In the early stages of Penn State’s coaching search, the sense is the Nittany Lions could take a “big swing,” On3’s Pete Nakos reported. With that in mind, FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt called on AD Pat Kraft to swing for the fences.

Klatt told Colin Cowherd he would make Nick Saban the first call if he was in Kraft’s shoes. The legendary coach is now in his second year on ESPN College GameDay after retiring from Alabama ahead of the 2024 campaign, and he won an Emmy for his performance last year.

Klatt also mentioned names such as Dan Lanning at Oregon and Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame as coaches who should get calls. But he argued the list should start with Saban to make sure he’s not an opion.

“I think that Pat Kraft, the athletic director at Penn State, is going to take a big swing,” Klatt said on The Herd. “I don’t think that anybody is off of his list, to be honest with you. If I was Pat Kraft, I would start with the biggest swing possible. I know this sounds crazy, but I think the first call I would make is Nick Saban and just make sure that that’s not going to happen.

“And then you start going down the list of the other coaches around the country. I think Dan Lanning will get a call, I think Marcus Freeman would get a call.”

On3 previously reported Freeman as a name Penn State could target as it gets its list of potential candidates together. But Klatt also wondered not only if Freeman would leave Notre Dame after leading the program to a national championship game appearance, but also if Penn State is a better job. Regardless, he called it potentially the best job to open this cycle.

“Would Freeman leave Notre Dame? I’m not sure,” Klatt said. “He just went to the national championship. I’m sure he feels like he can build something special. Is Penn State a better job than Notre Dame? I don’t think it is, personally. But that is a call I would make, if I was Pat Kraft because again, this is a good job. I don’t know if it is a great job in college football. But in this cycle, it’s probably going to be the best job available.

“Even if Florida were to come open – if they make a move off of Billy Napier – even if Florida State went south and Mike Norvell was let go at Florida State, whatever happens at Wisconsin. Even if Brian Kelly were to somehow take a nosedive at LSU beginning, let’s say, this week. I’m not sure that any of those jobs – maybe LSU is – but Penn State is set up perfectly. You brought up the investment into the stadium, $700 million into the stadium. They’re willing to pay the money to James Franklin to buy him out. They’ve got support and they’ve got an athletic director that’s willing to win. I think Curt Cignetti should probably get a call.”

Joel Klatt: ‘I would be swinging for the fences’

As he evaluated Penn State’s next steps, Joel Klatt drew comparisons to a coaching search in Athens in 2015. Georgia opted to move on from Mark Richt and brought in Kirby Smart, who was serving as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama.

Richt had a 145-51 record at UGA before his dismissal. But Georgia thought it could take a leap with a change, and it did, winning two national titles under Smart. Klatt wondered if Penn State could set its self up in a similar fashion.

“I would be swinging for the fences if I was Pat Kraft because here’s the thing,” Klatt said. “This reminds me a lot – maybe not quite to the tier of Georgia, but Mark Richt at Georgia seemed to have a ceiling on that program and they felt like they could go higher. They bring in Kirby Smart and they did go higher. Maybe that’s the moment that we’re in for Penn State right now, where the next guy is going to lift the ceiling of this program and they can actually go out there and win some of these Top-25, Top-10 game that James Franklin has fallen short in.”