Penn State Hires Eddie Fogler To Aid Search For New Coach

Now that Penn State is starting to get into the meat of its search for a new basketball coach, it's apparently looking for a little outside help. Nittany Lion basketball SID Brian Siegrist announced today the athletic department has hired former college basketball Jeff Fogler to assist in the search.

Fogler posted a 265-197 record over 15 seasons spread between Wichita State, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. He's recently been involved in coaching searches at a number of other schools and appears to be a popular consultant in the industry.

Black Shoe Diaries' Adam Collyer thinks Fogler could be helpful in the search and speculates about the types of coaches he might be able to help attract to Happy Valley. 

There's a lot to like about Curley enlisting the help of Fogler.  For one, he's the most prominent search consultant in the country when it comes to basketball, a clear sign that Curley's operating a serious search with some financial backing.  You don't hire a consultant if you're going to lowball offer candidates.  This is about looking at a pool of candidates, narrowing down the list, and systematically targeting the strongest option available.

Given the list of candidates he's placed, we're looking at hiring a mid-major head coach with a track record of success (see Crean, Barbee, and Gregory) or a top assistant from a brand name program (Martin).  All good options.

It remains to be seen how much Fogler will be able to help Penn State but, at the very least, he signals Penn State is very likely to look outside the Penn State box for the first time since it hired Bruce Parkhill in 1983. Former head coaches Jerry Dunn and Ed DeChellis were assistants under Parkhill, so both were Penn State insiders. It's unlikely the hiring of Fogler would lead to another coach with Penn State ties.