New Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will be with the program during the Nittany Lions’ preparation for the Peach Bow, but as expected, won’t have any hands-on aspects to his early tenure in State College.
“Andy will be here more just taking in everything and getting a feel for how we operate [and] the culture,” Penn State coach James Franklin said on Sunday. “[He’ll] be able to be here be around our players, be able to sit in all meetings, be able to see strengths and weaknesses so that literally the day the bowl game ends, he can jump in with both feet and get going.”
“Him developing relationships and him being able to get a feel for our players, our strengths, our weaknesses, getting a feel for our staff strengths and weaknesses, and for him to see how we operate, how we’re organized, what the culture is like and build as many relationships with the players as possible, including the quarterbacks, I think is really important,” Franklin added. “This is a valuable time. I thought it was really valuable for how we did it with Manny and allowed him and us to hit the ground running. And we’re gonna need to do that again.”
In turn Penn State will continue to lean on the tandem of co-offensive coordinators Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle who have worked collaboratively in the wake of now former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich’s firing following Penn State’s loss to Michigan. Franklin has opted to shield his assistants away for any added late season pressure or criticism and has not – to date – indicated which assistant is currently calling plays for Penn State’s offense. Seider has remained on the sidelines while Howle has remained in the booth like both parties have been all year.
Judging by the relative success Penn State has had under the tandem, who is calling what may not truly matter. In any case it looks to be the fourth bowl game under James Franklin that has featured an interim offensive coordinator(s).
Back to Kotelnicki, Franklin is looking for him to have full authority over the offense when his time finally comes. According to Franklin, whether or not he ends up being Penn State’s quarterback coach – a role that Yurcich had also titled – remains to be seen.
“I think Andy, like he did at Kansas, is really gonna approach this like the head coach of the offense,” Franklin said. “And he’s had experience really coaching almost every position on offense and coordinating from every position on offense. Which I think is also gonna allow him to float (over the next month), almost like an NFL coordinator in some ways.”
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