College Football: Penn State Adds Jim Haslett to Staff
Penn State announced on Twitter this afternoon the addition of former NFL head coach Jim Haslett to its staff. Haslett will work in a consultants role with second-year head coach James Franklin and his staff, while the aspect of that consultants role has not yet been officially announced. The addition of the former linebackers coach will ring synonymously with Penn State’s long-held nickname “Linebacker U.”
Excited to share that former #NFL Coach Jim Haslett has joined the team as a consultant. http://t.co/HDA04c5JPJ pic.twitter.com/0fTrkiBI4h
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) June 24, 2015
Haslett has a length football career under his belt, which will surely help the young, developing team and coaching staff in Happy Valley. The Pittsburgh native played linebacker in the NFL for nine seasons with the Bills and the Jets before starting his coaching career. The 59-year old served as either a linebacker coach or defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams and most recently the Washington Redskins. From 2000 to 2005, Haslett served as the Saints Head Coach and was named the Rams interim Head Coach in 2008. He also was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2000 while with the Saints. His record as an NFL head coach stands at 47-61 with two additional playoff victories with the Saints.
As for the Nittany Lions, Head Coach James Franklin continues to “Dominate the State” when it comes to recruiting. The former Vanderbilt Head Coach took over for now-Texans Head Coach Bill O’Brien after O’Brien spent one season with Penn State. The team’s 2016 recruiting class is currently ranked 10th in the nation by 24/7 Sports with six four-star recruits. They have 11 “hard commits” in the class of 2016, including the top two prospects from the state of Pennsylvania. Coach Franklin is known for taking his own helicopter to multiple local high school games in one night to catch up with recruits and their families.
#WeAre...Better#PSUnrivaled#107kStrong
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) June 23, 2015
Projected first round pick Christian Hackenberg and the rest of the Nittany Lions open their 2015 season at Temple University, followed by their first Beaver Stadium home game of the 2015 season. Interestingly, their opponent for that matchup (Buffalo) is the first place to give new consultant Jim Haslett a coaching opportunity. Funny how things always circle back.