With the 2025 college football season going up in flames for the Penn State Nittany Lions, fans have begun to look ahead at the future of the program.

Following the team’s loss to the Northwestern Wildcats, head coach James Franklin was fired, leaving the school without a head coach for the 2026 season. And while interim head coach Terry Smith was in the running for the coaching gig, a brutal loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes in his first game put the idea on the back burner for athletic director Pat Kraft.

Now, Penn State must find its replacement, which will be a tough task for Kraft due to all the recent firings at the college level.Here are my top three coaching candidates for the Nittany Lions’ head coaching vacancy.

3. Matt Campbell (Head Coach, Iowa State)

Campbell may not be a flashy name that grabs the attention of fans, but the 45-year-old head coach has done a terrific job of turning around Iowa State’s football program.

Before Campbell, the Cyclones had only one winning season in the decade preceding his tenure. This quickly changed upon his arrival, as he has had eight consecutive winning seasons in his ten years. The promising head coach has clearly proven to be one who can completely transform the culture of a program.

While he may not have an incredible resume similar to Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin or Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Campbell would have a much greater pull in high school recruitment with the Nittany Lions, making him an intriguing choice for the job.

2. Eli Drinkwitz (Head Coach, Missouri)

Looking down south, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz continues to be an underrated option for the Penn State coaching position.

Drinkwitz struggled to become acclimated to the rigorous SEC schedule in his first three seasons with the Tigers; however, he managed to flip the script in 2023 by posting an 11-2 record. The promising head coach carried this success all the way to the current day, as he is 16-5 since the 2023 season.

With the Southeastern Conference being a tough place to overhaul a struggling program, Drinkwitz possesses the experience of revamping a dying school. Luckily for the 42-year-old coach, the Nittany Lions have all the resources to become a powerhouse, which could sway him in his decision.

1. Matt Rhule (Head Coach, Nebraska)

Obviously, Kiffin or Freeman would be the ideal choice for the next head coach. But the growing consensus suggests that both coaches will remain with their current programs, leaving Penn State to look elsewhere this offseason.

One head coach who could find his way to State College is Nebraska’s Matt Rhule. The former head coach of the Carolina Panthers may not have success at the NFL level, but his dominant run in college at Temple, Baylor, and Nebraska makes him an excellent candidate for Penn State.

There’s a good chance that Rhule has hit his max potential with the Cornhuskers, and with the Nittany Lions’ coaching job being a more attractive destination, it would make sense for him to return to his alum mater.