Penn State coach James Franklin addresses USC speculation: ‘I can’t stand any form of distraction’

STATE COLLEGE — The college football coaching carousel began spinning in earnest Monday when Southern California fired coach Clay Helton, creating a notable and appealing vacancy in the sport’s landscape.

Penn State coach James Franklin’s name was immediately among those floated by a number of insiders as a potential candidate for the job.

During his Tuesday afternoon news conference, Franklin was asked about the speculation surrounding his future as the coach of the Nittany Lions. Franklin said he’ll address the rumors with his players.

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

No. 10 Penn State faces No. 22 Auburn in a nationally televised Whiteout game Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.

USC was the first major domino to fall when the university fired Helton, who had worked for the Trojans since 2010. Helton was 46-24 with one Pac-12 title and one Rose Bowl win — over Penn State after the 2016 season — in parts of eight seasons as the program’s head coach.

Helton was fired after USC lost to Pac-12 rival Stanford, 42-28, at home Saturday night.

A number of outlets, including CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, The Athletic and ESPN, have placed Franklin on lists of candidates for the USC job. Back in 2018, Franklin’s name was floated as a potential candidate for the job when it appeared Helton was on the hot seat. Ultimately, Helton held on, and Franklin remained at Penn State. And now, Franklin’s name has popped up once again.

Other potential candidates for the job include Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, Oregon’s Mario Cristobal, Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and plenty of others. It should be a coveted job for coaches who want a shot at running one of the country’s most prominent programs.

In the announcement of Helton’s firing, USC athletic director Mike Bohn highlighted the expectations he has for the football program.

“(D)uring the past two off-seasons we provided every resource necessary for our football program to compete for championships,” Bohn wrote. “The added resources carried significantly increased expectations for our team’s performance, and it is already evident that, despite the enhancements, those expectations would not be met without a change in leadership.”