Penn State ties prevalent among potential replacements for Manny Diaz

Manny Diaz is off to become the next head coach of the Duke Blue Devils. After speculation all day that the Nittany Lions defensive coordinator was going to leave, the news became official Thursday evening. Now, James Franklin must set out on his second coordinator search of the offense. Who should Franklin consider to replace Manny Diaz? There are several potential candidates with deep ties to the Penn State football program.

Anthony Poindexter

This is the most obvious promotion-from-within scenario, as Anthony Poindexter has been the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach since 2021. Poindexter started his career as a GA for Virginia in 2003 before working his way up through the coaching staff to become the Cavaliers’ safeties coach and special teams coordinator in 2010.

Poindexter then left to become the UConn defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2014-16, before continuing his rise through the coaching ranks with a stop at Purdue as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2017-2020.

This would probably be the smoothest hire that James Franklin could make, because Poindexter has already been working alongside Manny Diaz for the last two seasons. This way, the defensive philosophy could stay the same as what we have seen under Diaz.

While an internal hire isn’t something that will get the fanbase excited, Poindexter could be the best option to keep the momentum going, and has a proven track record of being an excellent coach.

Elijah Robinson

This is a hire that many thought was a possibility a few years ago when Manny Diaz eventually came to Happy Valley. Elijah Robinson played for Penn State from 2004-2008 before becoming a GA in 2009. He then held a few other positions for Penn State before getting the Temple defensive line coach job in 2014.

After three seasons for the Owls, Robinson went to Baylor for one year before heading to College Station. He then was the defensive line coach for Texas A&M for three seasons, and eventually received an upgrade in title to co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach.

Robinson would definitely be a splash hire for James Franklin, as he is someone that fans have been wanting for a few years now. He did just take the defensive coordinator job at Syracuse a few days ago, so the Nittany Lions would need to pay a buyout.

However, there is still some uncertainty about his play-calling skills, as 2024 will be the first time he is primarily in that role. There isn’t a question about his recruiting skills, as was demonstrated through the 2021 class at Texas A&M.

Tom Allen

Tom Allen recently was fired from Indiana as its head coach after leading the Hoosiers since 2017. He finished with a 33-49 record in his time as the head man. Allen has also spent time at Drake, Arkansas State, Ole Miss, South Florida, and eventually Indiana.

As a defensive coordinator, Allen turned around both South Florida and Indiana in just one season. In 2014, USF had the No. 1 defense in the AAC and was top 40 in scoring defense, turnovers, sacks, and tackles for loss.

This might not be the splash hire that many Penn State football fans hope for, but Allen has been a successful defensive coordinator everywhere he has been. While the stint as head coach didn’t go as well, that doesn’t mean he still couldn’t be a good coordinator. Just look at how well Manny Diaz did after his failure in Miami.

D’Anton Lynn

This would be a candidate that has more juice around his name if he hadn’t just been hired by USC last week. D’Anton Lynn played at Penn State from 2007-2011. After a brief stint playing professional football, Lynn went into coaching.

Between 2014-17 Lynn was a defensive assistant for the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Chargers. He then got the assistant secondary and secondary coaching job for the Texans from 2018-20 before becoming the safeties coach for the Baltimore Ravens from 2021-22.

This past season Lynn was the defensive coordinator for UCLA, turning around what had been a poor defense that had finished No. 86, 70, 69, 113, and 102 in total defense the previous 5 seasons. In 2023, UCLA finished No. 11 in total defense and allowed just 299 yards per game.

However, Lynn already accepted the defensive coordinator job at USC on December 1. This is an unlikely hire because of the timing. The only way that he ends up coming to Penn State football is to return to his alma mater, and a bigger paycheck. However, this is still a name to monitor going forward, if not just for this year, but in the future.

Jim Leonhard

Jim Leonhard has a great history in his short time of coaching in college football. As a player he has a long career in the NFL, from 2005 all the way to 2014. After taking the Wisconsin defensive backs job in 2016, he was promoted to defensive coordinator and held that position until 2022, when Paul Chryst was fired. Leonhard spent the 2023 season as a senior football analyst for Illinois.

This is a hire that would certainly be a big name for James Franklin and Penn State, although the scheme and style is something that is drastically different from what Diaz is running. His name hasn’t been circulating a ton yet for the position, but has experience coaching in the Big Ten and is someone to keep an eye on.

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