[ad_1]
There is a definite subplot that developed into Penn State’s football season.
And that’s if James Franklin coaches his last team at Happy Valley.
Since USC fired Clay Helton on Monday, Franklin’s name has been widely assumed to be one of the most likely successors. Some put it at the top of the list.
He’s been asked about it a number of times this week before bringing the narrative back to the current game: # 22 Auburn tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Franklin said he plans to handle the buzz “internally” with his team, but we all know that’s not going to go away until he says he’s not a candidate or until the USC job is filled by someone from other than him.
After Franklin told the team about it, quarterback Sean Clifford told media on Wednesday, “I don’t think this is something we need to worry about.”
Franklin said he was not concerned with media or fan speculation, but rather “My team and my future team, the future, that is to say the recruits.
He has recruited extremely well at Penn State and is building up the nation’s No.1 class for 2022.
He said “I hate distractions” but, again, he could handle his own message in a way that ensures he will be the coach of the Nittany Lions in 2022 and beyond. His $ 38 million contract, extended last year, runs until 2025.
At the same time, deep in his heart, he might not be sure. On the one hand, although it has been reported nationally that USC and Franklin have “mutual interest,” there are a multitude of factors at play.
Auburn’s game, for example, is one, not to mention the rest of this season. If Franklin is an A-list contender, he probably needs a good season, at least 9-3, which this team has shown they can do.
What if the Nittany Lions beat Auburn, part ways with Iowa and Ohio State, beat Michigan, win the Big Ten title, and land in the college football playoffs?
If Franklin is open to Trojans, does all the goodwill from the PSU that comes with the 12-1 change the way he thinks and how long could USC be willing to wait for a coach who is still on? post at Penn State in the second week of January?
Then again, if Penn State is in the CFP, Franklin can write his own ticket.
More importantly: Do Franklin and his family consider themselves Penn State lifers? Due to his precautions with COVID-19, his family lived away from him in a southern house for almost a year, returning this spring.
Does he prefer the glitz of Los Angeles to the cows of Waddle? Personally, I would rather drive through Stormstown than take a wrong turn on a freeway in LA and be distracted for 45 minutes, but that’s me.
He might be okay with that.
Additionally, Franklin’s eight years at Penn State are double the longest he has ever spent consecutively, although he had a separate five-year and later three-year stay in Maryland all by climbing the coaching ladder.
Here’s another potential factor: By his next birthday, he’ll be 50.
Some coaches are great program makers – Franklin among them – and then they look for another challenge. In this regard, some are a bit nomadic until they find the perfect solution – and that is if they can avoid getting fired.
We’ll see if Franklin can overcome the Ohio state bump this year. He’s 1-6 against the Buckeyes. Another loss can tell him it’s time to stop banging his head against that wall.
Franklin also pushed Penn State into millions of football improvements in order to keep up with the Joneses. At one point, Penn State was the Joneses.
It met some resistance in February when six board members, including Jay Paterno, voted against the latest $ 50 million renovation of the Lasch building.
You know Franklin rubbed hard.
That said, at least in the college game, there aren’t a lot of jobs in the Penn State classroom. If you are a former Nittany Lion, it just might not get better. But Franklin is not, although when he arrived he said “I’m a boy from Pennsylvania (native of Langhorne) with a Penn State heart.”
There are, and USC, with its rich tradition and fertile recruiting ground, could be one, depending on the viewer.
By firing Helton after two games, Southern Cal has left himself plenty of time to understand him and talk to everyone and everyone he wants. Franklin has an open date for an interview on October 16.
Meanwhile, while she has said he loves it when his coaches are in demand because it means they are successful, Sandy Barbour has probably already made a short list just in case.
How this season unfolds, both in terms of Franklin’s long-term commitment to Penn State and attraction to USC, will decide whether it needs it.
Notable
• Condolences to former Great Lion and current board member Brandon Short on the tragic death of his daughter Karli, who was murdered at McKeesport on Monday.
• ESPN GameDay reports on the history of White Out, a concept developed by Guido D’Elia, from Altoona, who was interviewed.
• A documentary on the 2012 team debuts this weekend. Go to SavingTheRoar.com for viewing options. There were better teams in Penn State history, but none were more important.
Neil Rudel covers Penn State football and can be contacted at [email protected].
[ad_2]
Source link