UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- There are four members of the James Franklin coaching tree -- those who have gone on to become college head coaches -- and it's interesting to think about who could be the next member of that club.
Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider may or may not be No. 1 on the list right now, but at some point, he very well could be added. He is a fantastic recruiter and has built a strong reputation in the game as a leader.
Before we get to Seider's future, here's a look at the past, as in the four members of the Franklin coaching tree:
* Joe Moorhead: Akron (previously Mississippi State) -- Now, he already had been a head coach at FCS Fordham, but for this coaching tree, we're talking about FBS programs
* Ricky Rahne: Old Dominion
* Charles Huff: Marshall
* Brent Pry: Virginia Tech
When it comes to current Penn State assistants who would seem to have a good shot to become a head coach at some point, these two guys jump out:
* Anthony Poindexter: He nearly got the head coaching job this offseason at his alma mater, Virginia. He's still only 46 and is the Lions' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
* Mike Yurcich: The offensive coordinator's star was shining bright when he came to Penn State, but certainly dimmed with last year's dismal offensive showing. All it could take, though, is one huge season this year, and some program could decide to give Yurcich a shot.
Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith deserves great respect for the work he's done at Penn State, and it's easy to predict he would be a quality head coach somewhere. But Smith is 53, has never been a coordinator and seems content at Penn State, so it seems more likely that he'll stay around for a long time.
Which brings us to Seider.
He's entering his fifth season as the Lions' running backs coach, after previous stops at Florida, West Virginia and Marshall. He has done terrific work from a recruiting standpoint over the years. How good? He ranks No. 4 nationally among coaches for the 2023 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports, after finishing last year at No. 23. So, when everyone is talking about having two tremendous recruiting classes, Seider has been as big of a part of that as anyone on the staff.
How has recruiting changed, in his opinion, during the era of NIL and the transfer portal?
"To me, if you change who you are, and you get away from the core of who you are where people trust you, then you got no chance," he said. "You got to get in the door because, even if the NIL becomes a big deal, and say at Penn State we offer $2 million to a running back, Ohio State offers $2 million to a running back, we've still got to get in that conversation for that kid to pick. He becomes a free agent at that point.
"Your relationships gotta matter. The people that surround that kid gotta matter, because everybody's not in it for the money. They still want a degree, and they want to take the 40-year plan.
"So, you can't lose who you are. Your identity is who you are, what got you to this point. I've been a great recruiter because I outwork people. I build a relationship. There's a trust factor with me. I got a ton of guys I coach. I'm a coach's kid from Florida, I've been in different places where I got a lot of relationships, and you just dive into that."
Seider also has done a good job of coaching the running backs once they got on campus. OK, OK, I know what you're thinking: Penn State's running game was lousy last year and mediocre in 2020, so why should we hold Seider in high regard?
Because, hey, it's not this guy's fault that the offensive line was terrible last season, crushing the ground game. And it's not this guy's fault that Journey Brown had to medically retire before the 2020 season. And it's not this guy's fault that Noah Cain got injured on the first series that year at Indiana.
"Unfortunately for us, we had to grow up fast (in 2020)," Seider said, "Nobody talks about how well we did a good job of getting freshmen ready to play (Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes). It's always like, what about this, what about who's the next Saquon Barkley? We were getting freshmen ready to play and not complain, not cry about it. Just get these guys ready to play. During COVID, get two young guys ready to play."
There have been a lot of growing pains on the Penn State offense in recent years with so much turnover and change of leadership, all of which has presented challenges.
"It's been four years in a row we had a new coordinator," Seider said.
With Yurcich back for a second year, everyone expects things to go much smoother. Seider broke it down this way:
"Mike now two years in a row, with two springs, with two summers, two fall camps, and us being able to speak the same language to better correct him when he's wrong and him better correct us when we're wrong, I think that goes a long way. And then you can tell good cohesiveness on the staff when, before he says something we can spit it out. When you can do that, it makes the whole offense go.
"So, I think just being on the same page (is big). A lot of guys haven't played uptempo offense like this and how you coach it with different tempo -- when to sub, when not to sub. Me and him kind of came from a similar background. I was at West Virginia, so I kind of knew a lot of stuff that he wanted to do. But again, that's a process for everybody to go through, even the head coach, because it's different than what he was accustomed to."
Seider's name initially was mentioned as a possibility for the Marshall head coaching job last year, which went to the former Penn State assistant Huff.
And because of his recruiting skills and reputation, Seider's name will come up for other potential jobs in the coming years, most likely first as an offensive coordinator, and then perhaps for head coaching positions.
He said any decision about taking another job would have to come down to several key factors.
"We got a very loyal staff, but you also have to be loyal to where you want to go in this profession," Seider said. "I think that's the thing that a lot of times are taken out of (context). And when the decision makes sense for you and your family.
"But being able to stay here along with James also tells you the type of man he is. He's a man with character, a man you want to play for, a man you want to coach for. He does it right. And I just think every everybody has their own factors when it makes sense, why they stay and why they leave."
Seider then was asked a good follow-up question about where exactly he is with regards to his career goals.
The coach provided a lot of perspective when giving his answer.
"It has to make sense for me," he said. "To me, it's places where I feel like I can grow, where it makes sense for me to uproot my family. I got a son on the team gonna be a senior, I got a daughter that's gonna be in high school as a senior. For me to take them out of environments that I don't think (is) the right situation, I won't do it. But if I think it was a situation that's going to help me get a next step to be able to get in, you'd be the head coach or call plays, then I'll do it.
"I'm not just gonna leave here for a lateral move that I don't think benefits me down the road. We've got a great situation. I got a head coach with stability, who got a 10-year contract. That's rare in college football. And as an assistant coach, the most important thing you have is stability. Do I always think I'm gonna be able to get another job? Yeah. I got a good reputation, I believe in myself. But I want it to make sense.
"You don't leave a place like Penn State just to go somewhere. We can win it all here. We've got the resource to win it all here. And with this new change in element (with NIL) -- and we pack 107,000 in here, so we make good money -- so at some point we can become a player in other aspects of it, too. So, it's just got to make sense. If it don't move me forward, I'm not going anywhere."
If he does ultimately become a head coach, how confident is Seider that he could do a good job?
"If you know me, and where I come from, and how I was raised, and how I was brought up in this game, and how I recruited, and how I motivate my guys' room, that speaks volumes itself," he replied. "I mean, you're talking about, what's a head coach's job? To galvanize a room, right? To get them to play above themself. Recruiting, right? To engage people to make them want to play for you. I already do that.
"So, when that opportunity comes, I'll be prepared. It's the reason why I stay with one of the best head coaches in college football (in Franklin) -- to learn those tools, so if I get that opportunity, I'm prepared for it. Who does it better than him? To me, that's why I'm here."