ESPN Get Up panel weighs in on whether Florida or Penn State is better job
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There are 7 universities at the Power 4 level of college football looking for new head coaches. Among that group, 2 gigs — the Florida Gators and Penn State Nittany Lions — stand out from the crowd. But which is the best available position?
Yesterday, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg offered his take on both the Penn State and Florida jobs. On Thursday, ESPN’s Get Up panel of Josh Pate, Taylor Lewan and Will Compton — the latter 2 of whom host the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast — commented on the matter. For Pate, the choice (Florida) is obvious. But he can understand why someone would rather head to Happy Valley than Gainesville.
“If I’m the coach, I’m taking Florida… because I need the best access to talent… [and that] is the state of Florida,” Pate said. “But you could have a guy who prefers the Northeast… that’s why it comes down to the candidate. I’d say more than not, the available candidate pool would probably lean Florida over Penn State, though.”
Lewan, a Michigan alum, chose Penn State because he believes the Big Ten offers an easier route to the College Football Playoff. Compton countered with Florida, saying whoever goes there is “going to save a program.” He also pointed out that the Nittany Lions “canned” James Franklin despite reaching the CFP Semifinals a season ago.
As you can see, folks are fairly split on which of the 2 openings is superior. We won’t know how candidates truly feel about them until the coaching cycle gets going in late November/early December. Penn State and Florida are both on bye in Week 9, but return for big rivalry matchups (at Ohio State and vs. Georgia, respectively) in Week 10.
