Sourcing for this information comes from staff directories, media guides as well as Linkedin. It was last updated on April 11, 2025.
I’m not quite sure why I decided to research this but I wanted to track all of the coaches that have worked with James Franklin at Vanderbilt and Penn State over the years.
And here are the fruits of that labor that I figured you’d probably want to see too. Below is Franklin’s coaching tree.
Now, calling this a coaching tree isn’t technically accurate. It’s more of a coaching proximity map with Franklin being the root of all of this, but “coaching tree” sounds better and is easier to understand.
A few ground rules as it relates to how this tree was researched.
First, Franklin had to be your boss so this tree effectively started when he was hired at Vanderbilt on Dec. 17, 2010. Now, there are a few exceptions to the rule – mainly if you played for Franklin. If you played for him, you’re on the list. There is at least one player I found that predates the Franklin-Vanderbilt era, though, so more on him way later. There are also people on here who aren’t necessarily coaches but I felt were important to include like Penn State’s Chief of Staff Kevin Threlkel. I also based all of the tables below on the first position these coaches were hired for. For the sake of brevity, I didn’t include promotion-type titles (assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator, etc.) Most of the time, there was a position role attached so I went with that.
Next, by my count, there are six former-hires-turned-head-coaches. We’re counting Manny Diaz, barely, since he was a head coach prior to becoming Penn State’s defensive coordinator. But he has both hired some of Franklin’s staff and also had to have success at Penn State to get that role. Additionally, each of those head coaches have a respective staff but only coaches who worked or played with Franklin appear on the list. For example, Brent Pry is the head coach at Virginia Tech. Former Hokies offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen makes the list because he was a GA at Penn State while special teams Stu Holt doesn’t because he never worked for Franklin.
Lastly, I’m certain I missed someone. Probably a few someones. I know for a fact I don’t have every analyst on this list. Penn State doesn’t list them on their coaching roster but does list some of their staff directory. I tried to only list those who served in a GA, position or coordinator role. I’m sure I missed a few players as well, particularly from the Vandy era. If you feel that I missed someone, I made a form. I will try to make this a living breathing document with occasional updates here or there and likely one big offseason update.
Feel free to skip around. Below each section I’ve added interesting notes about important members of Franklin’s coaching staffs over the years.
Each section is grouped by their initial hire:
Franklin’s Career
| Year | Role | Team/School |
|---|---|---|
| 1991-1994 | Quarterback | East Stroudsburg |
| 1995 | Wide Receiver Coach | Kutztown |
| 1996 | Defensive Backs Coach | East Stroudsburg |
| 1996 | Offensive Coordinator | Rosklide Kings |
| 1997 | Wide Receiver Coach | James Madison |
| 1998 | Tight Ends Coach | Washington State |
| 1999 | Wide Receiver Coach | Idaho State |
| 2000-2004 | Wide Receiver Coach | Maryland |
| 2005 | Wide Receiver Coach | Green Bay Parkers |
| 2006-2007 | Offensive Coordinator | Kansas State |
| 2008-2010 | Offensive Coordinator | Maryland |
| 2011-2013 | Head Coach | Vanderbilt |
| 2014-Present | Head Coach | Penn State |
We can’t list out Franklin’s career coaching tree without first talking about the road he’s taken to get to Happy Valley.
Franklin’s coaching career started after his playing career ended at East Stroudsburg, where he majored in psychology. From there, he spent time in Pennsylvania at Kutztown and East Stroudsburg before heading to Denmark.
That’s right. The country known for Lego and The Little Mermaid.
In 1996, Franklin was the offensive coordinator of the Rosklide Kings. There, he helped the Kings to the Mermaid Bowl VIII Championship as they beat Copenhagen Towers, 62-48. It appears that the Kings are no longer in existence while the Towers remain one of the top teams in the Dansk Amerikansk Fodbold Forbund.
After his tour of Denmark, he returned to be the wide receiver coach at James Madison, bouncing around at jobs with Washington State and Idaho State before taking a wide receiver coaching job at Maryland, where he worked briefly with former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien. Franklin hasn’t spoken a ton about his relationship with O’Brien, but former Penn State quarterback – coach by both O’Brien and Franklin – Christian Hackenberg recently brought this up on his In the Pocket podcast.
Franklin’s only trip to the NFL came in 2005 where he was the wide receiver coach for the Green Bay Packers. He left that role for the offensive coordinator job at Kansas State, then returned to Maryland for the OC job under Ralph Friedgen in 2008. If there was a head coach who I would consider the seed tree for Franklin, it’d be under Friedgen’s.
Friedgen is an important part to Franklin’s story and one that is explored quite well in this article from the Washington Post. To make a long story relatively short, when Franklin was rehired at Maryland, athletic director Debbie Yow offered Franklin the head coaching job when Friedgen retired. But Yow left for NC State, Kevin Anderson fired Friedgen despite being named ACC coach of the year in 2010, which caused Friedgen to burn his diploma from Maryland, and Anderson to rebuke the offer for Franklin to take over Maryland’s program.
That is how Franklin ended up at Vanderbilt, taking their head coaching job where he went 24-15. And as you probably know, after O’Brien returned to the NFL with the Houston Texas, Penn State hired Franklin on Jan. 11, 2014.
Franklin currently makes $7 million a year with a contract that runs through 2031. He also made an additional $500,000 in a retention bonus. There are a few other perks in there as well, which you can view here. It should be noted that linked contract does not include the updated language with the 12-team playoff and various bonuses around that.
Current Coaching Staff
| Name | First Year | Current Role |
|---|---|---|
| Terry Smith | 2014 | Cornerbacks* |
| Andy Kotelnicki | 2024 | Offensive Coordinator |
| Jim Knowles | 2025 | Defensive Coordinator |
| Justin Lustig | 2024 | Special Teams Coordinator |
| Deion Barnes | 2023 | Defensive Line |
| Marques Hagans | 2023 | Wide Receivers |
| Ty Howle | 2022 | Co-offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends |
| Anthony Poindexter | 2021 | Co-defensive Coordinator/Safeties |
| Phil Trautwein | 2020 | Offensive Line |
| Stan Drayton | 2025 | Running Backs |
| Chuck Losey | 2014 | Assistant AD, Performance Enhancement |
| Torrence Brown | 2023 | Defensive GA |
| Kevin Ceh | 2023 | Offensive GA |
| Jordan Lucas | 2024 | Defensive GA |
| Danny O'Brien | 2024** | Quarterbacks |
| Dan Connor | 2025! | Linebackers |
| Mark Dupuis | 2024~ | Assistant Wide Receivers |
| Greg Gattuso | 2025 | Defensive Analyst |
| Shane Eachus | 2025 | Defensive Analyst & Analytics Coordinator |
| Andrew Jackson | 2025~ | Assistant Defensive Line |
| Trace McSorley | 2025 | Assistant Quarterbacks |
| David Parker | 2023 | Offensive Analyst & Analytics Coordinator |
| Bill Queisert | 2023 | Assistant Offensive Line |
| David Rocco | 2022 | Assistant Tight Ends |
| Eric Sachse | 2023 | Assistant Specialists |
| James Urban | 2024 | Senior Offensive Analyst |
| Charles Walker | 2022~ | Assistant Running Backs |
| Brent Zdebski | 2025 | Defensive Analyst & Analytics Coordinator |
*Assistant Head Coach
**Started Position in 2024, was GA prior
!Started Position in 2025, was an analyst prior
~Had a previously been on a Franklin staff and returned
More information on the current coaching staff can be found below.
Coordinators
| Name | First Year | Hired Role | Current Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Shoop | 2011 | Vanderbilt Defensive Coordinator | Vanderbilt Defensive Analyst |
| Charles Bankins | 2011 | Vanderbilt Special Teams Coordinator | NC Central University Running Back Coach |
| John Donovan | 2011 | Vanderbilt Offensive Coordinator | University of Florida Analyst |
| Joe Moorhead | 2016 | Penn State Offensive Coordinator | Akron Head Coach |
| Phil Galiano | 2018 | Penn State Special Teams Coordinator | New Orleans Saints Special Teams Coordinator |
| Joe Loring | 2019 | Penn State Special Teams Coordinator | Oregon Special Team Coordinator |
| Kirk Ciarroca | 2020 | Penn State Offensive Coordinator | Rutgers Offensive Coordinator |
| Mike Yurcich | 2021 | Penn State Offensive Coordinator | Youngstown State Offensive Coordinator |
| Manny Diaz | 2022 | Penn State Defensive Coordinator | Duke Head Coach |
| Stacy Collins | 2022 | Penn State Special Teams Coordinator | Boise State Special Teams Coordinator |
| Andy Kotelnicki | 2024 | Penn State Offensive Coordinator | Penn State Offensive Coordinator |
| Tom Allen | 2024 | Penn State Defensive Coordinator | Clemson Defensive Coordinator |
| Justin Lustig | 2024 | Penn State Special Teams Coordinator | Penn State Special Teams Coordinator |
| Jim Knowles | 2025 | Penn State Defensive Coordinator | Penn State Defensive Coordinator |
Bob Shoop
Bob Shoop is an interesting name here because he has his name all over the coaching staffs of those who Franklin has hired. Franklin hired him in 2011 as Vanderbilt’s OC where he then followed Franklin to Penn State. Shoop then shows back up on the Franklin radar so to speak as Joe Moorhead’s defensive coordinator at Mississippi State from 2018-19, and once again resurfaced in the 2024 season as Marshall’s safety coach under Charles Huff. Shoop left after Huff left Marshall, and Shoop is now a defensive analyst back at Vandy.
Joe Moorhead
JoMo is technically the first Franklin-hired-turned-head-coach when he took over the job at Mississippi State in 2018. He was the head coach at Fordham prior to joining Penn State but his staff in Starkville had Penn State fingerprints all over it with several names including Shoop and Huff. Plus, former players Nyeem Wartman-White and Billy Fessler among others.
Moorhead’s real impact on Franklin’s coaching tree is that he was the central piece in helping Franklin’s tree grow after 2016. Without Moorhead – or at least his offense leading Penn State to a 2016 Big Ten Title – Franklin may have been out after that 2016 season. And sure, having Saquon Barkley didn’t hurt but Moorhead’s two offenses still remain the best to play under Franklin.
Mike Yurcich
Mike Yurcich holds the distinguished title of being the only coordinator fired mid-season. You can read my general thoughts on that firing here but not necessarily the best title to have.
Manny Diaz
Again, as discussed earlier, he’s on here because he found success at Penn State that led him to get his second head coaching job – this time at Duke. He also has several on his staff with connections to Penn State, including Gabe Infante and V’Angelo Bentley.
Andy Kotelnicki
In some ways, he’s responsible for this whole project. I wanted to take an expanded view on this column and that’s why you’re here.
Jim Knowles
Penn State hired Jim Knowles to replace Tom Allen — who left for Clemson to be closer to his family. Knowles is reportedly the highest-paid coordinator in the country at the time of his hire, at somewhere north of $3M per season. He came to Penn State after leading Ohio State’s defense to a national championship in 2024.
Position Coaches
| Name | First Year | Hired Role | Current Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Pry | 2011 | Vanderbilt Linebackers Coach | Virginia Tech Head Coach |
| Chris Beatty | 2011 | Vanderbilt Wide Receiver Coach | Las Vegas Raiders WR Coach |
| Herb Hand | 2011 | Vanderbilt Offensive Line Coach | UCF Offensive Line Coach |
| Ricky Rahne | 2011 | Vanderbilt Quarterbacks Coach | Old Dominion Head Coach |
| Sean Spencer | 2011 | Vanderbilt Defensive Line Coach | Texas A&M Defensive Line Coach |
| Wesley McGriff | 2011 | Vanderbilt Cornerbacks Coach | Auburn Cornerbacks Coach |
| George Barlow | 2012 | Vanderbilt Defensive Backs Coach | University of Louisiana at Layfette Cornerbacks Coach |
| Josh Gattis | 2012 | Vanderbilt Wide Receiver Coach | Syracuse Offensive Analyst |
| Terry Smith | 2014 | Penn State Cornerbacks Coach | Penn State Cornerbacks Coach |
| Matt Limegrover | 2015 | Penn State Offensive Line Coach | Former Kent State Offensive Line Coach |
| Tim Banks | 2016 | Penn State Safeties Coach | Tennessee Defensive Coordinator |
| David Corley | 2018 | Penn State Wide Receiver Coach | Unclear** |
| Ja'Juan Seider | 2018 | Penn State Running Backs Coach | Notre Dame Running Backs Coach |
| Gerad Parker | 2019 | Penn State Wide Receiver Coach | Troy Head Coach |
| John Scott Jr. | 2020 | Penn State Defensive Line Coach | Unclear* |
| Phil Trautwein | 2020 | Penn State Offensive Line Coach | Penn State Offensive Line Coach |
| Taylor Stubblefield | 2020 | Penn State Wide Receiver Coach | Air Force Wide Receiver Coach |
| Anthony Poindexter | 2021 | Penn State Safeties Coach | Penn State Safeties Coach |
| Ty Howle | 2021 | Penn State Tight Ends Coach | Penn State Tight Ends Coach |
| Marques Hagans | 2023 | Penn State Wide Receiver Coach | Penn State Wide Receiver Coach |
| Stan Drayton | 2025 | Penn State Running Back Coach | Penn State Running Back Coach |
*Fired from Detroit Lions after 2023 season
**Most Recently With Assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Franklin’s Initial Coaching Staff
It’s important to talk about Franklin’s initial coaching staff because it’s largely reflected above. Of his initial staff, Brent Pry, Herb Hand, Ricky Rahne, Sean Spencer, Bob Shoop and John Donovan followed him to Penn State. Additionally, key off-the-field staff Andy Frank, Chuck Losey, Dwight Galt III, Dwight Galt IV, Kevin Threlkel and Michael Hazel joined Franklin in Happy Valley. None of the coaches remain a part of Franklin’s staff but several of those off-the-field staff members are still around.
Brent Pry
My fellow Altoid, Brent Pry lasted the longest of the coaches out of that bunch and I think has a big influence on why Franklin hired Manny Diaz and Tom Allen. Pry was very much Franklin’s right-hand man, at least on the field, and one of the biggest contributors to Franklin’s success. Pry and Franklin’s relationship goes back to Franklin’s playing days in East Stroudsburg, where Pry’s father Jim was the Warriors offensive coordinator. Brent was the team’s linebacker coach. The younger Pry rejoined Franklin at Vanderbilt in 2011, followed him to Penn State, became defensive coordinator in 2016 and then took the Virginia Tech head coaching job in 2022.
Pry’s coaching staff is also littered with former Nittany Lion coaches and players.
Herb Hand
I believe he is the only coach to appear on Chopped that’s worked for Franklin.
Ricky Rahne
Another eventual head coach, Ricky Rahne, is a bit interesting to me. He was Penn State’s quarterback coach from 2014-15 before being moved to tight end coach during the Joe Moorhead OC era. He was then the offensive coordinator after Moorhead. Was his success that lead him to the head coaching job at Old Dominion based on what Moorhead built? I don’t know but it certainly didn’t hurt they both had Saquon Barkley as their running back.
Rahne’s initial connection to Franklin is from Franklin’s days at Kansas State where Franklin was OC and Rahne was a GA. Rahne’s unique tree crosses pass with Bill Snyder and Jim Knowles as well.
Josh Gattis
Gattis followed Franklin from Vandy to Happy Valley where he was the wide receiver coach, maybe Franklin’s best, until 2017. However, seeking greener pastures, he joined Mike Locksley, also a descendant of the Ralph Friedgen coaching tree like Franklin, at Alabama in 2018, went to Michigan in 2019, Miami in 2022 and is back in Maryland as their OC under Locksley.
Terry Smith
Terry Smith was Franklin’s first Penn State-produced hire. Smith played wide receiver in Happy Valley from 1987 to 1991 before playing professionally in the NFL, CFL (including the Shreveport Pirates) and AF2 (the minor leagues to the Arena Football League). Since 2014, he’s been Penn State’s connection into Western PA, where he was once a head coach at Gateway High School. He’s also Justin King’s step-dad, which I learned while researching all of this.
Anyways, Smith is the longest current tenured coach working for Franklin and probably doesn’t get enough credit for how valuable he is. Penn State’s secondary is now arguably its best asset on defense and Smith is arguably Franklin’s best recruiting asset in the western half of the state.
Ja’Juan Seider
Seider helped develop Penn State’s running back room into one of the best in the country. While rumored for various head coaching jobs, Seider left Penn State after the 2024 season to coach the running backs at Notre Dame.
Gerad Parker
While one of Franklin’s wide receiver coaches, in a relatively revolving position since Gattis left, Parker is now the head coach at Troy. He is probably the least substantially impacted branch for the Franklin-hired-to-head-coach tree by Franklin but still worthy of noting.
Marques Hagans
The latest Defense Against the Dar… sorry, I mean wide receiver coach at Penn State.
Stan Drayton
Drayton was hired to replace Seider after his departure as a running back coach. Drayton was the former head coach at Temple from 2022-24. He is presently the only coaching staff member with FBS head coaching experience of Franklin’s core assistants. Drayton was the running back coach at Florida during its 2006 national championship — a team that included Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein (then just an offensive lineman).
Graduate Assistants
| Name | First Year | Hired Role |
|---|---|---|
| Derham Cato | 2011 | University of Missouri Tight Ends Coach |
| Joey Orck | 2011 | Analyst at UVA |
| Chandler Henley | 2012 | Miami Dolphins Assistant Quarterback Coach |
| Lamar Morgan | 2012 | Michigan Defensive Backs Coach |
| Ryan Anderson | 2013 | Unclear* |
| Bobby Snopek | 2014 | Lawyer |
| Steve Williams | 2014 | Harvard Special Team Coordinator |
| Tyler Bowen | 2014 | Ohio State Offensive Line Coach |
| Will Windham | 2014 | South Alabama Defensive Coordinator |
| Andrew Jackson | 2015 | Penn State Defensive Analyst |
| Joe Brady | 2015 | Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator |
| Ryan Smith | 2015 | Arizona Cardinals Cornerbacks Coach |
| Tommy Galt | 2015 | Works in Sales |
| Mark Dupuis | 2017 | Penn State Offensive Analyst |
| Sean Cascarano | 2017 | Unclear** |
| Kevin Smith | 2017 | Old Dominion Special Teams Coordinator |
| Matt Fleischacker | 2017 | Boise State Assistant Linebacker Coach |
| V'Angelo Bentley | 2019 | Duke Cornerback Coach |
| Kevin Reihner | 2019 | Troy Tight Ends Coach |
| Jeff Carpenter | 2020 | Los Angeles Chargers Wide Receiver Coach |
| David Parker | 2021 | Penn State Analyst |
| Bryce Jones | 2022 | Northern Iowa Cornerbacks Coach |
| Dwayne Scott | 2022 | Assistant Coach at Salve Regina University |
| Kevin Ceh | 2023 | GA at Penn State |
| Jordan Lucas | 2024 | GA at Penn State |
*Last with New York Giants
**Last at Cornell
Bobby Snopek
Bobby Snopek is one of a few who no longer appear to be in football and is now interestingly a lawyer. You can check out his lawyer page here.
Tyler Bowen
Tyler Bowen is all over the Franklin coaching tree. He first shows up as a student assistant in Maryland back in 2010. Then he joined Penn State’s staff as a GA in 2014. That’s how he gets on this list before spending time with Joe Moorhead at Fordham. He later came back to Penn State as the tight ends coach before going to the Jacksonville Jaguars under former-rumored Boalsburg house-owner Urban Meyer in 2021. From there, he joined Brent Pry at Virginia Tech in 2022 and was the offensive coordinator ever until he left after the 2025 season to become Ohio State’s offensive line coach.
Andrew Jackson
The first of two coaches to share names with famous early American politicians. He returned to Penn State to be a defensive line analyst after the 2024 season where he was West Virginia’s defensive line coach.
Joe Brady
Everyone’s favorite “Penn State should hire him for OC” is now the offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills after helping LSU win a national title in 2019.
Mark Dupuis
Mark Dupuis has bounced around Franklin’s tree, first appearing as a GA then joining Ricky Rahne at Old Dominion. He’s returned to Penn State as an offensive analyst.
Kevin Smith
He’s currently Old Dominion’s special team’s coordinator under Rahne.
V’Angelo Bentley
He works as Duke’s cornerback coach under Manny Diaz.
Kevin Reihner
He currently works for Gerad Parker as Troy’s tight end coach. He appears to be the only common connection on that staff — beside Parker of course — to Franklin.
Jordan Lucas
He gave us arguably the greatest quote in American football history.
Players
| Name | First Year | Hired Role | First School | Current Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny O'Brien | 2009 | 2021 | at Penn State | Penn State Quarterbacks Coach |
| Chris Marve | 2010 | 2019 | at Mississippi State | Former Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator |
| Billy Fessler | 2014 | 2020 | at Mississippi State | Ohio State Quarterback Coach |
| Deion Barnes | 2014 | 2020 | at Penn State | Penn State Defensive Line Coach |
| Matt Zanellato | 2014 | 2016 | at Davenport University | Merrimack Wide Receivers Coach |
| Nyeem Wartman-White | 2014 | 2019 | at Mississippi State | UMass Defensive Line Coach |
| Torrence Brown | 2014 | 2024 | at Penn State | Penn State Defensive Analyst |
| Wendy Laurent | 2014 | 2021 | at Penn State | Ohio State Offensive Analyst |
| Jan Johnson Jr. | 2016 | 2023 | at Virginia Tech | Virginia Tech Analyst |
| Michael Shuster | 2016 | 2021 | at Old Dominion | Akron Quarterback Coach |
| Trace McSorley | 2025 | 2025 | at Penn State | Penn State Assistant QB Coach |
| Tank Smith | 2025 | 2025 | at Robert Morris | Robert Morris Assistant RB Coach |
First Year Player refers to the person’s first year playing under Franklin while first year coaching reflects the first time he worked for either Franklin or a former Franklin hire turned head coach.
Danny O’Brien
Remember way back in the intro (or if you don’t you can go back to the top and read it) when I mentioned a player that predates the Franklin Vandy Era. This is him. Of course, he was famously almost a Penn State player too but O’Brien played for Maryland while Franklin was there in his second stint. From there, O’Brien has worked his way through college and Canadian football playing days, then an analyst role at Penn State in 2021. He was a GA in 2023 and will be the quarterback coach in 2024. O’Brien is the fastest star currently growing in the tree and will play a big role in the success of Drew Allar in 2024. I highly recommend Ben Jones’ feature on O’Brien.
Deion Barnes
Deion Barnes is always my answer for “which football player did you have a class with?” Barnes is also the first Franklin-coached player at Penn State to be a coach under Franklin.
Matt Zanellato
He is one of a few Penn Staters to play under Joe Paterno, Bill O’Brien and James Franklin. He’s also the only player on this list that played for Franklin that has never worked under Franklin or any of his assistants. Zanellato is currently the wide receiver coach at Merrimack. I believe he’s also the first former Franklin Penn State player to coach against Franklin when Zanellato was an assistant at UMass.
Michael Shuster
The former quarterback has spent time with several of Franklin-hired-head coaches and will now take on the quarterback coaching role at Akron under Joe Moorhead. At Akron, he was also joined by former Penn State linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White, who was the Zips defensive line coach.
Billy Fessler
Also a former quarterback under Franklin, Fessler was initially hired as UCLA’s quarterback coach but quickly left after a shake-up before the 2024 season even started. He then joined Ohio State’s staff in 2024 as an analyst before getting promoted to the Buckeyes’ quarterback coach role in 2025.
Chris Marve
Chris Marve didn’t play at Penn State but he’s on this list because he was a player at Vanderbilt under Franklin. He worked with Joe Moorhead in Mississippi State and was working under Brent Pry as Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator. He is no longer at VT though.
Trace McSorley
First, listen to this song and that will get you mostly caught up to speed on how James Franklin and Trace McSorley met. After bouncing around the NFL a bit as a backup, McSorley rejoined Franklin as announced by Pat Kraft at THON 2025. McSorley is at least the fourth QB under Franklin to become a coach.
Various
| Name | First Year | Hired Role | Current Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Frank | 2011 | Off-Field Support | Penn State's General Manager of Personnel and Recruitment |
| Barry Brown | 2011 | Strength Coach | Unclear |
| Charles Huff | 2011 | Quality Control Coach | Southern Miss Head Coach |
| Chuck Losey | 2011 | Strength Coach | Penn State's Assistant AD for Athletic Performance |
| Dwight Galt III | 2011 | Strength Coach | Retired |
| Kevin Threlkel | 2011 | Off-Field Support | Penn State's Chief of Staff |
| Michael Hazel | 2011 | Off-Field Support | Virginia Tech's Chief of Staff |
| Robert Livingston | 2011 | Quality Control Coach | Colorado Defensive Coordinator |
| Charles Walker | 2012 | Quality Control Coach | Penn State Assistant Running Back Coach |
| Sam Williams | 2012 | Quality Control Coach | Unclear |
| Barry Gant | 2013 | Strength Coach | Alcorn State's Director of Sports Performance |
| Dwight Galt IV | 2014 | Strength Coach | Virginia Tech Strength Coach |
| Kirk Campbell | 2017 | Analyst | Los Angeles Chargers Offensive Analyst |
| Gabe Infante | 2022 | Analyst | Duke Special Teams Coordinator |
| Dan Connor | 2022 | Analyst | Penn State Linebackers Coach |
| Keith Bruno | 2024 | Analyst | Former Penn State Assistant Special Teams Coordinator |
| Greg Gattuso | 2025 | Analyst | Penn State Defensive Analyst |
| Shane Eachus | 2025 | Analyst | Penn State Defensive Analyst & Analytics Coordinator |
| Frank Leonard | 2022 | Analyst | Retired |
| Bill Queisert | 2023 | Analyst | Penn State Assistant Offensive Line Coach |
| David Rocco | 2022 | Analyst | Penn State Assistant Tight Ends Coach |
| Eric Sachse | 2023 | Analyst | Penn State Assistant Specialists Coach |
| James Urban | 2024 | Analyst | Penn State Senior Offensive Analyst |
| Brent Zdebski | 2025 | Analyst | Penn State Defensive Analyst |
Analysts
Here’s where things get a little screwy. At the start of the 2024 season, the NCAA changed the rules to essentially allow you to have as many coaches on staff as you can employ. Before you had to call them “analysts” and they weren’t allowed in certain areas at certain times (mainly rules around practice.)
But ahead of the 2025 season, Penn State changed a bunch of those titles to “Assistant” position coaches.
Charles Huff
Huff started out under James Franklin as a quality control coach in 2011 at Vanderbilt and has worked his way up the coaching ladder to of course become the head coach at Marshall. Huff spent time at Penn State as a running back’s coach until he went to Alabama for a similar role. He’s essentially grown the most on this tree but also did some of it on his own. After the 2024 season, Marshall did not renew his contract (a bit controversial as most players then left, upset with the decision, resulting in the Thundering Herd pulling out of its bowl game. Now Huff is the head coach at Southern Miss. .
Andy Frank & Kevin Threlkel
You probably have seen both of them but just don’t realize it. Both Frank and Threlkel are major players behind-the-scenes at Penn State and have been with Franklin since he began coaching at Vanderbilt. Frank is essentially Penn State’s general manager while Threlkel is Penn State’s chief of staff. While they’re not traditional coaches, they’re massively important figures and now two of Franklin’s longest confidants.
Michael Hazel
Similarly to Frank and Threlkel, Hazel makes this list because he was a major behind-the-scenes person on Franklin’s staff. Where he differs is that he followed Brent Pry to Blacksburg where Hazel is still a major factor behind-the-scenes.
The Galts
Dwight the third and Dwight the fourth, plus Tommy have all spent time in various roles, particularly on the strength and conditioning side. Dwight the third retired, while Dwight the fourth has worked for Pry at Virginia Tech and Ricky Rahne at Old Dominion. The Galt III is also a big reason in helping current Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey grow his career. No word on what makes Losey’s mustache grow though.
Gabe Infante
He started out as an analyst under Franklin after spending time at St. Joseph’s Prep in the Philadelphia area and then working in Temple’s recruiting department. He is now at Duke under Manny Diaz as the special teams coordinator.
Kirk Campbell
Campbell was hired by Franklin in 2017 as an offensive analyst but later left to join Jim Harbaugh’s staff in Michigan. He worked his way there from analyst to quarterbacks coach and will now act as the offensive coordinator under Sherrone Moore in Ann Arbor, starting in 2024.
Robert Livingston
Livingston and Franklin first crossed paths when the former was a Vanderbilt quality control coach. He left for the NFL, working his way through the ranks in Cincinnati where he ultimately became a secondary coach. Ahead of the 2024 season though, he will join Deion Sanders as Colorado’s defensive coordinator. He’s also the second person on this list to share a name with an early American politician.
Dan Connor
One of the great linebackers in Penn State history (certainly in my lifetime) joined the staff as an analyst in 2022. He was elevated to a more on-the-field role in the 2024 season as he was the one relaying plays into Kobe King (wearing a headset) in part because Tom Allen would lose his voice during games. In 2025, Penn State gave him the linebacker coach title.
Greg Gattuso
Greg Gattuso, a member of Penn State’s 1982 national championship team, returned to his alma mater ahead of the 2025 season after leaving Albany’s head coach role. Gattuso, who was the head coach for the Great Danes from 2014 to 2024 and Duquesne from 1993 to 20024, was 54-69 as a head coach. His press conference leaving Albany featured an emotional moment describing what it meant to return to Penn State.
Shane Eachus and Brent Zdebski
Shane Eachus worked with Jim Knowles at Oklahoma State while Brent Zdebski worked at Ohio State with Knowles.
Bill Queisert
Bill Queisert worked at Kansas with Andy Kotelnicki
Frank Leonard
It’s been well reported (in particular by StateCollege.com’s Mike Poorman) that Frank Leonard is one of James Franklin’s most trusted assistants. Leonard and Franklin worked together at Kansas State, and Leonard worked with Phil Trautwein at Boston College. However, just at the start of the 2025 spring camp, Leonard left the program.
Hired By Assistants
All names below are reflected in the charts above.
Manny Diaz
- Gabe Infante
- V’Angelo Bentley
Charles Huff
- Bob Shoop
- Torrence Brown
Joe Moorhead – Mississippi State
- Andrew Jackson
- Billy Fessler
- Bob Shoop
- Charles Huff
- Nyeem Wartman-White
Joe Moorhead – Akron
- Billy Fessler
- Michael Shuster
- Nyeem Wartman-White
Gerad Parker
- Kevin Reihner
Brent Pry
- Chris Marve
- Dwight Galt IV
- Jan Johnson Jr.
- Jeff Carpenter
- Michael Hazel
- Tyler Bowen
Ricky Rahne
- Andrew Jackson
- Dwight Galt IV
- Kevin Smith
- Kirk Campbell
- Mark Dupuis
- Michael Shuster
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