'Probably will be a Netflix documentary': Inside the twists and turns of Penn State's 58-day coaching search

Key Highlights

• But everyone wondered the same thing: What took so long?"We didn't really have a timeline, I mean that," Kraft said.
• "We were focused on finding the right person, and at all costs."He paused."There probably will be a Netflix documentary at some point."Penn State's was the first top-tier coaching job to open during a cycle that included 15 Power 4 hirings, but, until the Sherrone Moore scandal broke at Michigan, it was the very last to be filled.
• The search lasted so long that James Franklin, the coach Penn State abruptly fired after 12-plus seasons and 104 wins, found his next job at Virginia Tech three full weeks before Campbell was introduced in State College. The 58-day saga included tens of millions in contract extension money for potential external candidates, a recruiting class that in large part followed Franklin to Blacksburg, the leaking of a secret audio recording of Kraft airing grievances, and the CEO of Crumbl cookies taking an interest. ESPN spoke with sources in and around the Penn State search to assess what happened behind the scenes and why two sides seemingly meant for one another took so long to come together. PENN STATE'S DECISION to fire Franklin on Oct.
• 12 rattled the college football world.
• Only 277 days earlier, Franklin had coached Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl, which the Nittany Lions led midway through the fourth quarter before falling 27-24 to Notre Dame. Quarterback Drew Allar and many of Penn State's top players had returned.