Penn State head coach James Franklin was named as one of 16 semifinalists for the George Munger Coach of the Year award, presented by the Maxwell Football Club, on Friday afternoon.
The yearly award was last won by a Nittany Lions coach by Bill O'Brien in 2012, and the late Joe Paterno was honored with it three times in 1990, 1994, and 2005.
Besides Franklin, three other Big Ten head coaches made this year's list: Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, and Wisconsin's Paul Chryst.
Finalists, of which there will be three, will be announced in mid-December before the winner is announced on Dec.