Penn State’s coaching search has yet to take off. Even then, we continue to see head coaches being linked to the Lions. Just this week, Bob Chesney was rumored to be a potential candidate, but within days, his name went off the board. Now, we have a new contender at the top of the list.

According to Kalshi, BYU’s Kalani Sitake has emerged as the top contender to land the Penn State job, with a 22% chance. Interestingly, Alabama head coach, Kalen DeBoer, is second in the odds at 20%, followed by Chesney at 18% and Lincoln Riley at 17%.

We are yet to see any indication from either Alabama or USC that they’d let go of their head coaches. If the Tide fails to make it to the playoffs, DeBoer’s position may get under some serious scrutiny.

Moreover, just before Kalani Sitake emerged as a top contender for the PSU job, there was buzz about the program being involved in negotiations with a “mystery hire.” However, what’s interesting here is that no coach has emerged as a popular name to be the mystery. Josh Pate named Bob Chesney, while Lions247’s Tyler Donohue picked Marcus Freeman. And some fans are also rooting for Terry Smith to take over.

Though a wild card entry, Sitake’s name makes a lot of sense. He has been at BYU for almost the same duration as Franklin was at Penn State. Sitake already has experience in stabilizing a program for the long run. Sitake has an overall 82-44 record and has already produced four 10-win seasons. BYU has already earned a spot in the Big 12 Championship game this year. Clearly, Kalani Sitake makes a very good case to take on the Penn State job. However, earlier in the season, he refuted rumors about leaving Provo.

“The goal before we even started the season was to avoid distractions, and they can come in a lot of different ways. If we’re doing things the right way, then we’re going to have people talking about myself and other coaches on our staff getting other opportunities and jobs,” he said on the Jim Rome show. This was when he emerged as a candidate for the UCLA job.

Things at Happy Valley are clearly far from happy at the moment. Penn State may look back on 2025 as one of the most disastrous years in its history, as it continues to struggle without a coach. The absence of this figure is taking a hit at recruiting, with many future commits flipping to other programs. And in the midst, the search for a head coach seems to be landing at the most bizarre of choices.

Kalen DeBoer continues to remain a contender for the Penn State job

With favorites Matt Rhule, Curt Cignetti, and Eli Drinkwitz dropping out as options, the job has become wide open. They’ve got to find someone capable of leading a blueblood and also taking it further than Franklin. The net is cast pretty wide for Penn State at this point. Even Kalen DeBoer entered the chat and continues to remain in contention. He is the second favorite to land the job! Additionally, according to Landon Tengwall’s post, he is one of the coaches who have remained in the favorites from the past week.

Just two losses this season have everyone thinking Alabama will let him go. He’s just 2 years into this stint, but that hasn’t deterred fans from considering him for the role. Plus, if Auburn outsmarts Alabama in the Iron Bowl. DeBoer might dethrone Sitake in the odds in that case. Although the Tide HC will likely make a great hire for the Nittany Lions, it remains a wild possibility. Paul Finebaum has dismissed all possibilities of DeBoer being hired away.

“[It’s] just somebody putting something out, and then somebody asking you guys a question or me, and then somebody reporting it as, ‘Oh, Kalen DeBoer’s leaving.’ … I have never heard one ounce of concrete information that indicates Kalen DeBoer is going anywhere,” the analyst said at a November 24 episode of McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.