With chance to fulfill ‘elite’ dream, PSU’s Franklin may ponder future
His team is undefeated in November and in the middle of the College Football Playoff conversation, but James Franklin has never forgotten how he felt on that rainy afternoon three years ago the last time Penn State and Minnesota met.
The Nittany Lions trailed the Golden Gophers 13-3 at halftime on Oct. 1, 2016, at Beaver Stadium and jogged to the locker room to a chorus of boos and something else.
“Fire Franklin!” some students chanted loud enough to be heard by many, including the Penn State coach, who had a 1414 record in his third season.
“There have been a lot of things you think about from that time,” Franklin said Tuesday. “I remember it very clearly, how the stadium was, how the stadium was with me and how the stadium was with the team. I remember that very clearly. I probably always will.”
Penn State rallied that afternoon behind Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley, who made a spectacular 25-yard touchdown run in overtime to give the Lions a 29-26 victory.
Since that day, the Lions are an impressive 37-7 (.841). Only four teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision have more wins than them in that span: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
Seven years after the NCAA imposed massive sanctions on Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the Lions are contending for their second Big Ten championship in four seasons and their first CFP berth.
“I don’t know if it’s talked about enough to think about how far we have come in the last eight years,” Franklin said, tipping his cap to predecessor Bill O’Brien, who kept the program viable in 2012-13. “It’s remarkable. …I’m very proud of it.”
Speculation naturally comes with success. With Clay Helton all but doomed at USC after a blowout loss to Oregon last weekend, Franklin has been mentioned as his possible replacement, along with Baylor’s Matt Rhule (a former Penn State linebacker and Temple head coach), Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck and several others.
Franklin’s name was mentioned with the USC job last year and with the Texas A&M job two years ago, two months after he signed a new contract extension.
“As you know, we work very, very, very hard at staying focused on the task at hand,” he said. “That’s with everybody. Whenever anything comes up, we try to address it and make sure everybody understands where we’re at.
“We love it here. (I) really enjoy coaching these guys and don’t really see that changing anytime soon. We’re looking forward to playing Minnesota.”
According to a USA Today survey, Franklin’s 2019 salary of $5.65 million ranks 11th in the country and third in the Big Ten, behind Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh ($7.5 million) and Purdue’s Jeff Brohm ($6.6 million).
USC would have to drastically open its coffers to land Franklin because Helton ranks 43rd in the country with a salary of $3.22 million.
Minnesota announced Tuesday that Fleck signed a new seven-year contract worth $33.25 million and will see his salary jump from $3.6 million this year to $4.6 million next year. Franklin could see his salary move ahead of Brohm’s if he gets a new deal from Penn State.
On the field, the Lions begin a three-game gauntlet Saturday at Minnesota (8-0) and then Indiana
(7-2) and Ohio State (8-0). If they survive it unscathed, they would clinch the Big Ten East title after being widely picked to finish fourth.
They also would move ever so close to fulfilling Franklin’s hopes and dreams of Penn State becoming an elite program again. The ongoing journey to get there has been bumpy at times, including back-to-back one-point losses to Ohio State in 2017 and ‘18.
“I know how much hard work has gone into that,” he said, “from our players, from our staff, from the administration, from President (Eric) Barron, and from the Board (of Trustees).
We’ve taken some really hard looks at ourselves and asked, ‘Where do we need to get better?’
“There’s been a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears poured into it.”
The job is not over and there’s a game to be played Saturday in Minneapolis. Franklin understands that better than anyone that a stumble could wipe out the momentum the Lions have created in the first eight games and over the last four seasons.
“We’ve got a pretty amazing story that we should be very proud of,” Franklin said. “All that stuff is wonderful, but we better go 1-0 Saturday.”