Penn State Football: Chris Petersen Should Steer Clear of Happy Valley

'Tis the season for college football programs to fire and hire head coaches. 

In other words, 'tis the season for Chris Petersen's name to be mentioned in connection with every vacant head coaching position under the sun. Petersen has done great things with the Boise State football program, and numerous other universities would like nothing more than for him to do the same with theirs.

The latest: None other than Penn State University.

According to a report from Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Petersen is "high on the Nittany Lions' wish list."

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

Penn State's supposed interest in Petersen has more to do with just his success on the gridiron (72-6 record in five seasons). Per the report, Penn State likes that Petersen's players graduate at an impressive clip.

In the last six years, Penn State ranks No. 1 with a score of 113 in New America's Academic Bowl formula. Boise State is next on the list with a score of 107.

Sadly, the Inquirer report states that Petersen could not be reached for comment.

If and when Petersen does choose to address Penn State's interest in him, there's only one thing he should say:

No thanks.

Indeed, this is something Petersen has already said to a couple top-shelf programs that have shown interest in him. Back in January, he declined an opportunity to replace Jim Harbaugh at Stanford (see ESPN.com report), and just a couple days ago he turned down a lucrative offer to replace Rick Neuheisel at UCLA (see Los Angeles Times report).

It's unclear now exactly how far Penn State is going to take its interest in Petersen, but it's a good bet that it won't have better luck.

Let's face it. Petersen is a California guy with no real ties to Penn State, and it suffices to say that he's got a pretty good thing going in Boise. He has made it clear that he is comfortable there.

Petersen could probably be lured by the right opportunity, but Penn State doesn't make the grade.

You may have heard that the university has been rocked by a pretty big scandal. The football program appears to be safe for now, but Happy Valley is going to be a volatile place for years to come. It's not the kind of situation Petersen should want to leave Boise for.

You certainly can't fault Penn State for being interested in Petersen. But right now, that's all it appears to be.

Either way, I'd say the odds of Petersen actually ending up in Happy Valley are slim to none.

Penn State will have to look elsewhere.