There seem to be a few top options for Penn State moving forward, but a recent article from The Athletic proposed the intriguing idea of a new face. 

That was none other than Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, who hasn't been brought up too much throughout this coaching cycle. 

Lea has done an excellent job during his time at Vanderbilt, the same place James Franklin once was. 

Franklin also found plenty of success in a tough spot, perhaps showing that both of them were and are very good coaches during their time with the Commodores. 

However, as we saw with Franklin, that step up isn't exactly the easiest thing to make. Franklin did a great job at Penn State, and I’d never say he did a bad job, but he didn't do enough. 

“While Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin appears to be the No. 1 target in the SEC for both Florida and LSU, the Penn State opening appears to be more of a mystery now, with speculation in the industry circling around Louisville’s Jeff Brohm and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea,” Bruce Feldman wrote.

I wouldn't say that Lea would be the perfect option for Penn State to pursue, but if they walked away with Lea, I also wouldn't be too upset about it. 

He's coming off a few impressive years, and one can make a strong argument that right now Vanderbilt is one of the top 10 teams in the country, depending on how it looks each week. 

Vanderbilt has never been a college football powerhouse by any means, but it has even been ranked in the top 10 in the college football rankings.

The question will likely come down to what Penn State is willing to give its next head coach in terms of resources. 

If Lea had the same resources that James Franklin had, it wouldn't be unfair to suggest that we could be looking at one of the elite head coaches around college football. 

Ultimately, however, there should be some better names out there for Penn State.

As Fedlman also touched on, perhaps someone like Fran Brown of Syracuse could be that guy.