Pete Thamel predicts who will be next head coach of Penn State
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Pete Thamel offered his prediction on who Penn State’s next head coach will be on ESPN’s “College GameDay” podcast. The Nittany Lions have a tall task ahead of them after showing James Franklin the door on Sunday after 11 seasons.
There’s two names that come to Thamel’s mind, at least initially.
“I’m going to say it’s one of the Matts, Campbell or Rhule,” Thamel said. “I’m not convicted on either, but I think it’s going to be a Matt.”
Matt Campbell has done a fine job over the past decade at Iowa State. The 45-year-old, the winningest coach in program history, joined the program after a strong four-year run at Toledo. He led the Cyclones to their best-ever record at 11-3 and a No. 15 ranking in 2024. Iowa State is currently 5-2.
Matt Rhule, in his third season at Nebraska, has preexisting ties to Happy Valley. He grew up in State College, went to high school there, and walked on at Penn State under Joe Paterno. He’s also close friends with Penn State AD Pat Kraft, whose time at Temple coincided with Rhule’s. Rhule currently has the Cornhuskers at 5-1 in 2025 after leading them to their first bowl appearance since 2016.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
