Penn State mailbag: Who should the Lions target as their next defensive coordinator?

The first Penn State mailbag from Blue-White Illustrated following the 2021 regular season is here.

This week, Nate Bauer, David Eckert, and Greg Pickel have plenty to get to. The Lions are working on replacing a longtime assistant, waiting on a bowl opponent, and finishing out the Class of 2022.

Mailbag topics this week include:

• Could the Lions run a new scheme under a new defensive coordinator
• What kind of coach Penn State should seek for that job
• Transfer portal and quarterbacks
• The major coaching moves across college football

Questions may have been edited slightly for length and clarity. Submit your inquires weekly to the BWI team on Twitter to @PennStateOn3, @NateBauerBWI, @DavidEckert98, @GregPickel. Or, drop a post in our Lions Den forum.

Here are this week’s submissions.

BWI subscriber Beachwineguy asks:

“Do you think James Franklin would consider someone for Penn State defensive coordinator that would bring in a new scheme?”

Eckert: I think it depends on what you mean by “scheme.” I would expect Franklin to be open to bringing in a new defensive coordinator with some different ideas, but it would surprise me if Penn State went out and got a guy whose scheme is so different that it doesn’t fit the makeup of Penn State’s personnel on defense. Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole is never a position you want to be in.

Pickel: It would be a challenge to convert from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 scheme in the Big Ten. That’s especially so with the current roster makeup. So, my thought is no. He’ll get someone with a 4-3 scheme. My biggest question is whether the eventual hire wants to rotate and blitz as much as Pry did. Or, will the new play-caller prefer a mostly set 11 with a couple of guys mixed in and a more balanced scheme that favors tight man? Perhaps something like a base of 3-3-5 could be in order for pass-heavy teams? Lots to debate there. Overall, though, I’d expect it to look pretty much the same as it has since 2014.

Bauer: Why would you want to? And I ask that for a variety of reasons, but there are two chief among them.

The first is that you’ve been recruiting to build a certain type of defense for years. There have been tweaks along the way, no doubt, but the general principles that have carried Penn State’s approach for the players it brings into the program have been consistent. Upend that in any dramatic way and now you have players who might not fit the priorities you’re emphasizing in the new scheme.

The second, and equally important, element is that Penn State has had tremendous success defensively through Pry’s time with the program. Were it not for the Nittany Lions’ offense frequently creating short field situations for its opponents, and direct points off turnovers, the numbers would be even better than they’ve been.

The goal is to limit points and Penn State’s defense has done that quite successfully, on the whole, the past six years.

BWI subscriber Jup540 asks:

“Curious as to what you guys think about Lincoln Riley to USC and to a lesser extent Brian Kelly to LSU from a recruiting and transfer perspective. Do you think that blue bloods getting neutered by a coach leaving will have any impact on transfer rules?”

Eckert: Yeah, silly season is really, really silly this year, isn’t it? I have to say, it would be really interesting to see Notre Dame sneak into the playoff without a head coach. If Georgia wins the SEC and one of Cincinnati, Michigan or Oklahoma State loses, that seems like a real possibility. Anyway, I don’t see this having any kind of impact on the rules. Certainly, those schools might not like what’s happening at the moment but I would be surprised if it led to any kind of significant change.

Pickel: Riley to USC was a shocker to me in the sense that no one saw it coming. But, who could blame him for taking the money to get out of the SEC for an easier path in the PAC-12? Kelly was the far bigger surprise. It put on full display the fact that Notre Dame might not be as bought into the big-time college football world as we thought. I think the transfer rules will stay the same, though. Schools might one day build in a way to secure themselves, but the problem is, what coach would agree to it? Multiple must for that kind of thing to become standard, and it feels extremely unlikely to happen.

Bauer: College football is lost.

It’s Major League Baseball without a draft, or a commissioner, and until it collectively decides that it wants to have rules and standards that remotely level the playing field, the game is going to suffer as a result.

(One idea would be to have an organization, call it the “NCAA,” for instance, that creates standardization and then enforces it. I’ll send the invoice for this briliant thought later.)

I won’t deny the plentitude of interesting topics to be debated. Maybe that’s fun to some.

But in every sense, a system that refuses to create even a bare minimum framework from within which every conference must work deserves the anarchy currently befalling it.

@JohnRDeRosier asks:

“Who do you think will call the defensive plays for Penn State in the bowl game? Poindexter?”

Eckert: Just based on the “Co-Defensive Coordinator” title he has, my guess would probably be Poindexter. He has experience as a defensive coordinator with UConn as well, something the other two defensive assistants don’t.

Pickel: With the caveat that further staff changes could derail this, he’s the logical choice. However, Terry Smith is now the only coach left from the original 2014 staff. We know that Poindexter could call plays. How would Smith handle the game planning and game day experience? He was a head coach in high school but this is a far different beast. I, for one, would like to see how it would go.

Bauer: Poindexter is my guess. It’s not that Terry Smith, John Scott, or even Joe Lorig couldn’t handle the responsibilities. But as Dave pointed out, that co-defensive coordinator title isn’t ceremonial.

@dgredar22 asks:

“Does James Franklin go out and get an experienced DC or does he go the younger assistant/good recruiter route? Or does he do like Harbaugh and go to the NFL to bring in a guy with pro schemes and knowledge?”

Eckert: I think it depends on who’s available and what kind of resources Franklin has to make the hire. If we look on the offensive side of the ball, all of Franklin’s coordinator hires there have come from the college level. John Donovan was a running backs coach at Maryland before joining Franklin as Vanderbilt’s OC and following him to Penn State. Joe Moorhead was Fordham’s head coach. Ricky Rahne was promoted from within. Kirk Ciarrocca was Minnesota’s OC, and Mike Yurcich was the OC at Texas.

His tendencies with offensive coordinators indicate the college ranks are the most likely source.

Pickel: Fun question cause I think the three of us could all go a different direction. The route Notre Dame went with Marcus Freeman is a great example of what is ideal to me. He had six years as a position coach and a season as a co-defensive coordinator before spending four as the DC at Cinncinatti and one as it at Notre Dame. Now, he’s head coach material. That seems to be a pretty enticing path for most college football coaches and it works for programs, too. If possible, I’d go that route. Problem is, can Penn State find that guy in this cycle?

Bauer: I would be somewhat surprised if Franklin tried to dip into the NFL. I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but that’s not the pattern I’ve seen.

I would expect the hire to be an outstanding recruiter. Just about everyone who has come into the program has been. I would expect Franklin to prioritize someone with a proven record of development at their position group. And I would expect the person to have some experience calling a game and having a feel for it.

@RyanCFurness asks:

“Assessing the quaterback position. Would you guys say it’s more important to bring someone in via the portal, or look at what we have internally?”

Eckert: Unless Sean Clifford returns, I think Penn State needs a quarterback option out of the portal. Even if all the Nittany Lions’ present options at the position stick around, which doesn’t seem like a given, that gives Penn State four scholarship QBs next season. Two of them would be true freshmen (Drew Allar and Beau Pribula), another a redshirt freshman (Christian Veilleux), and then Ta’Quan Roberson, who didn’t inspire much confidence during his cameo against Iowa this season. That’s a group that lacks experience and any kind of depth and I don’t think that’s a situation Penn State wants to find itself in again.

Pickel: Assuming Clifford doesn’t return and/or one of the current guys besides him hits the transfer portal, getting one back from there is simply a must. That’s not to say Christian Veilleux or one of the freshmen can’t win the job. But, numbers and experience are key. And, if no Clifford, Penn State must find that in the portal, even if it means being a little less picky about what it’s looking for.

Bauer: For a variety of reasons, I don’t think you want a young quarterback room. It’s a position that almost universally improves with experience, though there are the rare instances where talent wins out. But in so many ways, knowing what you have can be just as valuable than tons of inconsistent talent.

Until some of the current pieces shake out – what’s Ta’Quan Roberson going to do after a midseason demotion? will Clifford consider a return? does Penn State want him to? – it’s tough to offer a detailed assessment.

What I can say unequivocally is that Penn State doesn’t want to find itself with three scholarship quarterbacks again. However the math works, with two incoming freshmen and a sophomore, Penn State will need to figure it out. Its other one or two options almost certainly need to at least be in their third seasons of college ball.