Penn State football assistant says he’s interviewed for defensive coordinator role

We’re now entering the second full week of the defensive coordinator search for Penn State football. The defense has been phenomenal for several years, making the open coordinator position attractive to outside candidates. But do the Nittany Lions already have their next defensive coordinator in-house? During Peach Bowl media day Friday, Penn State safeties coach and interim defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter said he and James Franklin have discussed a possible promotion.

Anthony Poindexter has been interviewed about open defensive coordinator position

This week, we got our first insights into the progress of the defensive coordinator vacancy since Manny Diaz left Penn State to become the next Duke head coach on December 7.

During Peach Bowl media day Friday, James Franklin revealed that safeties coach Anthony Poindexter and analyst Robb Smith will share the co-interim defensive coordinator tag when Penn State football takes on Ole Miss on December 30.

While acknowledging that the opportunity is significant for him personally and professionally, Poindexter pointed out that the primary focus remains on the players.

“It’s important for me to have the opportunity to learn and continue my growth as my path continues to excel,” he expressed. “But the other thing is, we’re trying to keep it as consistent as we can for our players so they can go out and play well. Our whole staff is still back. I think we can get a really, really good game plan together based on what we have done all year. And we just want to have the kids ready to play and play their best when we go play Ole Miss.”

But there’s also a case to be made that Anthony Poindexter should have the interim label removed moving forward.

In his third season with Penn State football, Poindexter has nearly a decade of experience as a defensive coordinator or co-defensive coordinator. The Nittany Lions assistant is viewed as a riser in the coaching market and has been listed as a candidate on multiple searches in the past.

When asked if he wants the promotion to defensive coordinator, Poindexter said he and James Franklin have talked about it. But from there, we’ll just have to see.

“Well, me and Coach have had several conversations,” he stated. “And we’re just seeing how things work out.”

What has James Franklin said about the vacancy?

Not surprisingly, much of what James Franklin has said about the defensive coordinator vacancy echoes what he said during the search for Andy Kotelnicki last month. Being conducted in a similar fashion, Franklin expressed he’s looking for someone who runs a system like that of Penn State.

As of Monday, Franklin acknowledged that he was still vetting internal and external candidates. But when asked how the transition to bowl prep has gone, the Penn State football coach was quick to praise Poindexter, which could be a notch in the assistant coach’s belt as the search continues.

“Well, first of all, it starts with Anthony Poindexter,” he said. “Anthony has been phenomenal, has been awesome, has been extremely valuable. So, Anthony is part of that discussion. We’ve had really good conversations, me and Anthony.”

Penn State football takes on Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl two weeks from today, on December 30, in Atlanta.

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