ALTOONA, Pa. -- James Franklin already lost one right-hand man when longtime friend and defensive coordinator Brent Pry left for Virginia Tech, and now another of Franklin's right-hand men is heading to the Hokies.
Michael Hazel, Penn State's senior director of football operations, will be leaving for a job on Pry's staff at Virginia Tech, according to college football insider Bruce Feldman.
SOURCE: Michael Hazel, Penn State’s Sr. Dir. of Football Ops, is leaving to be chief of staff for Brent Pry at Va. Tech. Hazel came to PSU fm Vandy w/ James Franklin & played a key role behind the scenes particularly in how PSU was able to keep putting together excellent staffs.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 3, 2022
Hazel's duties behind the scenes aren't necessarily well known by the public, but he has long been one of Franklin's most important staff members because of his administrative skills and acumen. He also has played a big role in Franklin's public persona, helping the coach schedule and prepare for appearances. Franklin said in the past that he and Hazel would go over press conferences to prepare for anything that might be asked.
Here's a look at some of Hazell's career, from his Penn State bio page:
- Michael Hazel is in his eighth year with the Nittany Lions and his third as the Senior Director of Football Operations.
- He spent the previous five years as the program’s Director of Football Operations.
- His primary responsibilities include overseeing football’s external operations, facilities and handling of Coach Franklin’s public appearances.
- Additionally, he serves as the program’s liaison to marketing, strategic communications and high school coaches.
- Hazel was named the 2020 FootballScoop Operations Director of the Year and was a finalist for the award in 2015 and 2016.
- Hazel also was a member of James Franklin’s staff at Vanderbilt University, serving as director of football operations for three years. Hazel was a member of the Vanderbilt football staff from 2004-14, serving four seasons as director of football operations, six as assistant director of football operations and one as a defensive graduate assistant.
SPECIAL TEAMS COACH ON MOVE?
News broke over the Outback Bowl weekend that special teams coordinator Joe Lorig could be leaving for a job at Oregon, according to public reports. It would be a return to his home region for Lorig.
Source confirms #Oregon likely to hire #PennState special teams coordinator Joe Lorig for a similar role. Lorig grew up in Washington, finished his college career at Western Oregon and started coaching career there. Would be a strong hire. @BruceFeldmanCFB first reported.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) December 30, 2021
Franklin was asked after the Outback Bowl about Lorig but did not want to discuss it at that point.
“Yeah, I’m not going to address that right now,” Franklin told reporters in Tampa on Saturday. “Obviously he’s been pursued. He is being pursued. I think you guys know that. That information has been out in the public. But we’ll see how that plays out. There’s a lot of things that factor into this, as you guys could imagine, some professional and some personal. But we’ll see how that goes."
If Lorig leaves, Franklin would have to replace a second coordinator in a matter of weeks. Pry's departure opened up the defensive coordinator job, and Franklin hired former Miami head coach Manny Diaz for that role.
