Well, the pressing question everyone’s been asking since the news of John Donovan’s firing broke has finally been answered. Penn State named quarterbacks coach Ricky Rahne as the team’s interim offensive coordinator for the Taxslayer Bowl.

Though it comes as a bit of a surprise, the decision to tab Rahne as the interim offensive coordinator makes sense. Rahne’s been with James Franklin since 2011, serving as Vanderbilt’s quarterback coach before joining his staff in Happy Valley under the same role. He’s been imperative in helping Christian Hackenberg break numerous school records, and gets his chance to shine on the big stage during the Taxslayer Bowl. 

“At this point, Ricky Rahne is fulfilling the offensive coordinator responsibilities on our staff,” Franklin said during the Taxslayer Bowl media conference. “I hope to have the position filled in the next week and a half to two weeks or so. We’ll just see how the process plays out, but that person will probably come on and spend some time evaluating our players and staff.”

Franklin noted that the opportunity to fulfill such an important role is great experience for Rahne, and it’s something that he’s earned.

Though he hopes to have the position filled sooner rather than later, Franklin understands that if the process takes longer, he’s alright with it. “We need to make sure we get this right, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Franklin said.

On another interesting note, Franklin stated that he’ll be looking outside of the program for the permanent offensive coordinator position, and that he has an extensive list of candidates lined up to be interviewed in the coming weeks.