Vanderbilt coach James Franklin generating interest from NFL teams

One of the hot names among the college football coaching ranks is Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin. Presumably that positions him to be a top candidate for any high profile college gigs that open up, such as a possible opening at Penn State.

This morning Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Franklin might be able to set his sights even higher than that.

While it would be premature to place Franklin in the same class as guys like Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly, it makes sense that the recent trend in NFL hires is favoring college coaches. One can certainly see why Franklin and Bill O’Brien are more appealing than some of the re-tread options that might be out there (Wade Phillips, Lovie Smith, etc.)

This is especially true for teams that already have a lot of talent on the roster. That might be the blueprint for why Kelly has enjoyed some early success with the Philadelphia Eagles, and there will be more open jobs like that this year with the Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings, and potentially the Detroit Lions.

Franklin and any other potential head coaching candidate should have a better sense of where they might land in about 24 hours or so on ‘Black Monday.’