Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft walks the field before an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

You know how you sometimes want to scream at your kids in the grocery store because they’re driving you bonkers?

Emotions are running high in those situations, which can lead you to making a rash decision. It happens to the best of us on occasion.

Big decisions in life cannot be made based on emotions. Because emotions are fleeting and usually cause you to overlook obvious issues or concerns.

Saturday night, after Penn State’s dominant 37-10 win over Nebraska, I found myself getting caught up in the emotions of the moment and began to believe, for the first time, that maybe Terry Smith would be the best hire as the Lions’ new head coach. At no point prior to that had I ever considered the possibility of Smith being the right guy for the job.

One thing I’ve learned in life is to not marry an opinion. Some people take a stance on something and refuse to even consider the possibility that they could be wrong, even when faced with insurmountable evidence.

Right now, as we approach Thanksgiving, my belief remains that Smith would not be the best hire for Penn State. But I will admit that I’m truly torn on this and really could go either way based on circumstances that still could play out.

Neil gave you all the reasons why Smith could be a good hire. I agree with him on most of those.

But you also can count me in the group of people who believe that, if you have one of the best jobs in the country and you just fired a highly successful coach who won 10-11 games a year, that there simply have to be numerous candidates out there who are more deserving of the job than a defensive backs coach who’s never even has been a coordinator, let alone head coach, above the high school ranks.

When you hear about all the PSU alums who favor Smith, you shouldn’t be surprised. They are letting their emotions get involved, and it’s obvious many of them love Terry as a person.

That’s all well and good. But this decision, quite frankly, is way too big to let the emotions of the alumni dictate what AD Pat Kraft will do.

It is not Kraft’s job to appease the alumni. It’s his job to find a coach who gives Penn State the best chance possible to win a national championship.

I just have a very hard time believing Smith is that person.

He did not build the current Penn State roster, a roster mind you that is absolutely loaded with talent. James Franklin built the roster, and while he was a flat out terrible game day coach, you cannot say he didn’t give PSU a chance to compete when it came down to the Jimmys and the Joes.

Smith has done a nice job getting these talented players to play hard. And while he did beat a horrible Michigan State team and a Nebraska team without its starting quarterback, let’s not forget that he made some truly awful decisions in the loss to Indiana. Calling his last timeout with 19 seconds to go on the final drive significantly hurt the Lions’ chances to win, and if Franklin had done that, everyone would be destroying him.

Smith doesn’t get a free pass on that decision because he’s a respected guy. A more seasoned coach would have better understood the clock management situation in that spot.

Look, I’m not going to sit here and bad mouth Terry Smith. He’s a terrific person, and if he does become Penn State’s coach, I do believe he will have a lot of success. But that’s also largely because he’s at Penn State, and just about any coach can succeed with all the great resources the program has in place.

I just cannot believe that Smith is the absolute best coach in the country for this job. And if you’re Penn State, there should be no reason to settle for anything less than the best coach you can get.

Cory Giger hosts the new Blue & White Wrapup show following each Penn State game this season on WTRN-FM 96.9 and 100.7.