After missing out on several potential coaching candidates, the Penn State Nittany Lions finally found their new head coach in Matt Campbell. With the new coach in place, it appeared that interim Terry Smith was in the mix for the jobs at either UConn or Memphis. However, it sounds like Smith has other plans.
Reports indicate that Smith, who is 56 years old, will retain his job with Penn State, according to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports. He'll go back to coaching the cornerbacks while potentially remaining as the assistant head coach for the Nittany Lions. The news was first broken by Audrey Snyder of Inside the Lions.
“Sources: Penn State will retain interim HC Terry Smith on Matt Campbell's staff. Smith entertained interest from both UConn and Memphis, but his deep-rooted connection to Happy Valley and the Nittany Lion program informed his decision to stay. I'm told current Penn State players were just informed of the decision as well in an 8:00 EST all-hands meeting.”
Smith is signing a four-year deal to remain with the Nittany Lions, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. After graduating from Penn State and coaching for the program past 12 years, Terry Smith doesn't appear to have plans of leaving anytime soon.
“Former Penn State interim coach Terry Smith has agreed to a four-year deal to stay on staff at the school and work with Matt Campbell, per ESPN sources. He's a Penn State graduate who has been a staff linchpin there [for] the last 12 years.”
UConn and Memphis are going to have to look elsewhere for their new head coaches. As for Penn State, the Nittany Lions enter a new era under former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell.
