Penn State’s coaching staff was dealt a blow when wide receivers coach Noah Pauley departed for the Green Bay Packers, forcing an unexpected search for his replacement. While Matt Campbell hasn’t rushed in with a name yet, the buzz is that he’s circling a coach with ties to both Nick Saban and James Franklin.

On3 reported that Syracuse’s Josh Gattis and Bobby Engram of the Washington Commanders are two names firmly in the mix. While there’s no clear frontrunner, Gattis appears to have an edge, possibly due to his deep recruiting ties in the region and his extensive resume.

Gattis spent three seasons in State College from 2014 to 2017 under Franklin, coaching wide receivers and helping shape Penn State’s offense, including players like Chris Godwin and DaeSean Hamilton. He also landed guys like Jahan Dotson and KJ Hamler.

Gattis’s resume is impressive, having honed his craft under Nick Saban at Alabama before winning the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant at Michigan in 2021. His subsequent stops as an offensive coordinator at Miami and Maryland saw his units consistently perform, with nine of his players earning All-Big Ten honors during his time with the Terrapins.

And here’s what makes Gattis a little different. He was a former defensive back at Wake Forest and someone who once thought he’d become a defensive coordinator before falling in love with offense.

“My first dream was to be a very successful defensive coordinator,” he once admitted. “Little did I know I was going to fall in love with the offensive side of the ball.” He talks about understanding coverage technique, teaching receivers how to attack leverage, and, as always, details.

When he joined Syracuse Orange under Fran Brown, he said, “I’m grateful to be here… I’m privileged to be part of a staff with some outstanding coaches and learn a new offensive system.” Brown didn’t hold back either, saying, “He’s one of the brighter minds in college football.”

The real question is whether Campbell wants to bring back a former Franklin guy, especially since the search itself was forced upon the program.

Noah Pauley stunned PSU

At first, it felt almost unreal. Noah Pauley was only in Happy Valley for seven weeks before the Green Bay Packers called him. Then Penn State restarted its search. Pauley hadn’t even coached a game yet. On a random Wednesday, he just stood inside Beaver Stadium talking about development and why he followed Matt Campbell from Iowa State.

“You’ve gotta make sure you like those people that you’re in those rooms with,” he said, smiling. “Wake up and be excited to go to work with them every day.” And less than 24 hours later, he was gone. 

It stings because Pauley had developed three NFL receivers, including Christian Watson at North Dakota State, Jayden Higgins, and Jaylin Noel at Iowa State. The Packers took Watson in the second round in 2022, and he’s already piled up over 2,200 yards and 20 touchdowns. Higgins and Noel just wrapped their freshman seasons with the Houston Texans.

Penn State has been searching for consistency in its receiver room for years, and Pauley felt like a builder. “Staying true to who you are… what you believe in and what you think makes a good receiver,” he said when asked about sending guys to the league. 

Now the room he was piecing together belongs to someone else. Campbell admitted that the wide receiver had to be “reshaped,” that it needed to be brought “back to life.” That plan just hit an unexpected detour. Pauley will replace Ryan Mahaffey in Green Bay, stepping into the NFL again after a previous fellowship stint there.