Penn State Football: Fans Did Not Get a Coach for Christmas

It has now been 46 days since Penn State fired head coach Joe Paterno, and the coaching search does not appear to be much closer to wrapping up now than it did last week.

Or the week before. Or the week before.

"We are continuing to talk with individuals that we’re interested in and work through the interview process,"Acting Director of Athletics David Joyner said in a public statement released by Penn State on Friday.

"As I’m sure all can appreciate, this is a very important hire for Penn State and, as a result, the search committee is taking a very deliberate and measured approach to the process in order to identify the coach that best fits the requirements of the position."

That search committee now is in a situation in which few programs want to be.

Penn State owns the final coaching vacancy in college football. A total of 24 coaching changes have been finalized in 2011, and Penn State will be the 25th.

Fortunately for Penn State, picking a new college football coach is not necessarily like being picked last in a game of dodge ball in gym class. The best candidate may still be out there.

Reports that Penn State has been aggressive in pursuing Boise State head coach Chris Petersen sparked the interest of Penn State fans in recent days but Petersen, as he has many times over the past few years, has denied any interest in leaving the Broncos.

For Petersen, Boise State is the ideal location for him and his family. He is laid back, enjoys not necessarily being under the spotlight, a position at a larger institution would bring, and Boise State is in a favorable position as far as their place in college football moving forward.

Boise State is heading to the Big East in 2013, and Petersen has been outspoken about the positive impact that it will have on the Boise State brand.

So if Petersen is officially out, who else is there?

Greg Schiano has remained devoted to Rutgers. Al Golden signed an extension with Miami. Pat Fitzgerald, like Petersen at Boise State, appears to be loyal to his program at Northwestern. 

The options are starting to run dry.

Tom Clements, the Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach? He gets plenty of credit for helping to develop Aaron Rodgers to be a Super Bowl winner and MVP candidate, sure. But Rodgers entered the league with plenty of potential and it was a shock that he had dropped so far in the NFL Draft.

Who is to say Andy Reid could not have done the same? Shall we add the Philadelphia Eagles head coach to the list of potential candidates? nah, let's move on!.

What about Mike Munchak, the first-year head coach of the Tennessee Titans? Because NFL coaches and minds are so successful in college (and vice-versa)? Who knows, at this point?

Your guess and suggestion may be as good as anybody else's at this time.

When Penn State set out to find their next head coach, the goal was to have a guy in place before the January 2 Ticket City Bowl against Houston. There is still time to have that all settled, of course.

“We look forward to introducing our new football coach at the appropriate time," Joyner said.

The question Penn State fans continue to ask is, "When will that appropriate time be?"

Kevin McGuire is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook and add him to your Google+ circle.