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How Does Penn State Not Hire Terry Smith as the Next Head Coach?
By Kyle Pagan
Published:
Penn State has played some hard, tough-nosed football since Terry Smith took over for James Franklin. Indiana needed one of the most unbelievable catches in college football history to win at Beaver, they played Iowa to the brink, and they just beat up on Nebraska this past weekend all with a backup quarterback and Smith wearing a “JoePa 409” pin on the sidelines. The players love him so much they’re openly campaigning for him:
I’ve never seen anything like this for an interim coach. It’s amazing to think this guy was looked at as a stop gap for the rest of the season before the Nittany Lions went out and got their guy. Turns out they already have their guy. Terry Smith has coached in Happy Valley for 11 years. He played there. His dad went to school there. He bleeds Nittany Blue. It’d be an amazing story if Penn State hired him to be the next head coach, but Kalshi doesn’t think so. JMU’s Bob Chesney is a monster favorite over Kalen DeBoer and Marcus Freeman:
Terry Smith? 8%. After what you saw this weekend how do you not sprinkle a couple shekels on him as he interviews this week? A $10 trade right now would net you $125 to put towards next year’s game against my Temple Owls. Yes, you heard that right, MY Temple Owls. I know what Penn State fans are thinking. I’m writing this because this is exactly what I’d want Penn State to do. Well, I’ll tell you right now I’d be more worried about State hiring Smith than Chesney. Yea I said it. What the hell has Bob Chesney done? He’s won a D-II and D-III title and beat up on the Sun Belt. Sure, winning is important and I want JMU in the College Football Playoff, but we’re talking about a whole ‘nother beast jumping to Penn State. What does Chesney know about dealing with high-profile boosters and more NIL money than god? You also have to think about who’s making this decision: Adidas. They just signed a $300 million deal with Penn State and the AD Pat Kraft said they’re going to take some big swings in the coaching search. Well, they seemed to have struck out so far. Is Bob Chesney really going to be the face of that deal? He can’t be. He definitely isn’t in the minds of some Penn State fans:
Like it or not, there’s a large faction of alumni who want someone that bridges the gap between the Penn State pre-JoePa and Penn State post-JoePa and a guy that has roots in this program and in this community for decades seems to be the perfect candidate. I’m just saying…
This is a no brainer. How’re you not going to give this guy the job?
Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com