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Report: James Franklin a potential target for FSU vacancy

Teddy Rydquist

By Teddy Rydquist

Published:

Just days before his No. 8 Nittany Lions are set to square off with the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Penn State head coach James Franklin’s name has been mentioned in connection with another of America’s highest-profile coaching jobs: the Florida State Seminoles.

247Sports shared the latest on Twitter:

Reported by Noles247 beat writer Brendan Sonnone in the attached article, Franklin has spoken with representatives for the university about the opening.

Parting ways with second-year head coach Willie Taggart on November 3, Seminoles decision-makers have stated a goal of naming a successor before the end of the month.

Taking over the program following Jimbo Fisher’s departure for Texas A&M, Taggart posted just a 9-12 record during his time in Tallahassee.

A Langhorne, Pennsylvania native, Franklin began his career in coaching as the wide receivers coach at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in 1995.

Working his way up to the role of wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator at Maryland by 2003, he tested the NFL waters for a year by serving as the Green Bay Packers’ receivers coach in 2005.

Returning to the collegiate game as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Kansas State in 2006, he took his first head coaching position with the Vanderbilt Commodores in 2011.

Winning 24 of his 39 games in Nashville, Franklin led the Commodores to a bowl game in each of his three seasons – winning two of them.

Now in his sixth season at the helm of the Nittany Lions, he has totaled a 54-22 record, including a 2-3 mark in bowl games.

Getting back in the win column by beating the Indiana Hoosiers, 34-27, on November 16, Penn State will be competing for a B1G East title when they visit Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

With both Big Noon Kickoff and College GameDay in attendance, the action will kick at 12:00PM ET on FOX with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and “The All-American Girl” Jenny Taft on the call.

Teddy Rydquist

A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Rydquist has been contributing to Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition since 2019. He can be found on Twitter @TeddyRydquist.