Terry Smith receiving head coaching interest, but not from Penn State?

Don’t look now, but one of the top coaching candidates for Penn State may be on the move. And this one would hurt a lot of members of the Penn State community.

Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith is reportedly receiving some interest to fill a head coaching vacancy, just not in Happy Valley. According to a report from Jordan Schultz, via X (formerly known as Twitter), is picking up interest from Memphis and UConn as both programs are looking to replace their head coaches who left for other opportunities.

Smith was named the interim head coach following Penn State’s dismissal of James Franklin in October. After losing his first three games, including a heartbreaker at home to Indiana, Smith rallied Penn State to win its final three games of the regular season to clinch bowl eligibility (Penn State will have its bowl destination confirmed this weekend). Smith has received a visible show of support from current and former Penn State players and a growing number of alumni and fans.

Still, Penn State continues to seemingly look in other directions for its next head coach, with the focus most recently shifting to Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, according to the latest headlines in the rumor mill.

Memphis is looking to replace Ryan Silverfield, who accepted an offer to become the head coach at Arkansas. UConn is in need of replacing Jim Mora Jr., who accepted an offer from Colorado State.

Sources: Penn State interim HC Terry Smith has received significant interest for the UConn and Memphis head coaching jobs.

Smith received a glowing endorsement from former Penn State star Micah Parsons today, who told reporters:

“If we have any common sense, if they ever want… pic.twitter.com/e8t8kXOCYd

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 4, 2025

We do not yet know what is going to happen with this coaching search next, but there is one thing that seems pretty certain. There is value in having Terry Smith on the staff in some capacity. Penn State is already facing a good amount of roster uncertainty once the transfer portal opens (we have to assume James Franklin is ready to open the doors to the Virginia Tech program for some current Nittany Lions after flipping half of Penn State’s Class of 2026), but having Smith around could help ease some of the potential issues with the management of the roster.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State interim coach Terry Smith being pursued by multiple schools