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Fran Ganter, Penn State's assistant head coach and once believed to be the heir apparent to Joe Paterno, resigned his position to take a new post in the school's athletic department.
Ganter, a 1971 PSU graduate who had been on the coaching staff since '72, is the new associate athletic director for football administration.
Galen Hall, a 1961 PSU grad and a former coach at Florida, is the new offensive coordinator and running backs coach.
Paterno, 77, gave no indication that he was close to retiring after 38 years as head coach and 54 years with the program.
"When it comes time for me to step down, I'm going to step down," he said.
MISSISSIPPI STATE: Running back Nick Turner was dismissed from the team for what new coach Sylvester Croom called a failure to meet "the expectation level." Turner, 19, was placed on three years' probation Feb. 7 after passing several counterfeit $100 bills Oct. 15, 2002 at a club.
He sat out the remainder of the 2002 season after his arrest. He came back in 2003 to establish a single-season school record for all-purpose yards against Arkansas on Nov. 22.
Croom, hired in December, said Turner would remain on scholarship through the end of the spring semester.
Turner led the team and ranked second in the SEC in all-purpose yardage at 138.7 per game.
PITTSBURGH: Coach Walt Harris hired Bill Bleil, former coach at Western Carolina, to work with tight ends and tackles. Bleil replaces Bob Ligashesky, now an assistant with the Jaguars. Bleil has also worked at Northwestern and South Dakota. Bleil became an assistant at Pacific in 1992, a year after Harris left following three seasons. At Western Carolina, Bleil posted a 7-4 record in 2001.
SYRACUSE: Steve Gregory, starting cornerback the past two seasons, will switch to wide receiver when spring practice begins March 26.