Florida and LSU have dominated the headlines with their tug of war for Lane Kiffin. In contrast, Penn State has fallen behind in the race to secure an elite replacement for James Franklin. After being connected with every big name in the market, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer’s name dominated the narratives last week. But recent developments suggest even the hiring process has taken a turn for the worse. This leaves them with only a handful of second-tier coaches to choose from.

The final blow in their pursuit of the Alabama HC was delivered by one of their own. PSU alum and analyst Langdon Tengwall replied, “DeBoer ain’t happening” on a thread about the vacancy in Happy Valley. A simple message that broke the hearts of thousands of PSU supporters. It all started when Jon Sauber of Centre Daily News talked about the possibility on The Game with Ryan Fowler.

“He’s been one of Penn State’s top targets from the beginning,” he said. “The loss to Oklahoma nudged the door open a little bit. I still think Alabama would have to miss the playoffs to make this a real possibility. Which, obviously, would include a loss to Auburn to end the year… He’s been the top target since early on,” he said. While the report stirred hope among the Nittany Lions faithful, it also stated the difficulty in landing him. Alabama was very much alive in the playoff race and even more so now after the dominating 56-0 win over Eastern Illinois.

However, it could all change in less than a week. If we go back to the start of the 2025 season, Bama fans were frustrated with their head coach after the Florida State loss, and some even talked about his firing. But the Tide went on a run, and it all cooled down. The Oklahoma loss didn’t lead to the same chatter, but a loss in the Iron Bowl against Auburn will raise the decibel level over his job. That would mean another 9-3 finish, with the team missing the playoffs. It won’t be acceptable to the board and the fans.

But will they really lose to Auburn? Stranger things have happened this season. For now, it looks like Terry Smith is leading for a permanent gig. Penn State looked like a team on a mission in their 37-10 victory over Nebraska. With a 2-3 record, he has staked a claim to the empty throne in the backroom of Happy Valley. However, some doubts remain over the long-term viability of the same. But amidst all the chaos and coaching upheaval, Ethan Grunkemeyer has emerged as an unlikely hero in the Nittany Lions locker room.

Terry Smith opens up on Ethan Grunkemeyer’s growth

Ethan Grunkemeyer has grown into a leader and nucleus of Terry Smith’s rebuild in the absence of Drew Allar. He has been very good, compiling 870 yards with a 67.5% completion rate, resulting in 5 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. His big moment arrived against Indiana when he completed 22 of 31 passes for 219 yards and 1 touchdown while almost leading PSU to a major upset. These performances have impressed Terry Smith, earning him praise from the interim coach.

“I thought he played outstanding on Saturday. When you talk about 11 for 12, you say, ‘Well, 12 pass attempts isn’t a lot.’ But when you look at how the game played out, we completely dominated the line of scrimmage and ran for over 200 yards with the running backs. And then when we did throw the ball, it was downfield, it’s 11 for 12 for 181 yards. Whatever that calculation is per play was bigger than it’s been all year. He threw a touchdown. I thought he played outstanding,” he said.

The praise comes after a dominating performance against Nebraska. Grunkemeyer went berserk as he ended up with a 91.7% completion rate. He missed just one pass and had a QBR of 97.5%. For a freshman, these are elite numbers, especially after he was thrust into the responsibility unexpectedly.