Penn State needs its very own Curt Cignetti.
Matt Rhule’s best attribute is that he’s a program builder. You could say the same of James Franklin.
Penn State needs a closer, not a builder.
Matt Rhule has a big ol’ crush on Penn State.
Don’t take my word for it. Listen to Nebraska’s coach gush with affection for his alma mater.
“I love Penn State,” Rhule said, as his face lit up, during his weekly news conference one day after James Franklin’s firing. “Met my wife there. It’s my alma mater. Fan since I was born. I think I probably had a Penn State shirt when I was born. I love Pat Kraft,” the Penn State athletic director.
That, folks, sounds like a man waiting on a job offer. A man experiencing a bout of infatuation — and not for the Huskers.
I half expected Rhule to rip off his Nebraska hoodie, reveal a mountain lion’s head on his undershirt, and start swaying and singing “For the Glory.”
Oh, sure, Rhule also said he loves Nebraska and he wants to “turn this thing into a beast,” but how much are we to believe that pledge while Rhule is rubbernecking Penn State?
This whole situation smells a little too obvious. Rhule played at Penn State as a walk-on under Joe Paterno, then started his career as a volunteer coach there. Kraft previously was Rhule’s boss when he coached Temple. They’re pals.
Rhule also hinted Nebraska’s not bankrolling his roster to the extent he’d like.
It’s clear why Rhule would flirt with well-heeled Penn State, but why should Penn State settle for the easy choice? Hiring Rhule would amount to hiring a Franklin 2.0. This one just smiles more.
Matt Rhule credentials are a lot like that of James Franklin
By every indicator, Rhule’s a solid coach. He’s a program builder. He’s steady. He worked wonders at Baylor and Temple, just as Franklin did at Vanderbilt. He leaves programs better than he found them.
Each of those descriptors applies to Franklin, too.
By firing Franklin, Penn State signaled it desires to be elite, not solid.
By every indicator, Rhule’s not elite. Like Franklin, he loses the big games. He lost to Michigan a few weeks ago. He’s 8-13 against Big Ten competition in 2½ seasons at Nebraska.
It should be said he’s got Nebraska trending up, with a 5-1 record. Year 3 consistently marks a crescendo for Rhule’s tenures, and this one is no exception.
Sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola is flourishing. Might Raiola follow Rhule to Penn State, if his coach left?
If Penn State hired Rhule, nobody could say it hired a bad coach. I would say Penn State spent tens of millions of dollars and triggered the second-largest buyout in college football history, just to replace Franklin with a more charismatic Franklin.
Rhule’s chops for program building cannot be questioned, but Penn State doesn’t need a rebuild. It needs a closer, a cut-throat like the one Big Ten rival Indiana cooked up.
Will Penn State go for obvious hire or challenge its imagination?
Rhule is the unimaginative, tug-on-the-heart strings choice. That’s worked elsewhere. Mario Cristobal, a Miami native who played for the Hurricanes, has “The U” humming.
Kirby Smart, Jim Harbaugh, Phillip Fulmer and Steve Spurrier won national championships coaching their alma maters. Ohio native Urban Meyer did his thing at Ohio State. Bear Bryant suited Alabama beautifully.
There are just as many examples of the obvious choice going splat. Including the guy Rhule replaced at Nebraska. Scott Frost seemed like a slam dunk. He stunk.
So did Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, his alma mater. So did Kliff Kingsbury in his Texas Tech homecoming.
Mike Shula flopped coaching his alma mater. Alabama replaced Shula with a West Virginia native who played at Kent State. Nick Saban went on to become the GOAT. Alabama built him a statue.
None of the four coaches in last season’s CFP semifinals was at his alma mater. Of that quartet, only Franklin was a native of the state where he coached. A lot of good that Pennsylvania upbringing did Franklin against UCLA and Northwestern.
You think Indiana cares Curt Cignetti is from Pittsburgh, played at West Virginia and came to Indiana by way of James Madison? Indiana wouldn’t trade its Yinzer for any born and bred Hoosier.
Think Oregon minds Dan Lanning, he of the defending Big Ten champion Ducks, is from Missouri and ascended as Smart’s defensive coordinator, three time zones away from Oregon? Nope.
Plundering a coach from a big-brand program isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, either. Texas A&M tried that with Jimbo Fisher. LSU is attempting that with Brian Kelly. Southern California is trying it with Lincoln Riley. None of those guys made the playoff after changing jobs.
Hiring Rhule would be the easy move, the obvious hire, a choice who ensures a high floor. He’d charm the skeptics at his introductory news conference, and he’d love Penn State, and, at first, Penn State would love him back.
And when Rhule proves he’s the second coming of Franklin, Penn State would wonder why it spent all that money to hire the coach it just fired.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.