Three “Realistic” Coaches Who Are Better Options Than James Franklin

I have to be honest with you, folks.

This James Franklin debate has me incredibly triggered.

I can’t stop writing and pontificating about a program and its former head coach that have literally next to no impact on my life as a college football fan.

Sure, there’s a chance that Penn State and my Gators may be in the hunt for a coach during the same hiring cycle, but all reports would indicate we aren’t even going after the same guy.

What has really been bothering me about this is the rhetoric that Penn State fired a guy too quickly and that they did so without a clear upgrade available.

I’m here to tell every Nittany Lion fan, alumni, and supporter that that’s complete crap.

Who is your pick to be the next head coach at Penn State? Email me at austin.perry@outkick.com.

James Franklin was not a coaching savant. Far from it, in fact.

But even if we remove guys like Kirby Smart, Ryan Day, and Dan Lanning, whom I don’t believe would take the Penn State job over their current one, there are still several coaches who I believe are “available” that would be clear upgrades over Franklin.

I say “available” because I don’t necessarily mean they would leave their job in a heartbeat for Happy Valley, but that they are attainable in one sense of the word or another.

Let’s skip the preamble and get started.

Curt Cignetti – Indiana

We kick this list off with the most obvious name.

I wrote about how I think Coach Cig is the greatest thing in college football since the forward pass, but his record at a school with roughly a third of the resources that Penn State has is truly remarkable and worthy of all the praise I can heap on him.

Cignetti already has a playoff appearance under his belt in only his first full season in Bloomington, and in 2025 he has his men on the inside track to a Big Ten championship and another deep playoff run.

He already has half the amount of wins against top-10 teams (2) in a year and a half at Indiana as Franklin had in his 11-year tenure at Penn State.

What’s perhaps most jarring is the disparity between the two against a common opponent this year.

James Franklin couldn’t put Oregon away in Happy Valley, while Cignetti and the Hoosiers physically dominated the Ducks in Eugene.

The craziest part of all of it is that Penn State, per the 247Sports Talent Composite, has the 10th ranked roster in all of college football compared to Indiana sitting at a paltry 72nd.

Oregon, for reference, is ranked 5th.

Just imagine what Coach Cig could do with the talent at Penn State!

He would certainly be better than 4-21 against top-10 opponents.

Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss

While I’m not sure if Kiffin would leave the SEC for the Big Ten, he certainly would make a splash in Happy Valley if he ended up accepting the job.

Much like with Cignetti, Kiffin has his Rebels punching well above their weight class, routinely taking down teams with way more talent than their own.

Just this year, Ole Miss had a win over a top-five LSU team.

Franklin hasn’t beaten a top-five team since knocking off second-ranked Ohio State in 2016.

This year’s Tigers team was also sixth in the 247 Sports Talent Composite, while the Rebels were 21st.

The cherry on top of all of this? Kiffin had a head-to-head win over Franklin just two years ago.

With his recent comments about Ole Miss’s student section failing to deliver, it would be crazy of Kiffin to not at least entertain an offer from Penn State, whose crowds routinely top 100,000 rabid fans.

Marcus Freeman – Notre Dame

Can Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame go into College Station and beat Texas A&M? (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Surprised? You shouldn’t be.

For as rosy as things seem on the outside, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Marcus Freeman in South Bend.

Verified reports have come out recently about the UAA at Notre Dame dictating Freeman’s hires at each coordinator position, and the infamous academic standards placed on the Fighting Irish athletes makes recruiting in the same rarefied air as programs like Ohio State and Georgia virtually impossible.

As far as coaching credentials go, Freeman is an instant upgrade over Franklin.

He had the Fighting Irish in the national championship game just a year ago, and has increased Notre Dame’s win total every year since he’s been the coach.

And, if we are going back to that pesky “record against top-10 teams,” Freeman has already eclipsed Franklin’s total with five top-10 victories in only four full seasons.

As is the case with Kiffin, Freeman also has the head-to-head win over Franklin, and I think he would have the Nittany Lions ready to compete for a title as early as next season, thanks to a combination of his skills and Penn State’s soft 2026 schedule.

If you pair all of that with the fact that Freeman is just 39 years old and only getting better, this one feels like a no-brainer.

Regardless of how you feel about the Penn State job, these are three sitting head coaches who I believe would be clear upgrades over James Franklin right now.

Don’t believe the narrative that the Nittany Lions should’ve held onto James Franklin because they couldn’t find someone better.

Kudos to Penn State for not letting good be the enemy of great.