James Franklin shares how much Andy Kotelnicki's success excites him

Penn State head coach James Franklin hired Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to replace Mike Yurcich as the Nittany Lions’ offensive coordinator. It’s a move that Franklin is excited about.

In particular, Franklin is excited about the past success that Kotelnicki has had.

“A couple of things, when I say that, he had been with the same head coach for 11 years,” James Franklin said. “Ton of respect for him, friend of his, friend of mine. So, when I talk about tough to leave, that’s kind of what I’m talking about. Tremendous amount of stability, and obviously to your point, that’s what excited.” 

Andy Kotelnicki has served as Lance Leipold‘s offensive coordinator since 2013. That was at Wisconsin-Whitewater and the two climbed the ranks together to Buffalo and eventually Kansas. Along the way, they won two Division III national championships together, had a top 25 finish in the MAC, and took Kansas to back-to-back bowl games, all of which is incredible success given the histories of the programs they were at together.

This season, amid several quarterback injuries that forced the Jayhawks’ third-string quarterback into action at one point, Kansas finished 28th in total offense and scoring offense, averaging 434 yards and 33.6 points per game respectively.

“You look at the head coach and the offensive coordinator, there hadn’t really been that type of success and productivity in a place like Buffalo. They go to Kansas, there really hadn’t been that type of success and productivity at a place like Kansas before. So, that was a big reason for me being attracted to him in the first place and then also coming up under a guy that I have a ton of respect for within the profession,” Franklin said.

“But, yeah, I think that’s really kind of what got this ball rolling is what you described with the success and the points and the yardage and game control that they were able to have at Kansas and was a big part of their success.”

James Franklin details desired qualities for Penn State’s new defensive coordinator

James Franklin also saw defensive coordinator Manny Diaz leave for Duke this offseason, opening another coordinator position to fill. That’s a side of the ball that Franklin had a specific vision for moving forward.

“Someone who’s got extensive defensive coordinator experience. Someone that runs a similar scheme and philosophy, because our current players have had a lot of success in a similar system. I’ve had three defensive coordinators that have all been able to play at a high level. And, we’ve taken a similar approach with all three. And, we’ve recruited to a similar scheme, as well,” Franklin said.

“You do in-person interviews, Zoom interviews, what film, study the data and analytics, and then most importantly, you’re looking for a fit with your players and staff. If somebody had head coaching experience, there’s value in that. Manny’s time as a head coach was valuable… That’s not the end all, be all. But it’s helpful if we can find it.”

Recently, it was reported that James Franklin was going to hire former Indiana head coach Tom Allen to be Penn State’s next defensive coordinator. Like Manny Diaz, he’s a former head coach who will hope to revive his career in Happy Valley.