Penn State football offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne has been linked with Old Dominion’s head coaching job.

The Monarchs are looking for a new leader for their football program after longtime head coach Bobby Wilder resigned on December 2. ESPN college football reporter Adam Rittenberg said that Rahne is “in the mix” for the job along with Travaris Robinson, who’s been South Carolina’s defensive coordinator for the past four seasons.

Rahne has served as the Nittany Lions’ offensive coordinator since the start of the 2018 season. He stepped into the position after Joe Moorhead took over head coaching duties at Mississippi State, and he’s produced mixed results since then.

The Nittany Lions went 9-4 in 2018, but the team’s offense seemed to lose confidence after consecutive losses to Ohio State and Michigan State. After putting up at least 45 points in each of its first four games, Penn State broke 30 points just three times in its final nine contests of the year. The unit did score 30 points on a usually-staunch Iowa defense and 26 against an elite Ohio State program, but its performances against Michigan, Wisconsin, and Rutgers in November left a lot to be desired.

Penn State’s offense improved quite a bit in 2019, and it seemed to be able to produce points more consistently. The Nittany Lions scored at least 17 points in each of their 12 regular season games, and the unit averaged 34.3 points per game — a number that’s half a point higher than their 2018 total. The offense wasn’t perfect — particularly in the passing game, which mostly leaned on star receiver KJ Hamler and tight end Pat Freiermuth — but it definitely showed some progress.

If Rahne is brought on as Old Dominion’s head coach, it wouldn’t be the first hire of a Penn State staffer made by the university this year. The Monarchs previously brought on Dwight Galt IV, who served an assistant strength coach on James Franklin’s staff, as their director of sports performance on January 4 of this year.