Sources: Old Dominion hiring Penn State assistant Ricky Rahne as its next football coach
Old Dominion University is hiring Penn State offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne to be its next head coach, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Rahne, 39, is a disciple of Penn State coach James Franklin, having coached under him for six seasons at State College and as the quarterback coach at Vanderbilt in 2011. The past two years have been as Penn State’s offensive coordinator, and the Nittany Lions finished No. 22 nationally in scoring offense this season at 34.3 points per game.
Rahne is known for helping develop quarterbacks, as he’s tutored Trace McSorley (Penn State), Josh Freeman (Kansas State) and Jordan Rodgers (Vanderbilt). Penn State’s Sean Clifford showed promise in his first full season as a starter this year, finishing fifth in the Big Ten in passing efficiency and throwing for 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
Rahne is a Cornell graduate and is known for being cerebral, organized and meticulous. He started his career at Holy Cross as an assistant defensive line coach before becoming the running backs coach at Cornell. From there, he served as a graduate assistant and then an assistant at Kansas State and worked his way up through the ranks.
Rahne replaces Bobby Wilder at Old Dominion, which went 1-11 in his final season. He enters the program at a promising time, as a $67.5 million stadium overhaul is a huge step toward making ODU competitive in Conference USA.
Rahne will bring a unique recruiting perspective to ODU, as he recruited both nationally for quarterbacks and Pennsylvania for Penn State. He’s expected to hire a staff that will be able to tap into the rich local recruiting area, as athletic director Wood Selig prioritized finding a candidate who can keep some of the talented players in the Norfolk, Virginia, area.
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