Every year now, it seems James Franklin is connected with every major head coaching job open in college football. This year, the job that seems to be in vogue to possibly poach Franklin from Happy Valley is the Auburn vacancy.
Here are a few reasons why the rumors of James Franklin leaving Penn State Football to take the Auburn job make sense.
1. James Franklin has only assembled one of the top-producing freshmen classes in the country.
Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen have a combined 1432 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns this season. On the other side of the ball, Abdul Carter is beginning to shine into superstar potential as well. I am sure taking the Auburn job and leaving behind the two headed monster backfield and a budding star linebacker Penn State has for the next two seasons would be easy for Franklin to do.
2. Drew Allar is already heading into his second season and only has the most experience of any Penn State backup quarterback in Franklin’s tenure.
Not only is Drew Allar the highest-rated quarterback that Penn State Football has signed under Franklin, his playing time behind Sean Clifford have also made him the most experienced backup that Franklin has had during his tenure.
Leaving when Franklin finally has his quarterback of the future would make sense.
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3. Auburn a Turnkey Situation for James Franklin
One of the main gripes Franklin has had with Penn State in his tenure has been the lack of facilities and support within the athletic department and school.
New athletic director Pat Kraft has quickly made changes since his arrival to push for more resources and support for Franklin and the football team around campus and in financial support.
Kraft has a focus on NIL and an eye toward how the athletic department can best support the future of the Nittany Lions‘ program.
Franklin would likely be happy to give that all up for a new AD at a school where boosters are notoriously power hungry, and quick to the trigger to fire football coaches for not living up to their unrealistic expectations.
4. What is better than facing Ohio State and Michigan every year?
Playing Nick Saban’s Alabama team every year, when every one of your football boosters will judge your job performance only based on how well you coach against the GOAT of college football. That’s what.
The SEC West may not be harder to win than the Big Ten East, but it surely isn’t a cakewalk.
5. This is Penn State’s Deepest Team of The James Franklin Era
Franklin has mentioned multiple times this season that this is one of his deepest teams at Penn State.
But, what is better than having a deep team full of young talent? Having a roster that has been picked apart by the transfer portal and starting all over.
You can’t discount the desirability in today’s college football of taking over a program that has an incomplete roster that would take years to rebuild in a way that makes the roster competitive against high level competition.
While this happens every year for almost every job opening, I am sure THIS rumor is the one that will stick for Franklin.
* This has been satire.
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Education: Saint Vincent College, Penn State Law School
Location: Washington, DC
Experience:Robert Casturo has covered Penn State football for NittanyCentral since 2022. Casturo previously covered Penn State football through a social media presence (@PSU_FB_Thoughts on X) since 2019. Casturo earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Vincent College in 2015, where he was a punter for 1 season on the Saint Vincent College football team and worked in the athletic department for 2 years as a student manager. Casturo earned his JD from Penn State Law in 2018 where he was a senior editor of the Penn State Law Review.
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- Penn State Football: Breaking Down James Franklin’s Bowl Game Record - December 13, 2023
- Penn State Football Picks Up Intriguing Transfer Portal Commitment - December 11, 2023