A lot of time was spent last week discussing James Franklin as a potential coaching candidate to fill the vacancy opened at USC last week. The timing really could not have been much worse as Penn State was gearing up for a big game at home against Auburn. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, any suggestion that the Franklin rumor mill would be a distraction was put to rest with a solid all-around 28-20 victory over the Tigers.
But that doesn’t mean the USC coaching rumor mill has stopped spinning. Franklin very much is still a name USC fans are keeping tabs on, just in case. Our friends over at Trojans Wire continue to do a fantastic job monitoring all developments remotely associated with the coaching search and reaching out to others to get some input on various candidates.
I was happy to set aside some time with Trojans Wire editor Matt Zemek to discuss Franklin and answer some hypothetical questions on Matt’s podcast, appropriately named Get Off My Pylon. Franklin may not be the top target for the USC job, but there is very much interest from the USC fanbase in Franklin as a potential option.
Franklin’s position in the coaching search continues to get stronger by the week as long as Penn State continues to win games. Franklin already has two top 25 wins under his belt this season, at Wisconsin in Week 1 and just this past weekend at home against Auburn. Even if Penn State should stumble once or twice, Franklin still possesses many of the attributes that make for a wildly successful head coach with the Trojans.
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Of course, Franklin has not given any suggestion he is contemplating leaving Penn State. But then again, he hasn’t publicly said he’s definitely staying either. Franklin brings the cloud of uncertainty in the public eye upon himself, and he’s used to going through this routine.
As a general reminder, Penn State fans should get used to having to see Franklin’s name in the USC mix until USC hires a new head coach or until Penn State publicly acknowledges Franklin has been signed to an improved contract.
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