Nick Saban Makes Case For Penn State's Next Head Coach

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Nick Saban Makes Case For Penn State's Next Head Coach

In his decades as a college football coach across the United States, Nick Saban has a pretty large contacts list of coaching candidates. For the vacant Penn State job, Saban believe that one of his former assistants might be the man for the job.

Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, Saban made the case for former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll to get the job. Daboll was Saban's offensive coordinator on the 2017 national championship team before getting the same job with the Buffalo Bills and later the Giants.

""He's a very good coach, he's a bright guy, he's a good recruiter, he relates well to the players, he's a good teacher, he's got a good offensive mind, he'll be able to put a good staff together. I think that would be an outstanding hire," Saban said.

Penn State fired longtime head coach James Franklin following a 3-3 start after being the preseason No. 2 team in the country. They are not expected to give interim head coach Terry Smith the full-time job despite going 2-3 since taking over for Franklin.

The Nittany Lions are understandably likely to cast a very wide net in finding their replacement. But they might not have travel that far physically to get him.

Nov 2, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll stands on the field prior to a game against the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images© Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Brian Daboll

The Giants hired Daboll in 2022 following a stellar job as the Bills offensive coordinator in developing QB Josh Allen into a bonafide star. In his first season he went 9-7-1 and led the Giants to the playoffs, even getting their first postseason win in over a decade.

But things went downhill rather quickly in New York. They fell to 6-11 in 2023 and just 3-14 in 2024 before starting the 2025 season 2-8. Daboll was fired on November 10.

But while Daboll has never been a college football head coach, there's a belief that he already has interest in the job. Daboll was seen wearing a Penn State sweatshirt within a couple of days of being fired.

Will we see Brian Daboll coaching at Beaver Stadium next season?

This story was originally published by The Spun on Nov 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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