Penn State football is in the midst of another coaching search, folks.

After Matt Campbell appointee Noah Pauley announced that he would be taking the same position with the Green Bay Packers, the Nittany Lions are on the hunt for someone to fill the role.

Pauley was a big get for Penn State as the program looked to bolster and completely restructure its wideout room following an unproductive stretch under James Franklin and Marques Hagans.

The former Iowa State coach had close ties with Karon Brookins, Brett Eskildsen, Zay Robinson, and Chase Sowell, four Cyclones who made the jump to State College via this season’s transfer portal.

In the wake of Pauley’s departure, 4-star receiver and Pennsylvania native Javien Robinson excluded Penn State from his top-5 schools. A few big targets remain on the board when it comes to in-state recruits, but Campbell must make the right hire in order to keep talent from the 2027 class home.

We decided to make a list of the potential wide receivers coaches who could end up on the Beaver Stadium sideline this fall.

Bobby Engram 

This would be a home run hire for Penn State, and figures to be Campbell’s first call. 

Engram played for Penn State in the early 1990s and became a staple of the offense during the 1994 undefeated campaign. He is the only Nittany Lion to date to win the Fred Biletnikoff Award for being the nation’s top wideout.

In his professional career, Engram bounced around the NFL for 15 years before securing a coaching gig with the San Francisco 49ers. He currently serves as the wide receivers coach for the Washington Commanders.

Some of the most notable players Engram has coached in the National Football League are Terry McLaurin and Mark Andrews, two Pro Bowl-caliber offensive weapons in their respective primes.

Engram also has a bond with current Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, whom he played with during his time in Happy Valley.

It’s unclear whether or not Engram would wish to leave his job in the NFL to take on the same role at the collegiate level, but there’s no doubt that he would bring immense experience and coaching talent to Campbell’s team. An Engram hire would mark the 11th Penn State letterman to currently hold a position on staff.

Dyrell Roberts

Roberts is the current wide receivers coach at Wake Forest and previously played as a wideout for Virginia Tech. At just 36 years of age, he is a rising star in the coaching ranks.

Last season, Roberts served as the receivers coach at East Carolina, where he mentored Penn State wideout Chase Sowell, an Iowa State transfer portal pick-up.

Roberts coached Anthony Smith in 2025, where he recorded a 1,000-yard season en route to a 9-4 season that culminated in a Military Bowl victory.

Roberts’ ties to the Virginia area will provide additional East Coast recruiting pull for Penn State, something that the Nittany Lions will always benefit from.

Roberts, like Campbell, proved that he can do more with less. During his time in Greenville, North Carolina, his passing attack ranked 27th in the nation, an impressive feat for an AAC school. 

Bringing fresh coaching blood to Penn State could be just what the Nittany Lions are looking for as they aim to develop a reimagined receiver room. 

Josh Gattis

I don’t necessarily think Campbell would want to hire a former Franklin appointee in his first year in blue and white, but if he wanted to, Gattis would be the name in question.

Gattis coached the Nittany Lion wide receivers from 2014-17, where he developed Penn State stars Chris Godwin and DaeSean Hamilton. He also played an integral role in recruiting Jahan Dotson and KJ Hamler.

After a three-year stint in State College, Gattis headed south to Alabama, where he mentored Biletnikoff winner Jerry Jeudy. Since then, he has served as the receivers coach at Michigan and received the Broyles Award for his excellence as an assistant coach.

Gattis has perhaps the most relevant experience out of any of the names on this list. He is currently coaching at Syracuse and continues to hold strong recruiting ties in the Northeast.

Zohn Burden

Burden also has strong recruiting ties to the Virginia area, and possesses Power Four coaching experience as well.

Having spent the last four years at Duke under Manny Diaz, Burden helped lead the best passing attack in the ACC. Two of the Blue Devil wideouts tallied over 800 yards, led by second-team All-ACC graduate student Cooper Barkate.

Burden was the receivers coach at Maryland in 2021, and also worked in the same role at Virginia Tech for three years prior to arriving in Blacksburg.

At 41 years old, Burden would also provide a jolt of young blood into the Penn State coaching staff.

Matt Simon

Simon previously coached in the Big Ten for eight seasons, where he served as the receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator at Minnesota.

During his time with the Gophers, he most notably developed collegiate star Rashod Bateman, the 2019 Big Ten Receiver of the Year. Aside from Bateman, Simon has mentored four of the top-10 reception leaders in school history.

Before getting a job in the Power Four, Simon coached at Western Michigan, where he again developed a dynamic passing game. The most notable player that he coached during his time with the Broncos was Corey Davis, who nearly eclipsed the 1,500-yard mark in three consecutive seasons under Simon’s leadership.

Simon was let go by PJ Fleck after this past season, but could benefit from a fresh start at Penn State in an already familiar conference.

Dennis Simmons

This one is certainly more far-fetched than the others and would likely require a large sum of money to pull it off. But hey, that’s college football these days.

Simmons would bring a load of experience to Happy Valley. Over the course of his career, he has developed multiple first-round NFL draft picks, including Ceedee Lamb, Marquise Brown, and Michael Crabtree.

The veteran coach is currently at USC, where he consistently helps to produce high-scoring offenses in the Big Ten, powered by an elite passing attack.

If the Nittany Lions were to pry Simmons away from the Golden Coast, he would be joining defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn as the second such instance of this in the new era of Penn State football.

Campbell was allotted roughly $17 million to build his coaching staff and secure elite assistants. If there were ever a time to splurge a little, Simmons would be a guy to spend it on. It’s pay to play, and Penn State has the chance to show that it is ready to compete financially with the best of the best.

Tiquan Underwood

Though Underwood has spent the previous two seasons on NFL sidelines, his collegiate experience, mindset, and Northeast recruiting ties cannot be understated.

Underwood worked as the assistant wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025, but was let go following the season. Under his leadership, Dallas had two 1,000-yard wide receivers in George Pickens and Ceedee Lamb.

Prior to coaching at the professional level, Underwood worked at Rutgers and Pitt, two regional rivals of Penn State.

Underwood is well-respected by his peers for his demeanor and passion for developing young men. If he decides that returning to the NCAA level would be the optimal career decision, he could be a sneaky hire for Campbell.

Hines Ward

Shoutout to our Pittsburgh folks.

Ward is a two-time Super Bowl champion and current wide receivers coach at Arizona State. He was recently elevated to an associate head coaching role.

He arrived in Tempe ahead of the 2024 season, where he helped guide the Sun Devils to an 11-win season, Big 12 Championship, and College Football Playoff berth. He also coached Jordyn Tyson, who recorded just over 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns during his campaign.

Ward would bring a breadth of professional and collegiate experience to Penn State, and like Bobby Engram, would be a welcome addition to the staff in the hearts of many Pennsylvanians.

A main reason why Ward ended up at Arizona State was that his values aligned closely with those of Kenny Dillingham’s. Ward admired the young head coach’s passion for the game and wanted to develop as a coach under his leadership. Perhaps the four-time Pro Bowler will have the same vision for Campbell in Happy Valley.