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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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It’s been a turbulent few months for Penn State football fans.
The Nittany Lions had been looking for a new head coach longer than any other team after firing James Franklin back on Oct. 12.
In the almost two months since, Penn State has slow-played finding Franklin’s successor, and the school was linked to a few promising candidates but never closed the deal on any of them.
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Former James Madison coach Bob Chesney was believed to be the favorite to land the job at one time, but he was hired for the same position at UCLA.
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Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer was believed to be in the running at one point as well. He had the best odds of getting the job according to Kalshi just days ago, but that seemingly fizzled out as well with Alabama set to play Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
Then the school as rumored to be in negotiations with BYU’s Kalani Sitake to take the job, but he had a last-second change of heart by Tuesday night and informed Penn State he was staying put. Louisville's Jeff Brohm also reportedly rejected the school after it turns its attention him after Sitake turned PSU down.
Fortunately for Penn State, the school settled on a new head coach, hiring Iowa State's Matt Campbell on Friday. The Nittany Lions signed him to an eight-year deal, bringing an end to one of the more bizarre sagas of the college football season.
Before PSU landed on Campbell, there was also another coveted head-coaching candidate in the running, but the school passed on him after an in-person interview, according to a report from FootballScoop.
“Will Stein interviewed for the Penn State opening,” FootballScoop reported. “Feedback from Penn State sources was he was a bit raw for their liking. Time will tell.”
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Stein was in the mix for a few head-coaching vacancies but has since accepted the HC job at Kentucky, where he will replace Mark Stoops, who compiled and 82-80 record and 4-4 bowl record in 13 seasons in Lexington and was fired after a 5-7 season in 2025.
Stein is highly regarded in coaching circles for his work in developing top-tier quarterbacks like Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore, who’s been in the Heisman Trophy conversation for much of this season.
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