Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Have No Shot at Boise State's Chris Petersen

As Penn State continues its search for a head coach, one guy they can forget about pursuing is Boise State's Chris Petersen. The Nittany Lions are under too much scrutiny for such a high profile coach to drop the good thing he has going with the Broncos. 

Finding a new head coach will prove to be very difficult for Penn State, especially since the search committee is so picky about who they're looking at.

You can't really blame them for that though because of the scandal that took place. However, the Nittany Lions have to be realistic in who they go after, and Petersen will want no part of them. 

Now that Boise State is headed to the Big East, Petersen finally has the opportunity to play in a BCS conference, meaning there's no need to leave the school that has been so good to him.

Nothing is going to change for Boise State. In fact, recruiting will come easier now that the Broncos are in an automatic qualifying conference. 

He may be losing some great talent, but Petersen is a top-notch coach, and he will still have Boise State competitive.

Since the Big East isn't that strong of a conference, Petersen shouldn't struggle too much, even though he is losing Kellen Moore.

A source told Frank Fitzpatrick of The Inquirer that Petersen is one of the candidates Penn State is interested in. 

"He's the kind of guy who interests them," said the source, who requested anonymity. "I don't know if they've talked with him yet, but I'd be shocked if they didn't look at him thoroughly."

As the school decides to focus less on football and more on becoming a "world-class research institution," landing a big name coach will be near impossible. 

If Petersen is turning down $4 million to coach UCLA, there is no way he jumps ship and decides to coach for Penn State. 

The Nittany Lions are going through drastic changes, and a coach that has had great success at his school in recent years will not part ways just to coach Penn State. 

Petersen has the potential to dominate the Big East, which means he'll likely never leave Boise State. 

This was just wishful thinking by the Nittany Lions. Their search for a new head coach will continue on, and it is going to be extremely hard to find a guy that will meet their needs not just on the gridiron but also academically.