Football coach James Franklin has 'all the plans in the world' to stay at Penn State
James Franklin left no doubt about his intentions to stay with Penn State during his Wednesday media availability.
The head coach told reporters that he had “all the plans in the world to be here” a day after giving vaguer remarks.
“Obviously, [I] have all the plans in the world to be here and to be here for a long time, so I just wanted to address that because it became something that I did not want it to be or intend,” Franklin said. “So I wanted to put that statement out there.”
On Tuesday, he was asked about leaving the Nittany Lions and taking the USC job if it opened up. Current USC coach Clay Helton is speculated to be on the hot seat after the Trojans’ 34-27 loss to UCLA on Saturday. Helton led USC past Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl game, but has faltered this season.
The Trojans are currently 5-6 and need to beat No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday to be bowl-eligible.
“It’s the crazy, mad time of year where these types of things happen,” Franklin said on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Franklin said that his unclear statements were his attempt at keeping focus on Maryland, the team’s next opponent.
“That didn’t go over very well,” Franklin said. “I didn’t feel like it was appropriate to talk about another school or another person’s job status, so that’s why I addressed it the way I did.
Franklin signed a three-year, $20 million contract extension with Penn State last year.
According to USA Today, if Franklin leaves for an NFL or college coaching job he would owe Penn State $1 million.
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