5 more coaches about to get an extension out of Penn State's desperation

When news broke that Penn State had parted ways with James Franklin after three humiliating losses in a row, a slight tremor could be felt around the country as every sports agent collectively took out their phones and began dialing. Only one coach will be chosen to be the next leader of the Nittany Lions football program. But many, many others will be getting richer all the same, as the specter of being poached by Penn State becomes leverage to squeeze a few more millions out of their current school in the name of job security.

We saw a textbook example of this phenomenon a couple of years ago, when Nick Saban's retirement threw the college football world off its axis — and triggered massive paydays for Dan Lanning, Mike Norvell and more potential candidates. Now the cycle has begun anew: On Thursday, Indiana announced that it had agreed to an extension with Curt Cignetti that will up his annual compensation north of $11 million.

The timing here certainly isn't a coincidence, coming just days after Franklin's firing and the Hoosiers' huge win at Oregon. And while Cignetti is the first, he certainly won't be the last: Plenty of other coaches whose names have been tossed into the Penn State rumor mill are about to get paid with a capital P.

Matt Rhule, Nebraska

Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. With Cignetti off the board, Rhule has to become No. 1 with a bullet on Penn State's board: He played for the Nittany Lions in the 1980s, he has a relationship with AD Pat Kraft dating back to his time at Temple and his resume at the college level is pretty air-tight. In a landscape without any obvious, slam-dunk candidates for a program like Penn State, he checks a whole lot of boxes — and that should have the Huskers awfully nervous.

Rhule's contract isn't light by any measure, but it is still outside the top 10 in the country at around $9 million per year. He finally got Nebraska back to a bowl game last season, and he has the Huskers off to a 5-1 start this year. No, they're not national contenders yet, but it's only year three, and the progress has been obvious. This is the most momentum Nebraska has had in quite some time, and they'll be loath to squander it now. The athletic department has been facing some fiscal concerns, but then again, so is everybody; this is the price of getting where the Huskers want to go.

Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

Culturally, the idea of Kiffin in Happy Valley is hard to imagine. Then again, you could certainly argue that Penn State is at least as good if not the better job than Ole Miss, with more money behind it to help offset the downgrade in recruiting territory. He wouldn't be in my top five of likeliest candidates to actually take the gig, but that doesn't matter: All Kiffin needs is the whiff of suspicion to exert his leverage and extract even more money out of his current school.

The Rebels cannot afford to lose Kiffin, especially not right now; we've seen the floor at this program, and Kiffin has done the work to position it near the top of the SEC entering the revenue-sharing era. Snicker at the idea of Kiffin up north all you want, but his resume speaks for itself, and Ole Miss needs to make him a top-10 or top-five coach in the sport in terms of salary sooner rather than later. If not, it's only a matter of time before his flirtations with leaving finally become reality.

Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

Could the same lightning strike twice? Like Franklin, Lea has resuscitated a previously moribund Vanderbilt program and brought it to national prominence. Sure, he's only 44, and he has exactly one winning season in four full years in Nashville. Then again ... I mean, it's Vanderbilt, and after beating Alabama last season Lea has the Commodores in the top 20 after a 5-1 start this year.

That's enough to make him a hot commodity, especially in this market. Add in the fact that Vanderbilt last gave Lea a new deal in the summer of 2023, on the heels of a five-win campaign, and he's undoubtedly due for a refresh even if a job like Penn State hadn't opened up. Lea is a Vandy alum, but loyalty only goes so far in this business; his success at one of the hardest Power 5 jobs in the country has him on everyone's radar, and if the Commodores don't pay up, they'll be bidding him farewell soon enough.

Manny Diaz, Duke

Diaz did great work as defensive coordinator at Penn State in 2022 and 2023, parlaying that gig into the Miami job ... for a matter of weeks, until the Hurricanes dumped him for Mario Cristobal. Miami's betrayal was Duke's gain, as the Blue Devils have thrived ever since Diaz arrived in Durham. After a nine-win debut in 2024, Duke is now 4-2 with one of the more dynamic offenses in the country behind transfer quarterback Darian Mensah. Exciting things are happening, and there's more money swirling around this program than we've ever seen.

Some of that money is going to have to go towards making sure Diaz feels sufficiently valued. His reputation as a defensive mind is as good as anyone's, and his work at Duke has proven that he knows how to build a program too. Yes, Mike Elko did great work to lay the foundation, but this wasn't simply a matter of winning with someone else's players; Diaz has done a great job continuing to improve this roster and show that he's fit for the NIL era. His previous ties to Penn State should simply serve to expedite the process of keeping him around.

Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri

Drinkwitz has been consistently linked to the Penn State job since Franklin's dismissal, and while he said a whole lot when asked about it at his Monday press conference, you'll notice that he never outright denied he'd be leaving Missouri.

And really, why would he? Setting aside the fact that he's developed a reputation for a wandering eye, Penn State is undoubtedly a notch above Mizzou in college football's pecking order. Even if he's not going to actually wind up with the job, Drink should at the very least play enough footsie to rewrite the contract extension he signed at the end of the 2023 season. Building a consistent winner at Missouri is no small thing, especially in the rugged SEC, and he's among the more established names on the market in terms of resume at the highest level.