Penn State AD fully supports James Franklin assistant coach hires

It’s already been a busy winter for the Penn State football program. In addition to recruiting, transfer portal pickups, and bowl prep, James Franklin must replace coordinators on both sides of the ball. Given the expectations heading into 2024, the hires are two of the most high-profile decisions the Nittany Lions head coach has made in his tenure with the program. But according to Penn State AD Pat Kraft, who spoke yesterday at a Peach Bowl press conference, there is no second-guessing the moves Franklin ultimately makes this offseason. 

Pat Kraft has complete confidence in James Franklin 

For the first time since 2016, Penn State football is replacing both its offensive and defensive coordinators in a single offseason. One hire is already down, with the announcement of Andy Kotelnicki as the new OC on December 1. 

But with DC Manny Diaz’s departure to Duke last week, James Franklin must find someone who can continue what has been a source of stability for the Nittany Lions in recent years. 

With the expansion of the College Football Playoff next season, Penn State football may be approaching a tipping point in 2024. But even as his choices will inevitably be put under a microscope, Franklin has the full and vocal support of Penn State AD Pat Kraft. 

“Look, I believe we have the best football coach in the country,” Kraft said yesterday at a press conference to formally accept the Peach Bowl invitation. “I let our coaches make decisions on assistant coaches. I think we got the best head coaches in the country. They got to do their jobs, and that’s what their job is. I’m here to support them. I’m here to do whatever I can. I can be a sounding board for them. But I’m here to just support in any way I can. And I know everyone thinks that’s financially related, it’s not. But I also want to make sure I challenge them to think big and think in a different way than what was thought of in the past. 

“But I would like to think that I’m a person they can lean on to say, ‘What do you think here?’ Because sometimes it’s better to have outside eyes looking at it,” he continued. “And so that’s how it works. But we’re partners, all of us. James, myself… we’re partners in this… That’s the way I believe it should work.”

But even when he gives his input, Pat Kraft expressed that Franklin and the other Nittany Lion head coaches are in full control of their programs.

“But they make the decisions, and they do what’s right for their programs,” the Penn State AD noted. “They know their programs better than anyone. James knows his program better than anybody. I have a good feeling for what I see, but that’s just a small part of it.”

What are the next steps in the defensive coordinator search?

Although yesterday’s press conference was primarily about accepting the Peach Bowl invitation, we did get some insights as to the next steps in Penn State’s defensive coordinator search. 

“We will handle [preparing for the bowl game] internally very similar to how we handled it on offense for the last few games of the season,” James Franklin said Monday. “And obviously trying to also balance that while also interviewing and trying to decide what we are going to do moving forward with our defensive coordinator position. Whether it’s an internal candidate or an external candidate, we’re working through that right now. But we’ll handle it like we have on offense the last few games of the season.”

Penn State football takes on Ole Miss in the 2023 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on December 30.

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