Pat McAfee pours fuel on Penn State coaching rumors, says Brian Daboll 'would be a massive splashy hire' for Nittany Lions
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Commentator and former NFL Pro Bowler Pat McAfee has never been shy about throwing gasoline on a coaching rumor. After Penn State fired James Franklin on October 12 following a shocking 3–3 start that derailed a season that began with playoff expectations, the school is chasing a fresh identity, a new vision, and a big name that can lift the program out of its decade-long plateau. So when McAfee opened his show by pointing out that newly fired Giants coach Brian Daboll was spotted in a Penn State hoodie — with his kids already enrolled in Happy Valley — the idea of hiring the former NFL OC sounded like a real possibility.
McAfee and AQ Shipley comment on possible Penn State Brian Daboll hiring
“There’s some massive news,” McAfee said. “They fire Coach Daboll. He’s seen walking out of his house wearing a Penn State hoodie. Penn State needs a head coach. Brian Daboll also has kids that are currently at Penn State. . . He would be a massive splashy hire. He has a lot of history of doing very good things in football outside of what he did for the New York Giants.”
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AQ Shipley, the former Penn State lineman and resident program loyalist on the show, loved the idea even more than McAfee.
When asked how hiring Daboll would make him feel, Shipley didn’t hesitate. “Very happy. . . I’d be pumped about that. I’d be really pumped.”
Shipley laid out Daboll’s résumé, explaining how Daboll is one of the most respected offensive minds of the past decade: “Anytime you get an opportunity to get a guy that coached with Nick Saban, with Bill Belichick, offensive coordinator at Alabama, and obviously been a head coach, this is the one. He’s an offensive genius.”
McAfee didn’t hesitate to point out Penn State’s flaws. “We haven’t had a good offense in 20, 25, 30 years,” he said. Daboll’s work with Josh Allen in Buffalo, a national title run at Alabama and a playoff season with the Giants offer something Penn State fans have been begging for: a coach who can build quarterbacks, not just manage them.
Of course, there are hurdles. Daboll still has guaranteed money coming from the Giants, and he wouldn’t come cheap. McAfee joked that Daboll doesn’t need the job and could spend the next two years as a “multi-millionaire golfer.”
Still, the idea checks every box Penn State has laid out publicly and privately. Big name. Offensive identity. NFL credibility. Recruiting juice. Family ties to campus.
“I think it would be a slam dunk hire,” Shipley said. “He is a great ball coach and it would be a perfect fit.”
For a program desperate to stop treading water, Brian Daboll suddenly feels less like a long shot and more like the kind of swing Pat Kraft might actually take.
This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Nov 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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