‘I love Penn State,’ James Franklin says when asked about FSU coaching rumors
Amid a 10-2 season at the helm of the Nittany Lions, coaching rumors have swirled around James Franklin, linking him most notably to jobs at both Florida State and USC.
While it appears the University of Southern California is leaning toward retaining head coach Clay Helton, the Seminoles fired their coach, Willie Taggart, on Nov. 3. Speculation surrounding Franklin and the open FSU job heated up this week when the Orlando Sentinel reported that there was “mutual interest” between the two parties.
“I think I addressed this earlier in the year. There is nobody that would want this not to be talked about more than me,” Franklin said when asked to address the rumors after his team’s 27-6 win over Rutgers on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. “I’m hoping this is going to be over very quickly. Like I told you, I love Penn State, I love our players. I don’t see that changing any time soon. It’s a little bit the nature of college football but I love Penn State, I love our players, I love what we’re doing here. I don’t see that changing any time soon. Hopefully all this conversation will be over very shortly.”
Franklin took over the reins of a Penn State program still feeling the effects of the unprecedented sanctions levied against the school by the NCAA in 2012 as a result of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal on Jan. 11, 2014. Since then, he’s so far led the Nittany Lions to six consecutive winning seasons, two top-10 finishes, back-to-back New Year’s Six bowls and a Big Ten Championship.
Franklin has a $5.65 salary with the Nittany Lions, the 11th highest in the country and third highest in the Big Ten, according to USA Today’s College Football Coaches Salaries Database. His six-year $3.4 million contract is set to expire at the end of the 2022 season.
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 9:44 PM.
