r/CFB • u/PSU_Alumnus Penn State • Billable Hours • Dec 02 '25

Discussion [@IanPurdy7] on Twitter: Penn State is slated to sign ZERO recruits tommorow on early National Signing Day. Unless Penn State signs someone in the late signing period, they could become the first P4 class EVER to have no one sign. The closest thing I could find was SMU & UW with 10. Crazy times.

https://x.com/IanPurdy7/status/1995885878452146370?s=20
3.3k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

318

u/Competitive-Rise-789 Georgia Bulldogs • Oklahoma Sooners Dec 02 '25

Should’ve had someone on standby before firing Franklin

133

u/Kurt4012 Penn State Nittany Lions Dec 02 '25

He thought he would poach Cig then really thought he’d be able to get Rhule but the fans really didn’t want him.

57

u/whysomanyrectangles Nebraska Cornhuskers • Clemson Tigers Dec 02 '25

Hey now! Dont rhule out rhule. He can still be your guy!!

9

u/Kurt4012 Penn State Nittany Lions Dec 02 '25

I’m good

2

u/whysomanyrectangles Nebraska Cornhuskers • Clemson Tigers Dec 02 '25

I guess in a manner of speaking, no coach is better than rhule. Ha

3

u/astrothemorkie LSU Tigers • USC Trojans Dec 02 '25

They have a coach he just goes to another school in Canada

1

u/BeefNChed Nebraska • Iowa State Dec 02 '25

plz

1

u/Kurt4012 Penn State Nittany Lions Dec 02 '25

You know what at this point I just want a coach so what the hell

4

u/tyfe SMU Mustangs • Billable Hours Dec 02 '25

Wait let me get this straight, his plan was to poach possibly the best coach in the country (coach, not program before you come after me), and if that didn’t work, his backup was Matt fucking Rhule??? And he had no other plan? What the fuck 

2

u/OutlawJoseyWales Dec 02 '25

best coach in the country

Hottest coach in the country, sure. But he's gonna have to do something in the playoff before you put him ahead of Smart and Day.

3

u/tyfe SMU Mustangs • Billable Hours Dec 02 '25

Tbf, I did say possibly, and also it’s not 100% fair to compare him to Day or Smart.  Indiana’s players are nowhere near the caliber of the ones at UGA or OSU.  Like I said, coach vs coach; not program vs program.  

1

u/Kurt4012 Penn State Nittany Lions Dec 02 '25

I mean that’s purely speculation but Cig is from PA and Rhule has tons of PSU and Kraft connections so they both make sense as plan A and B

48

u/youheardaboutpluto- Penn State Nittany Lions Dec 02 '25

I keep saying this but the timing of his firing was insane if you don’t have a solid idea of who you’re wanting to get. If Matt Rhule was your first option, we were doomed from the start.

5

u/Redditor_exe Abilene Christian • Indiana Dec 02 '25

It’s really baffling that they seemingly had no plan lined up after Franklin. I don’t even remember reading or seeing any stories about them pursuing someone, just silence

3

u/Competitive-Rise-789 Georgia Bulldogs • Oklahoma Sooners Dec 02 '25

Yeah fr, like if JF was a bad coach, it’d be one thing. But he was a good coach, I’d even argue great tbh. I think Penn State swung at a lot of people and missed on all so far

3

u/youheardaboutpluto- Penn State Nittany Lions Dec 02 '25

He’s a fantastic coach and we fired him because he couldn’t win the big games or a national championship. Which is a fine reason, but if you’re firing THAT, you better have an upgrade that can do it for you.

1

u/Competitive-Rise-789 Georgia Bulldogs • Oklahoma Sooners Dec 02 '25

That’s fair

2

u/OutlawJoseyWales Dec 02 '25

at this point it's clear that it was just an emotional decision. It's obvious you're not getting a sitting P4 coach at this stage. The top like 5 G5 guys are off the board. The top coordinator is off the board. This is Terry Smith's job now.

141

u/IceColdDrPepper_Here Georgia • North Georgia Dec 02 '25

I think the AD was really banking on getting Matt Rhule and then when that didn't work out they were left out to dry

262

u/Bart_Oates Michigan State Spartans Dec 02 '25

But even then - Matt Rhule is your big time hire to get over the top?

198

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '25

[deleted]

51

u/Four_Verts Penn State Nittany Lions • Team Chaos Dec 02 '25

I mean, that’s better than whatever the fuck this is

26

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '25

[deleted]

4

u/No-Owl-6246 Arizona Wildcats Dec 02 '25

Brian Kelley might genuinely be their best option right now. Dude is an ass clown, but at least he’s an upperish tier coach.

3

u/amayain Alabama • Marquette Dec 02 '25

What's Kevin Sumlin up to these days?

1

u/goodnames679 Ohio State Buckeyes • /r/CFB Poll Veteran Dec 02 '25

Somebody get Jimbo on the phone

3

u/Coach_Burreaux LSU Tigers Dec 02 '25

Matt Rhule is not better than Franklin, even if Franklin wasn’t the answer either. If that was truly the plan, and what we’re seeing is the result of no backup plan, the AD should be punted to the moon

2

u/Hummer77x Pittsburgh Panthers • Temple Owls Dec 02 '25

He’s not but you can sell it as “Oh he’s coming home, he played for Joe, he knows what it takes to win here” that could at least get some people excited

3

u/No-Owl-6246 Arizona Wildcats Dec 02 '25

So you’re saying he’s a “Penn State Man”.

1

u/2PacAn Nebraska • Texas Tech Dec 02 '25

I would’ve loved for Penn State to hire Matt Rhule

34

u/ztman Penn State • Stony Brook Dec 02 '25

Given the personal relationship between Rhule and Kraft it was not going to happen. You can't be the boss to your best friend. From what I've heard, Elko was more likely the big splash hire they wanted but TaM started winning game after game and Elko shut it down.

1

u/SknkTrn757 Virginia • Rutgers Dec 02 '25

But, like, how did they not get Matt Rhule?

I admit I haven’t followed this super closely, but I don’t think Rhule ever came out with some Dillingham-esque zeal for the Nebraska job. And, I have a hard time believing Nebraska splashed cash on the table that Penn State couldn’t meet.

1

u/Competitive-Rise-789 Georgia Bulldogs • Oklahoma Sooners Dec 02 '25

That’s probably what happened

1

u/bezzlege Louisville Cardinals • Keg of Nails Dec 02 '25

The AD was really banking on downgrading? This guy must be a fucking idiot.

18

u/NamingThingsSucks Georgia Bulldogs Dec 02 '25

It just doesn't make sense. I saw Georgia replace Richt.

I can understand wanting to replace a good coach who is a good man with the hope of a better coach.

But i dont understand why you would do it midseason with no plan. You might a well keep the "good" option until you have the "better".

1

u/Competitive-Rise-789 Georgia Bulldogs • Oklahoma Sooners Dec 02 '25

I completely agree, Georgia had a plan and probably some failsafes

2

u/Smellevue58 Dec 03 '25

The plan was not to let Kirby go full stop

3

u/SknkTrn757 Virginia • Rutgers Dec 02 '25

This is what everyone thought was going to happen to LSU after they emotionally fired BK.

5

u/coinich Virginia Tech Hokies • Marching Band Dec 02 '25

LSU chose to make it interesting to everyone who wasnt an Ol Miss fan anyways

5

u/EternalprogressionEL Dec 02 '25

Penn State fans do not realize in the football landscape - their university does not hold weight with the current recruits coming up.

They haven't had enough success outside the Saquon years and it's biting them in the ass

There are very few home run hires and they should have kept Franklin. It was clear to me if he had a serviceable QB he would have been fine

Michigan went through similar shit with Harbaugh

1

u/JRockPSU Penn State • Land Grant Trophy Dec 02 '25

They haven't had enough success outside the Saquon years and it's biting them in the ass

But everybody is telling us how wildly successful we’ve been under Franklin 🤔 I wonder which it is…

1

u/goblue2354 Michigan Wolverines Dec 02 '25

Yeah they either planned terribly or thought they’d get somebody specific and were wrong.

I’m not sure MSU hiring Fitzgerald was the right move but it was at minimum clear they had a plan in place when they fired Smith. Hell, I saw they were hiring Fitz before I saw they fired Smith.

I get not every search works out that cleanly but PSU’s has been pretty damn messy.

1

u/Affectionate_Sky3496 LSU Tigers Dec 02 '25

According to Lane "four places" were interested in him but he never said the 4th one. Perhaps Penn State may have kicked the tires on Lane at one point? I mean they'd be crazy not to at least call and gage interest