Penn State officially names Andy Kotelnicki its next offensive coordinator
Penn State has officially named its next offensive coordinator. Andy Kotelnicki was announced as the replacement for Mike Yurcich via a news release on Friday. The Minnesota native becomes the sixth Nittany Lions offensive coordinator since James Franklin took over in 2014. He comes from Kansas, where he directed high-powered offenses for three seasons. Before that, his offenses thrived at Buffalo, including a pair of fine performances against PSU in recent years.
“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.
“In his 18 years as a play caller, he has a track record of coming into a program and improving offenses, especially through explosive plays, third down conversions and red zone success. We are thrilled to have Andy and his family join us in Happy Valley.”
Kotelnicki said it’s a tremendous honor to come to State College.
“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.
“I am excited to get to work with the tremendous staff and student-athletes we have at Penn State. I would also like to thank Coach Leipold, the coaching staff and the student-athletes who I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with at Kansas and wish them nothing but the best.”
Meet new Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki
Kotelnicki has spent much of his coaching life with current Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold. They were together at Division-II powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater for two seasons. Before that, they spent six together at Buffalo. Then, they both went to Kansas for the past two seasons.
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Franklin sought to bring someone with experience directing an offense that was explosive, successful with a variety of different personnel and talent, and that is capable of fitting what Penn State currently has on its roster. Koltelnicki has had success at multiple levels. He has been an offensive coordinator since 2006 after playing center at Wisconsin-River Falls. He morphed his offense in 2021 to fit Kansas star quarterback Jalon Daniels. It helped his candidacy for the Broyles Award, which he was nominated for in 2022.
“The defense will never know what formation we’re in pre-snap,” Daniels told reporters this year. “They’ll never know how we’re going to end up for real. Because of how much stuff and how much detail Coach K puts into the offense.”
In short, this planned hire seems to check all the boxes Franklin sought to mark off before making a pick. At Kansas, he even found a way to utilize two quarterbacks being on the field at the same time. Which will, of course, be something Penn State aims to do next year and beyond.
Kotelnicki and his wife, Lindsey, have a son, Max, and daughter, Joy.
