Report: Penn State to hire Kansas' Andy Kotelnicki as offensive coordinator

Penn State appears to be closing in on its new offensive coordinator. The Nittany Lions are expected to hire Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas to replace Mike Yurcich, The Athletic and FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman reported.

Kotelnicki followed Lance Leipold to KU in 2021 after the two worked together at Buffalo. The Jayhawks went from 324.2 yards of offense per game in his first season to 437.9 yards per contest in 2022. This past season, Kansas ranked seventh in the Big 12 with 434 yards per game with Jason Bean at quarterback for most of the year after Jalon Daniels suffered an injury. The Jayhawks also averaged 33.6 points per game, which ranked fourth in the Big 12.

Penn State finished second in the Big Ten with 37.2 points per game and fourth in the conference in total offense with 391 yards on average. However, James Franklin opted to fire Yurcich after the offense struggled in big games against Ohio State and Michigan. Those two games were Penn State’s lowest-scoring outings of the year as the Nittany Lions totaled 240 yards against the Buckeyes and 238 yards against the Wolverines.

More on Penn State’s decision to fire Mike Yurcich, what kind of offense Andy Kotelnicki is taking over

The loss to Michigan was the final straw for Franklin, who opted to move on from Yurcich after less than three full years as offensive coordinator. Franklin made it clear he appreciated everything Yurcich did during his time in Happy Valley, but it was time to make a change, especially when it came to building and implementing a game plan.

“I felt like both of those things needed to change,” Franklin said. “How we came up with the plan. The implementation of the plan, all those things. The execution of the plan. Obviously, you don’t make the type of decision I made without feeling that way.”

Kotelnicki will now inherit the offense, which is headlined by quarterback Drew Allar as well as a two-headed monster at running back with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Allar did a good job taking care of the football in his first year as the starter, only throwing one interception. He also had 23 passing touchdowns, but he only threw for 2,336 yards as the lack of explosive plays stood out from the game plan.

Singleton and Allen remained the stars of the running game, combining for 1,553 yards and 14 touchdowns. They’re both set to return next season for Penn State as Kotelnicki takes the reins, giving him some impressive weapons.