PSU graduate Spice Adams backs head coaching candidate Terry Smith
Spice Adams explains why hiring Terry Smith as the Nittany Lions’ new head coach is the right choice for Penn State.
Just when you thought Penn State’s coaching search couldn’t take any more twists and turns, he was stomped on by the Crumble Cookie Man and accused of calling people at Oregon State “freaks.”
Penn State has been without a permanent head coach since firing James Franklin on October 12th. This is the biggest task left in the whirlwind coaching merry-go-round. Penn State has relationships with a number of coaches, many of whom signed new contracts to stay. With two players in the 2026 recruiting class, Happy Valley’s problems are getting worse.
On Thursday night, audio of a meeting between Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft and Nittany Lions players was leaked on “Dead Air Sports.” The video with audio recording was compiled from longer conversations.
USA TODAY Network reached out to Penn State for comment on the recording, which touched on the coaching search, how the NIL is distributed, recruiting to State College’s “out there” and matchups with Big Ten rivals Michigan and Oregon. Pennsylvania officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I want everyone to know this: If I don’t get this right, my career is over,” the person who led the alleged meeting said in the recording. “Understand that. If I don’t hire the right person, my career is over. So this is very serious to me… If I don’t hire the right person, within two years they’re going to fire my ass. And I’m not going to get the next AD job. ‘How can I (expletive) elevate Penn State?'”
Other highlights from the leaked audio include::
∎ “What happens here at Penn State over and over again is they settle for (expletive) the next best thing. That’s why we took action.”
∎ “I think Oregon State is a fraud. I don’t think they’re tough. That’s our strength, our toughness.”
∎ Player: “Honestly, I think the biggest reason players don’t want to come here is that it’s in the middle of nowhere.”
Leader: “Oh, that’s right. Our fans, our people don’t understand. It’s a challenge. ‘What am I going to do (expletive)?’ “Oregon? Have you ever been to Oregon? There’s no (expletive) going on, there’s a bunch of (expletive) weirdos.”
∎ “Ohio State is Ohio State. But (expletive) A, they’re not light years ahead of us in terms of talent. They can’t get over the (expletive) hump! Michigan stinks (expletive). (expletive) joke. They fooled the ball. What they did was so real. Oregon State? Their (expletive) The quarterback was shaking in overtime. But we have to win those” (expletive) games. ”
∎ “Can we talk about the NIL? This is one of the highest-paid rosters in the country. With the money that’s being spent right now… Texas Tech is $40 million because billionaires are just dropping money on them. It’s crazy. (Expletive) Ridiculous. This roster that’s on the field right now is probably top-four. How the money is spent is another story. But the program’s money… That’s the strategy behind it.”
