Penn State, James Franklin searching for new special teams coach to fix problems

Penn State will be hiring a new special teams coordinator, after all.

Though first-year assistant Phil Galiano's position seemed to be in question after the Nittany Lions struggled in most facets of special teams last season, he appeared to be sticking on the staff. 

But now Penn State has posted his position on its job search site, and head coach James Franklin issued a statement Friday wishing Galiano well. 

Galiano reportedly has accepted a special teams position with the New Orleans Saints, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Galiano's departure was first reported by 247Sports.

The Lions had gradually tightened a leaky special teams unit under former assistant coach Charles Huff. But after Huff left for Mississippi State and Galiano took over, the team regressed significantly in most categories in 2018. 

Penn State ranked only 77th nationally in Bill Connelly’s S&P Special Teams ratings last season. The Lions gave up big returns, struggled with snapping on kicks and punts, and didn't have a reliable field goal option for much of the season.

The bright spot came in the return game, mostly thanks to redshirt freshman KJ Hamler, who excelled on punts and kickoffs.

The Lions' nadir occurred in the Citrus Bowl loss to Kentucky when they failed on a fake punt, gave up a 58-yard punt return and missed a couple of more field goals.

After the bowl game, Franklin addressed the special teams' issues.

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“I think it’s a couple things. It’s inconsistency. We punt the ball 73 yards once and then we shank the next. That’s kinda happened throughout the year. It’s our execution. It’s the responsibility of us as coaches to make sure they’re confident and understand what their responsibilities are. We haven’t done it. We haven’t done it consistently all year long,” Franklin said.  

Galiano joined the Penn State staff in 2017 as a defensive consultant, before being promoted to special teams. Previously, he had helped coach special teams with the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also coached special teams, tight ends and the defensive line through multiple stints at Rutgers.

Galiano is a Norristown native and graduated from Shippensburg University.

"We are excited for Phil and his family. This is a tremendous opportunity for Phil to return to the NFL," Franklin said in a statement. "We are very appreciative of Phil and everything he has done for our program over the last two years. We wish him nothing but success moving forward."

One possible replacement could be former college special teams coordinator Larry Lewis, who has served as Franklin's consultant for special teams and defense the past two years. 

Here is more on Lewis and three other possible replacements, according to PennLive.