P. J. Fleck

I think it's still a desirable job. They have a ton of resources but it would take the right person. If you want to make it a great job and still be able to look at yourself in the mirror you would have to somehow re-purpose the culture while still not completely rejecting the old guard, who is obviously loyal to the legacy of Mr. Pedo Glasses.

But the right guy could recruit well out there. 

No matter how bad a place is, you pay enough money and people are willing to take the job.

The bigger issue for taking the job, more than even the Paterno shadow, is having to compete right away in the Big Ten East.  

The PSU fanbase has Notre Dame-esque delusions of grandeur.  They're still stuck in 1986.  

They expect to be playing in National Championhip games after going undefeated in a MAC-like schedule.  They have not adapted to having to win your way in through a gauntlet of Michigan/OSU/MSU, the B1G CG, and the CFP.

The right coach, given lots of time, can make it work.  But they won't give him the time.

The guy who has it made is the next PSU coach after the one that follows Franklin gets fired.  The Paterno stuff will have died down (and many of his irrational supporters died off), and he will be able to recruit the talent-rich areas of PA / NJ / DC.

to the school and/or the area. Someone like Matt Rhule. It's a better fit all around at a place where that's become especially important. No more O'Briens who see the job as a stepping stone.

I'd have to answer your question with another question. What do you mean by highly sought? If the answer is someone talked about as a candidate for lower to mid-level P5 jobs, probably. If it's someone who's getting serious interest from higher level P5 schools that pay like PSU, I honestly doubt it. I wouldn't put that down to disgust with honoring Paterno. Might be a factor for some, but It would be more about fit. It's an insulated, cultish place where you would always be compared to Paterno.

I don't think the Joepa thing is an obstacle to a good coach. I think a program that's a bit of a mess, in a division with two of the three best coaches in football, with fans that don't have any sort of realistic expectations, in a town in the middle of nowhere, is the problem. I don't think it's easy to win there at all right now, and the kind of guy who could win there could win even better at a good SEC school. Someone compared them with Notre Dame, and while the reasons are different, the challenge is similar.

Like Bob Barker use to say. "If the price is right." Many good coaches might not want to face those problems, but big money can make a lot people take jobs that they didn't prefer. PSU knows they have issues that may make many qualified coaches turn them down. Therefore, they're probably going to be ready to place TWO Brinks' trucks onto somebody's lawn. Not just one.