Penn State head coach James Franklin responds to USC speculation

USC on Monday announced that it fired Clay Helton amidst his seventh full season at the helm of the program, and just hours after the decision, Penn State head coach James Franklin was tabbed a favorite to land the coveted coaching position.

In light of Helton’s firing, USC athletic director Mike Bohn has named Donte Williams the Trojans’ interim head coach. Williams, considered an up-and-coming coach by colleagues across the country, was first hired by USC in 2020 as the secondary coach; although he’s since been promoted — first to associate head coach, then to interim head coach — USC is not expected to remove the interim tag from his current title. Instead, the favorites for the position are Luke Fickell, Cincinnati’s head coach, and Franklin, among other candidates.

Franklin on Tuesday had his first press conference since the news began to develop Monday night, and he was asked about the opening.

“As you guys know, I can’t stand any form of distraction,” Franklin told reporters. “I’ll discuss this today with the leadership council, so we can make sure that all of our energy is on our preparation for Auburn. That’s how we’ll handle it. I’m going to talk to the leadership council today about it.”

Franklin is currently priced at +600 to get the USC job, according to Sportsline, making him a co-favorite with Fickell, who’s also listed at +600. However, Fickell all but shot down the speculation in his press conference, saying “I know nothing, nor does it make me have any interest. It’s not a big deal.” Franklin, by comparison, avoided discussion of the topic entirely, saying it will be handled internally when he meets with the Penn State leadership council.

Contractual barriers to USC pursuing Franklin

The Nittany Lions signed Franklin to a six-year contract extension following the 2019 season. The deal calls for Franklin to make $5.5 million this season, with his salary being raised by $250,000 annually through 2025. The deal averages $5.9 million per year in guaranteed annual compensation.

Franklin’s buyout is $4 million this year, decreasing by $1 million each year until 2025, when there is no buyout.

Included alongside Franklin’s guaranteed annual pay are his bonuses. These include a retention bonus, paying Franklin $500,000 this year and every year on the remainder of his contract if he is kept as Penn State’s coach. Additionally, Franklin’s performance bonuses include $800,000 for winning the national championship, $350,000 for winning a Big Ten championship, $100,000 for being named Big Ten Coach of the Year and $150,000 for National Coach of the Year, among other benchmarks.

Franklin’s resume

Franklin is in his eighth season at Penn State, where he holds a 62-28 record. He won the Big Ten title in 2016 and has been to one Rose Bowl, where the Nittany Lions fell to USC, 52-49, in 2016. They won the Cotton Bowl in 2019.

Last season was Franklin’s worst at Penn State, and his worst as a Division-I head coach. In the abbreviated, COVID-impacted season, Franklin went just 4-5 and failed to make a bowl game for the first time in his head coaching career. He had made nine-straight bowl games dating back to 2011, when he was the head coach at Vanderbilt.

Franklin at Vanderbilt managed to take the Commodores to unprecedented levels of success. Although he spent just three seasons with the Commodores, he clinched three bowl games — losing the Liberty Bowl in 2011, winning the Music City Bowl in 2012 and winning the BBVA Compass Bowl in 2013 — and had back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2012 and 2013. His two nine-win seasons were the first such seasons in Vanderbilt’s modern-day history, as the Commodores had not won nine or more games since 1915.