Who is Terry Smith? Meet Penn State interim coach after James Franklin firing

College football ’s a bastion for chaos, the kind of enterprise where unexpected occurrences are routine.

Still, what happened on Sunday, Oct. 12 qualifies as a surprise.

Fewer than 24 hours after a home loss to lowly Northwestern, Penn State fired coach James Franklin , marking the abrupt end of a largely successful 12-year tenure at the school (and one that comes with a nearly $50 million buyout ).

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The move comes as the Nittany Lions have limped to a 3-3 record after rising as high as No. 2 in the US LBM Coaches Poll . In consecutive weeks, they’ve dropped games to UCLA and Northwestern teams that were previously among the worst squads in the Big Ten.

Franklin had his share of accomplishments at Penn State. He went 104-45 while leading the Nittany Lions to five New Year’s Six bowl appearances, a Big Ten championship and a run last season to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

They routinely struggled in their biggest games, though, going just 4-21 against top-10 opponents under Franklin. By the end of his tenure, the games that used to be gimmes suddenly became losses, leading to Penn State’s swift decision.

Franklin’s exit doesn’t mean the end of the Nittany Lions’ season, with at least six games remaining on their 2025 schedule.

For the rest of the way, they’ll be guided by someone who, for Penn State players, has been a familiar face during Franklin’s tenure. With his former boss now gone, Nittany Lions associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as Penn State’s interim head coach, tasked with leading the program as it tries to salvage a wildly disappointing season.

With the Nittany Lions set to kick off against Iowa in six days, here’s a closer look at Smith and his background:

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Who is Penn State interim coach Terry Smith?

Smith has been at Penn State since 2014, joining the Nittany Lions’ staff shortly after Franklin was hired away from Vanderbilt.

He has worn a variety of hats in that time. Throughout his tenure, he has been Penn State’s defensive recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Since 2021, he has also been the associate head coach.

In recent years, Smith has overseen one of the best cornerback rooms in both the Big Ten and nationally.

Despite breaking in new starting cornerbacks last season, the Nittany Lions finished fourth in the FBS in interceptions, seventh in total defense, eighth in scoring defense, 10th in takeaways and 13th in passes defended. His 2023 group of corners included three All-Big Ten honorees in Kalen King (second team), Johnny Dixon (third team) and Daequan Hardy (third team). In 2022, two of his cornerbacks, King and Joey Porter Jr. , were named All-Americans. Since 2015, seven Penn State cornerbacks have been selected in the NFL Draft, tied for the most nationally among FBS programs. In each of the past three years, the Nittany Lions have had multiple defense backs drafted.

He’s also been one of Penn State’s key recruiters during Franklin’s tenure, a time in which the program has regularly assembled talented rosters. In 2023, Smith was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 4 recruiter in the Big Ten. He has helped the Nittany Lions secure top-15 recruiting classes in nine of the past 11 years.

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Terry Smith coaching career

Prior to his arrival at Penn State, Smith was the wide receivers coach in 2013 at Temple under Matt Rhule, which marked his first foray coaching at the FBS level. Earlier in his career, Smith had been the passing coordinator from 1997-2000 at Duquesne, an FCS school in Pittsburgh.

Many of Smith’s formative years coaching occurred at the high school level in his native Western Pennsylvania. From 2002-12, he was the head coach at Gateway High School in suburban Pittsburgh, his alma mater. During that time, his teams went 101-30 and were the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League runners-up four times.

Here’s a stop-by-stop look at Smith’s coaching career:

• 2025: Penn State interim head coach

• 2021-25: Penn State associate head coach, defensive recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach

• 2016-20: Penn State assistant head coach, defensive recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach

• 2014-16: Penn State defensive recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach

• 2013: Temple wide receivers coach

• 2003-12: Gateway High School head coach and athletic director

• 2002: Gateway High School head coach

• 2001: Gateway High School offensive coordinator

• 1997-2000: Duquesne passing coordinator

• 1996: Hempfield High School assistant coach

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Terry Smith playing career

Smith’s Penn State connections go well beyond his time coaching there.

He was a three-year starter at wide receiver for the Nittany Lions under coach Joe Paterno. He pieced together one of the most productive careers for a wideout in program history , ranking 12th in career receiving touchdowns, 16th in career receiving yardage and 18th in career receptions.

While he was at Penn State, he helped the Nittany Lions earn wins in the 1989 Holiday Bowl and 1991 Fiesta Bowl.

His son, Justin King, also played at Penn State, where he was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2007 at cornerback before being selected by the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Penn State football interim head coach Terry Smith?