As Penn State football looks for its next head coach, there have been a few candidates already rumored to be a part of the search. One of those candidates is Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, who finished their regular season with a loss to Vanderbilt. Though Heupel's name has come up, he let it be known himself that he won't be leaving the Volunteers, according to On3.
“I wouldn’t want low expectations. That’s part of why I want to be here. We’ll win big,” Heupel said.
Heupel is in his fifth season with the program and is 45-19 overall and 24-16 in the SEC. After losing to Vanderbilt, it made it their sixth straight defeat to a nationally ranked team, which dates back to last season. Despite the loss, Tennessee can still get another win before the season is over, as they still have a bowl game to play.
As of now, it looks like Heupel will stay put, and Penn State will have to continue its search for a new head coach. Just a few weeks ago, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule was rumored to have interest in leaving the program for Penn State, and after his loss to the team, he shot down the rumors.
“I love these guys, I wanted to be their coach, I've always wanted to be their coach,” Rhule said. “To come here and be out there with them, even though the result wasn't what we wanted, I'm always proud of them and happy to be with them.”
There should be more candidates to come out for the Penn State job, and once college football is officially over, they should have a longer list of candidates. For now, they'll have to keep doing their due diligence, and hope that they can hire the right person for the job.
