Where does Penn State go after firing offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich

The Mike Yurcich Era has ended with the Nittany Lion’s hopes of a Big Ten Championship and run at the College Football Playoffs in 2023.

After three years at Penn State, James Franklin fired Yurcich after the team came up short, 24-15, against Michigan on Saturday.

Franklin then faced the music as he met with the media for the first time on Monday afternoon after the news broke.

“We appreciate the contributions that Coach [Mike] Yurcich made here,” Franklin said. “We made a tough decision that we feel was in the best interest of the program moving forward.”

With the announcement of Yurcich’s dismissal from the program on Sunday, Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle will take over as interim coaches for the remainder of the season.

Seider has been with the program for six years, the longest span on the staff, where he has recruited and developed one of the team’s best positions on the field. Seider was also a quarterback in both college and the NFL.

Howle was a four-year letterman at Penn State on the offensive line from 2009-2013 before he got his first coordinator position at Western Illinois in 2016. In 2020, Howle made his way onto Franklin’s coaching staff, where he has remained as the Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends coach.

“I know what I’m going to get from them. I know how collaborative they’re going to be with our staff,” Franklin said about Seider and Howle. “I would say that my presence is similar to what it’s been in the past over my 13 years as a head coach.”

In his ninth year as the head coach of Penn State, Franklin is now on the hunt for his sixth offensive coordinator.

“I already have a list. It’s now narrowing it down, running all the numbers, seeing if people are interested,” Franklin said. “In a perfect world, I think you would like to have a situation like we did with Manny [Diaz], where we hired him, had him here for the bowl game.”

Of the previous five coordinators, three were let go from the coaching staff after failing to meet the Penn State standard.

“This is a place that’s got very, very high expectations and standards,” Franklin stated. “For us to go where we want to go…we need each one of those units producing on a very, very high level consistently.”

Franklin noted that Penn State’s 1-7 record against Michigan and Ohio State over the past four years was one of the reasons for Yurcich’s departure. The losses to their conference opponents over the past two years have hindered the Nittany Lions from reaching the greatness they strive for.

With a championship out of sight, Penn State will look to finish the regular season strong against Rutgers and Michigan State before it heads to a bowl game and into the offseason in search of answers across the team.

“Got to get the right people at Penn State that believe in Penn State, what we can do and where we can go,” Franklin said.

Micheal Bolger is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mpb6233@psu.edu.