Can Andy Kotelnicki coach in the Penn State bowl game, and will he?

Andy Kotelnicki is officially the new Penn State offensive coordinator. The Nittany Lions announced the news on Friday, less than 24 hours after multiple reports indicated that the former Kansas playcaller is taking over the same responsibilities in State College. It marks the seventh stop in a coaching career that dates back to Western Illinois in 2004. He has held the offensive coordinator title six times, starting at Wisconsin River-Falls in 2006.

“We are excited to welcome Andy, his wife, Lindsey, son, Maximus, and daughter, Joy, to Penn State,” Franklin said. ”Our search process for an offensive coordinator was extensive and throughout it, Andy’s name kept rising to the top of the list. Not only were we impressed with Andy’s history of successful offensive production, but he has proven ability to win at all levels and play to the strength of his personnel.

Kotelnicki also released a statement on Friday.

“I would like to thank Coach Franklin and Dr. Kraft for this incredible opportunity to join Penn State Football,” Kotelnicki said. “It is a tremendous honor for me and my wife, Lindsey, to become part of a program with such a rich history of success and a tremendous family environment with an elite leader in Coach Franklin.

Can Andy Kotelnicki coach in the Penn State bowl game?

From a technical perspective, yes. A new hire, once all human resources, NCAA compliance, and other paperwork is cleared, can begin assuming a recruiting and coaching role immediately. However, one can be designated as an off-campus recruiter but not a game day coach. In this example, Kotelnicki could hit the road recruiting with the rest of the staff during the contact period, which runs until the middle of the month. But, doing so would not mean he has to coach in the bowl game.

Will Kotelnicki coach in the Lions bowl game?

Again, while it’s possible, it is highly unlikely. A new offense cannot be installed in a month. And, a coordinator cannot possibly be expected to learn both the existing offense and its personnel usage in that amount of time to actually be able to call plays effectively on game day. While not exactly comparable, Sonny Dykes’ experience coaching SMU’s bowl game in the same month he was hired is instructive as to why Kotelnicki will likely not call plays in the Penn State postseason.

“I was basically a spectator,” Dykes told ESPN. “The guy sitting in the stands probably knew more about SMU’s offense and defense than I did. That’s not normally the case. I didn’t know any of the players. It was like, ‘Hey, No. 5, come here. You’re a running back, right? Don’t fumble.'”

History can be our guide, too. First, let’s revisit what James Franklin said about who would call plays on defense in the Citrus Bowl. That was adter Manny Diaz was hired to replace Brent Pry in mid-December.

“Anthony Poindexter will call the defense for the bowl game,” Franklin said back then. “Manny is really here getting adjusted. Obviously all the HR paperwork that has to be done at place like Penn State, getting him familiar with the roster, getting him familiar with the coaching staff. You know, just getting adjusted, recruiting, all those types of things.

“So he’s basically here just kind of getting adjusted to Penn State. It wouldn’t be fair to him or the staff to jump right in. So, after the bowl game we’ll make that transition complete.”

More: 4 things to know about new Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki

The same logic should still apply, even if Kotelnicki was hired earlier than Diaz was. What the Penn State head coach said this past November indicates as much, as well.

“In a perfect world, I think you would like if you could to have a situation like we did with Manny where we hired him, had him here for the bowl game,’ Franklin said. “I think we have done that at other times as well. Now they’re here, around the guys, see how we operate, meet, get a feel for the culture, be able to watch and evaluate the players and say, okay, here are areas we’re strong, here are areas we need to maybe find some solutions. I think there is value in doing that if possible.”

All of that is possible now that Kotelnicki is on board. It also almost guarantees he won’t coach in the game. But, he will be learning about Penn State and evaluating its offense. That is more valuable for the future than calling plays would be later this month.