Once Penn State fired coach James Franklin on Oct. 12, the Nittany Lions’ high school recruiting class quickly shifted. The 2026 cycle has fallen from 25 pledges to just 17, and many of them have reopened their recruitments to consider other schools.

As the media runs wild with stories about who will replace James Franklin at Penn State, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key isn't listening to the speculation. The former Yellow Jackets offensive lineman has his program at 8-1 and charging toward the ACC title race,

There will inevitably be coaches who decide to leave, some who are not asked to come back and some who return to Penn State under the next head coach. Let’s take a look at the likelihood that each position coach and coordinator is back in 2025.

Indiana, which held Iowa to 15 points in Iowa City and Oregon to 20 points in Eugene earlier, has never beaten Penn State in State College. The Lions lead the series 25-2 and PSU is 13-0 in State College.

Every great coach had their first big gig. Urban Meyer came from Bowling Green, Nick Saban was at Toledo. A coach like James Madison’s Bob Chesney fits that mold as a coach who has had success at a lower level and might be ready to make that leap.

Now, after a three-year hiatus from the sidelines after his ouster amid hazing allegations from his time at Northwestern, Fitzgerald is back on the market and poised to capitalize on the chaos of the 2025 coaching carousel. Eight Power Four jobs have already opened -- nine if you count Stanford -- and more are coming.