Had Kotelnicki kept his name in the hat for a bit longer last year, it\u2019s likely he would have had a mountain of teams ready to make him their new head coach.<\/p>\n
The problem is, there weren\u2019t many good jobs out there. In the offseason, only five Power Four schools made a coaching change, the most attractive being North Carolina, who zeroed in on legendary coach Bill Belichick.<\/p>\n
This season, that\u2019s likely to change, since the following coaches are expected to be in the hot seat: USC\u2019s Lincoln Riley, Florida State\u2019s Mike Norvell, Oklahoma\u2019s Brent Venables, Maryland\u2019s Mike Locksley and Auburn\u2019s Hugh Freeze \u2014 some of many highly attractive jobs.<\/p>\n
Between the resources and opportunity to man his own program, it\u2019s a no-brainer that Kotelnicki should take one of these jobs if they were to open up.<\/p>\n
James Franklin has always tried to figure out a way to keep his coordinators for a while, but as evidenced by brief stints from former coordinators like Tom Allen, Manny Diaz and Ricky Rahne, it\u2019s not realistic in today\u2019s day and age.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Offensive Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki speaks to reporters in the Lasch Football Building on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in University Park, Pa.<\/p>\n
Alexandra Antoniono<\/p>\n
His coordinating counterpart, Jim Knowles, is expected to stay at Penn State for the long-run, but his situation is different. Knowles, who has 37 years of coaching experience, was Cornell\u2019s head coach from 2004-09 and isn’t worried about elevating in the coaching tree anymore.<\/p>\n
Kotelnicki, on the other hand, secured his first coaching job in 2004. Regardless, there\u2019s a chance that Kotelnicki misses out on a prime year to hop in the job market.<\/p>\n
Penn State returns its stars Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen and a majority of the offensive line. Adding wide receiver transfers to the mix, it\u2019s obvious James Franklin and company are pushing all of their pieces to the middle of the table with aims of winning a national championship.<\/p>\n
The dream isn\u2019t far-fetched, but it also might be their only chance. With many top Nittany Lions expected to enter the 2026 NFL Draft, there\u2019s no guarantee Kotelnicki has the desirable pieces to put together a year in 2026 or beyond that gets him attractive jobs.<\/p>\n
His inability to balance aggressiveness \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 in key moments raised plenty of eyebrows. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s enough to prevent him from getting top jobs in the upcoming offseason, but maybe with less projected talent the following years, it becomes a major red flag.<\/p>\n
Either way, many coaches get one head coaching shot, Kotelnicki\u2019s likely to get two. He shouldn\u2019t pass it up.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Offensive Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki speaks to reporters in the Lasch Football Building on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in University Park, Pa.<\/p>\n
Alexandra Antoniono<\/p>\n
Lexie Linderman: Kotelnicki should stay<\/strong><\/p>\n Penn State has given Kotelnicki the spotlight and opportunity to build his resume and eventually become a head coach in college football. However, that shouldn\u2019t be until at least the 2027 season.<\/p>\n The Nittany Lions are clear national title contenders this season, and a large part of that is thanks to Kotelnicki\u2019s creative play calling and offensive scheme. But it\u2019ll only be his second season in Happy Valley, and he hasn\u2019t yet proved success at a high level while lacking elite talent.<\/p>\n So far, Kotelnicki has had Tyler Warren, Drew Allar, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen at his disposal, and while his top weapon, Warren, is gone to the NFL, he\u2019s set to have three new wide receivers this season.<\/p>\n After the 2025 season, though, all of his talent will be gone. At Kotelnicki\u2019s hands will be a bunch of inexperienced players who haven\u2019t seen much game action, giving him a real test and chance to show teams looking for a head coach that he can succeed against the best in the nation with unproven guys.<\/p>\n Additionally, another year-plus at Penn State could land Kotelnicki an even better opportunity than a collegiate head coaching position. He might opt to potentially do what Chip Kelly did this offseason \u2014 jump from offensive coordinator in college to the NFL.<\/p>\n Of course, Kelly has loads more experience than Kotelnicki and has been a head coach twice in the big leagues, but it\u2019s not out of the question for the Nittany Lions\u2019 offensive play caller, and an extra season at Penn State could lead him down that path.<\/p>\n The other aspect of Kotelnicki potentially leaving is what jobs would be available. There\u2019s a few coaches on the hot seat entering this season like Lincoln Riley at USC and Brent Venables at Oklahoma \u2014 both of which would be lucrative openings.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s impossible to know what will happen in 2025. Riley and Venables could bounce back from poor 2024 seasons to keep their jobs. Outside of those two, there aren\u2019t many other illustrative programs with coaches on thin ice, so there might not be anywhere for Kotelnicki to even go.<\/p>\n All in all, another year at Penn State would open up a lot more doors for Kotelnicki, and it would be wise of him to wait before jumping into a head coaching job.<\/p>\n MORE FOOTBALL COVERAGE<\/strong><\/p>\n