Penn State had been riding some strong momentum since hiring Matt Campbell in December. The former Iowa State head coach attacked the transfer portal, stabilized the 2026 recruiting class and put together an impressive coaching staff rather quickly, but his positive offseason just took a big step back.
On Thursday morning, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported that Penn State wide receivers coach Noah Pauley is leaving the team to join the Green Bay Packers in the same role. Pauley, a highly regarded offensive mind, joined the Nittany Lions in December after serving as Iowa State’s WR coach for three years.
Unfortunately for Penn State fans, he won’t be bringing his expertise to Happy Valley.
Penn State Loses ‘Special’ Coach to the Packers
GettyMatt Campbell lost his wide receivers coach to the Packers.
Campbell completely overhauled Penn State’s coaching staff after accepting the head job in December. The veteran coach brought offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, offensive line coach Ryan Clanton and quarterbacks coach Jake Waters with him to State College, but Pauley was the most exciting addition on the offensive side.
The up-and-coming coach was a four-year starter at Minnesota-Duluth, helping lead the team to two Division II national championships. He joined the UMD coaching staff after graduating and quickly worked his way up to the offensive coordinator role. Pauley took over as the wide receivers coach at North Dakota State in 2019, then transitioned to the same role on Campbell’s Iowa State staff in 2024. He also served as ISU’s passing game coordinator in 2024 and 2025.
Pauley was instrumental in developing Packers WR Christian Watson at North Dakota State and Texans WRs Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins at Iowa State. After Noel and Higgins became the first ISU wide-receiver duo to record 1,000 yards in the same season, Pauley was named the 2024 FootballScoop National Wide Receivers Coach of the Year.
“He’s a special coach,” Noel told PennLive in December. “He’s going to shoot you straight. I appreciated his honesty because that elevates you as a player. He’s going to tell it like it is.”
Pauley started generating NFL buzz in 2025, as he interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers OC job. That buzz evidently never wore off, and the Packers struck at the right time.
Losing Pauley Is a Brutal Blow to Penn State’s Coaching Staff
Pauley was such an enticing addition to Penn State‘s staff due to his ability to develop NFL prospects. That’s something the Nittany Lions have been lacking in recent years under Marques Hagans. Penn State famously failed to complete a single pass to a wide receiver in the 2024 College Football Playoff semifinal against Notre Dame, and Parker Washington (sixth round, 2023) is the only PSU wide receiver who’s heard his name called in the NFL draft in the last three years.
James Franklin built loaded rosters in 2024 and 2025, but the WR position held the team back from reaching its ultimate goal. High recruits didn’t pan out, and multiple transfers flopped in Happy Valley.
That was going to change under Pauley, who has an impressive track record of developing wide receivers. Now, Penn State is back to square one with a position group it desperately needs to fix.
Penn State Suffers Devastating Blow With Loss of ‘Special’ Coach