James Franklin not answering whether he will coach Penn State next year
Penn State coach James Franklin isn’t doing much to quiet rumors that his future could lie away from Happy Valley.
Franklin dodged a question on Tuesday about his future at Penn State, saying he was “focused on Maryland” and dismissing one reporter’s query.
Love this exchange earlier on the Big Ten coaches teleconference: pic.twitter.com/2nDLa5UA9m
— Josh Moyer (@ByJoshMoyer) November 20, 2018
That non-answer comes amid rumors that Franklin has been floated by several national media figures as a potential candidate for the USC job, via Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle. One of those media members was The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, who told The Rich Eisen Show that he felt Franklin had a 40% chance of being the next Trojans coach. Franklin’s non-denial was taken by some as evidence that either he’s obsessively focused on Maryland or he has one eye on the possibility of that job opening up, and few thought it was the former.
Franklin has been linked to the USC job during previous hiring cycles when he was still at Vanderbilt. The Trojans have yet to make a decision on current coach Clay Helton, but it seems increasingly unlikely that he’ll keep his job.
