5 potential replacements for James Franklin at Penn State
By John Buhler
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin is definitely on the hot seat. Here are five potential replacements for Franklin in 2017.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have not looked elite under head coach James Franklin during his first two-plus years on the job since leaving Vanderbilt in 2013. Franklin was the coach-in-waiting at Maryland for years, but left College Park in favor of the Vanderbilt job, turning around the Commodores before heading to Penn State.
Franklin hasn’t done better than 7-6 in his two seasons with the Nittany Lions. Penn State may have won its home opener over Kent State, 33-13, in Week 1, but the Nittany Lions offense has become pedestrian under Franklin since taking over for Bill O’Brien in 2014.
Down early to in-state rival Pittsburgh, should Penn State look for its fourth head coach in six seasons, here are five candidates that the Nittany Lions could attract to Happy Valley in 2017.
5. Chad Morris – SMU Mustangs head coach
One of the bigger names coaching a mid-major program in the country in 2016 has to be SMU Mustangs head coach Chad Morris. Though Morris has only won three games at SMU since taking over last season, he eventually projects as a Power 5 head coach.
Before arriving in Dallas, Morris had spent the previous four seasons as Dabo Swinney’s offensive coordinator with the Clemson Tigers. Under Swinney, Clemson emerged as a national power thanks to having prolific offenses.
Morris gave credibility to Clemson’s recruiting efforts at offensive skill positions. Franklin has largely underwhelmed at getting Penn State to do much of anything on offense. He inherited a five-star recruit at quarterback in Christian Hackenberg but saw him regress in his final two years at Penn State.
If Morris can recruit at a high level in the Southeastern United States while at Clemson, he should be able to get a ton of talent to come with him to Penn State should he take over for Franklin in 2017.
Next: 4. Art Briles