Penn State remains the last major domino to fall amid the swirling college football coaching carousel. The Nittany Lions are still in search of the program’s next coach as LSU, Florida and Auburn among others have all made new hires.
To make matters worse, James Franklin already landed a new gig at Virginia Tech and has the Hokies climbing the college football recruiting rankings. Behind the scenes, Penn State remains hard at work to find a new coach.
BYU’s Kalani Sitake has emerged as a top candidate at Penn State. 247Sports’ Chris Hummer predicts Penn State will name Sitake as the program’s next coach.
“As I reported at earlier today this afternoon, BYU’s Kalani Sitake has emerged as the leading name to know in Penn State’s coaching search,” Hummer detailed in a message on X on Monday. “That’s where my Crystal Ball would sit if it existed for coaches.”
Let’s explore the latest Penn State rumors on the Nittany Lions coaching search.
Penn State target Kalani Sitake is coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons at BYU
Sitake has built BYU into a consistent Big 12 contender and a win in the conference title game against Texas Tech likely sends the Cougars to the College Football Playoff. BYU has had back-to-back 11-win seasons under Sitake.
Sources: BYU coach Kalani Sitake is the focus of Penn State’s head coaching search. No deal has been signed, as the sides continue discussions. The sides have met, and there’s mutual interest. On3 reported Sitake as the target earlier today. pic.twitter.com/xbUUO4mxct
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 2, 2025
The veteran head coach has a career record of 83-44 during his 10 seasons at BYU. Over the last 24 hours, Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm’s odds as a Penn State candidate have surged in the betting markets.
Brohm now has a 34% chance to land the Penn State job as the betting favorite, per Kalshi. Sitake is still among the favorites with a 15% chance to be named the Penn State coach.
Penn State may not make a decision on the next Nittany Lions coach soon: Report
As Sitake prepares BYU to attempt to win the Big 12 Championship, it does not appear that Penn State is in a hurry to make a decision. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and Ralph Russo reported that Sitake is among a group of candidates Penn State is still considering for the job.
“A person briefed on the search told The Athletic that Sitake is among a small group of candidates Penn State is considering,” Feldman and Russo wrote on Monday.
“The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school was not making its internal moves public. It certainly looks as if Penn State is in no rush to hire its next coach.
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