Penn State football: 5 replacements for James Franklin if he leaves for USC or LSU
By John Buhler
Penn State football head coach James Franklin is drawing major interest from USC and LSU.
Though his Penn State football team is the No. 7 squad in the country, there is a chance Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin leaves Happy Valley for a bigger job this offseason.
Franklin is drawing interest from other blue-blood programs such as USC, LSU and maybe even Miami. Though he is at his dream job as a native Pennsylvanian, it is so hard to get Penn State into the College Football Playoff in its current four-team format. While he won the Big Ten in 2016, that was with a two-loss team, and that was five years ago. So there is a chance he could leave.
The good news for Penn State is the Nittany Lions should be able to get an excellent head coach if Franklin heads to Baton Rouge, Los Angeles or maybe even Coral Gables this offseason.
James Franklin: 5 replacements for Penn State head coach if he leaves program
player. 833. Scouting Report. Head Coach. Kentucky Wildcats. Mark Stoops. 5. Pick Analysis
Mark Stoops could stay at Kentucky forever, but you never know these days
Don’t be shocked over the fact that Mark Stoops is the second longest tenured head coach in the SEC behind only Nick Saban. He has done a remarkable job in Lexington since taking over the Kentucky program in 2013. While Kentucky is better known for what its team does on the hardwood, Stoops is quickly becoming a living legend in the Bluegrass State on the gridiron.
What this comes down to is if Stoops wants to be Kentucky’s version of Gary Patterson or Bill Snyder. He can stay in Lexington for as long as he wants, but it is so hard competing in the same SEC East that has blue-blood programs like Florida and Georgia. This is why Kentucky has never won a division title in football. While going to Penn State is a bit of a lateral move, it could happen.
Stoops played in the Big Ten for Hayden Fry at Iowa. He is a Youngstown, Ohio native and recruits Ohio better than most teams in the Big Ten. His defensive-minded coaching philosophy would be perfect in Happy Valley. No doubt he will win there, but the Big Ten East still has Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State in it. If Stoops leaves Kentucky, it may be for LSU or Florida State.
Penn State may be an upgrade historically over Kentucky, but Stoops is only a dark horse here.