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In a good mood after Saturday’s win over Maryland, James Franklin answered a question about an injury by saying his tight-lipped policy wasn’t going away any time soon.
“For the next 35 years at Penn State, it’s going to be the same thing,” the Nittany Lions coach said.
Going to stick around Happy Valley into his 80s? That sounds familiar.
Franklin smiled at the implication before delivering a parting shot.
“I’m trying to break the record,” he joked.
Not 24 hours later, amusingly, Franklin’s name landed on CBS Sports’ list of potential candidates for the Miami job, where former Penn State captain and assistant Al Golden was just fired.
Franklin wasn’t smiling on Tuesday.
“First of all, let me say this — I don’t like it,” Franklin said when asked about the rumor at his weekly press conference. “I don’t like it. I think it causes a distraction for our team. I think it’s a distraction for Penn State. And I have no idea where it’s coming from whatsoever.
“My family has sacrificed. I’ve worked my ass off to get to Penn State. To get here. And this is where I want to be.”
Even had he chosen not to address the column, Franklin and Miami would seem to be a highly unlikely match.
Aside from the obvious emotional factors of such an abrupt switch, the private university is not in good shape financially. Multiple reports from Hurricanes beat writers suggest that the salary pool for Golden’s successor is limited, meaning Franklin would have to take a significant pay cut from the $4.7 million he makes annually at Penn State on top of his buyout.
One of Franklin’s crusades since taking over in Happy Valley has been campaigning for a dramatic improvement of team facilities, with the school now also looking into renovations of Beaver Stadium. Miami has one of the worst stadium situations in major college football.
From the Miami side of things, the Canes would likely frown upon hiring a second straight coach from Pennsylvania with essentially zero ties to South Florida.
The whole thing may have been a distraction for the coaching staff as the Lions prepare to host Illinois Saturday. It also gives opposing coaches ammo on the recruiting trail. But current players shrugged it off.
“I don’t think we really pay attention to that,” sophomore cornerback Grant Haley said. “Just focused on going 1-0 this week.”
Penn State fans can be forgiven perhaps for getting a little jumpy. Franklin’s predecessor, Bill O’Brien, had his name coming up for NFL jobs around this time on the calendar in both years he led the Lions before leaving for the Houston Texans.
Former Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner, who hired both O’Brien and Franklin, used to say he was “flattered” by interest in his head coach “because if we’d have made a lousy hire, you wouldn’t be asking me these questions.
“That’s the baggage you get for hiring a really, really good coach. Having people want to talk him. That’s great. That’s flattering.”
Franklin did not seem flattered.
“Stuff like that, I guess some people could look at as a compliment,” Franklin said. “I don’t. My focus is 100 percent on Penn State. I’ve worked like crazy to get here.
“Not gonna address it any more. Not gonna talk about it any more. This is where I want to be. This is where my family wants to be. This is where our staff wants to be.”
More for Lewis?
Franklin again singled out Wyoming Valley Conference alum Eugene Lewis for his game-winning touchdown catch on a 50-50 ball against the Terrapins.
“Proud of Geno Lewis,” Franklin said. “He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities. We go to him at a critical time and makes the play. A lot of times you can’t control the amount of opportunities that you get. You’ve got to maximize the ones you get. And those (receivers) did that. I thought that was really cool.”
Nearly all of Lewis’ production at Penn State has come in the clutch. Three of his six career touchdowns have now provided the decisive points in a Lions win, joining fourth-quarter scores against Syracuse and Wisconsin in 2013. He also fueled comebacks in the fourth in 2014 against UCF, Rutgers and in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College.
But that history alone won’t guarantee him a bigger role in Penn State’s offense down the stretch. Franklin again invoked the word “consistency” when discussing Lewis and why his playing time has been limited.
“He does some things that are really, really special,” Franklin said. “We can all think back a couple of catches he had against Central Florida. You think about some of the plays he had at the bowl game. You think about obviously the game on Saturday.
“But it’s consistency in practice and it’s consistency in games. He’s got a lot of ability, he really does. Big strong guy with great catch radius, tremendous leaping ability. But it’s consistency. We love Geno, we’re excited about him. But there are some areas that he needs to continue to work on, just like a lot of our guys.”
