Just when you thought the Penn State coaching search couldn’t take any more twists and turns… It’s gone from getting trumped by the Crumbl Cookie guy to allegedly calling people in Oregon ‘weirdos.’
Penn State has been without a permanent head coach since firing James Franklin on Oct. 12. It’s the biggest job left open in what has been a whirlwind coaching carousel. Penn State has been linked with plenty of coaches, many of whom got new deals to stay put. A two-man 2026 recruiting class has only exasperated the problems in Happy Valley.
On Thursday night, audio leaked on ‘Dead Air Sports’ of an alleged meeting between Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft and Nittany Lions players. The video with the audio recording was edited from a longer conversation.
“I want y’all to know this too: If I don’t get this right, my career is over,’ the person leading the alleged meeting says in the recording. ‘Understand that. If I don’t hire the right person, my career is over. So it’s very serious to me… If I don’t hire the right person, in two years they will fire my ass. And I don’t get another AD job. ‘How could you (expletive) up Penn State?’”
Here are some other highlights from the leaked audio:
∎ “What’s happened here too many times at Penn State, is they (expletive) settle for second-best. That’s why we made the move.”
∎ “I think Oregon are frauds. I think they’re not tough. That’s our edge, our toughness.”
∎ Player: “To be very frank with you, I think the biggest reason why players do not want to come here is we’re in the middle of nowhere, honestly.”
Leader: “Oh, I agree. Our fans, our people don’t understand. It’s a challenge. ‘What am I going to (expletive) do?’ Oregon? Have you all been to Oregon? Ain’t (expletive) going on, it’s a bunch of (expletive) weirdos.”
∎ “Ohio State is Ohio State. But (expletive) A, it’s not like they’re lightyears better than us, talented-wise. Just can’t be able to get over the (expletive) hump! Michigan (expletive) stinks. (Expletive) joke. Cheating their balls off. That’s real by the way what they did. Oregon? Their (expletive) quarterback was shaking in overtime. But we have to win those (expletive) games.”
∎ “Can I tell you a story about NIL? This is one of the highest-paid rosters in the country. From the money that is spent right now… Texas Tech is $40 million because of that billionaire is just dropping money on them, it’s crazy, it’s (expletive) nuts. This roster that is on the field right now, probably top-four. Now how the money is spent is a different story. But money in the program… it’s the strategy behind it.”