state in the country, and it's really tough to argue against.
That isn't to say that Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and some other parts of the Northeast are great, but it's a different beast down in Texas.