5 James Franklin replacements that Penn State fans would take in a heartbeat over him

At some point, Penn State is just going to have to rip the band-aid off. It may not be after this year, or next, but at some point, they need an upgrade at head coach. In the words of The Bobs from Office Space, "What exactly do ... you do here?!" Franklin is a CEO-type of a head coach, but tends to get in the way of his players and coaching staff of being anything more than a 10-2 program in the Big Ten.

In a game where he really needed to help out his struggling offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to do something, anything vs. Jim Knowles' menacing Ohio State defense, he stood on the sidelines and yelled like the adult version of Caillou. PBS had to cancel the show because so many parents hated that precocious brat. We have to believe Penn Staters are ready to cancel their overpaid head coach.

While I would not go as far as saying that he is merely pushing snake oil like Jimbo Fisher did for years at Texas A&M, Franklin has been employed for far too long for the results to remain pedestrianly the same. This was the best program during the first 10 years of the College Football Playoff that did not make it in a single time. At some point, Penn State will need to honestly assess its head coach.

Here are five candidates to replace Franklin that I think would have more success right away over him.

5. Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops

This may come as a complete surprise, but hear me out. Mark Stoops has been an institution at Kentucky for over a decade now. While the Wildcats are probably not going to a bowl game because Bush Hamdan is the Liam Coen you have at home, on top of the fact that Brock Vandagriff offers no touch in the passing game, Stoops has built Kentucky into a respectable program out of utter rubble.

Given that he is starting to feel some pressure in Lexington, I would venture to guess that his time at UK is shorter than we think. No, I don't think Mitch Barnhart is going to fire him after this season. However, there is a chance where he does leave on his own accord. I have often tied him to his alma mater of Iowa as Kirk Ferentz's eventual successor, as well as to Florida State should Mike Norvell fail.

I would argue this man from Youngstown would restore a necessary blue-collar ethos to Penn State.

4. Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Better yet, try to steal 'em. Saturday was a great day for Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. The former Cornell head coach is ready for his big opportunity to lead his own Power Four team. He has been an elite defensive coordinator at three Power Four stops already at Ohio State, as well as at Oklahoma State and Duke not all that long ago. He is ready for this.

By hiring Knowles, you make traditional rival Ohio State worse, as well as giving your head coach an identity beyond that of a CEO type. It would remain to be seen what type of staff he would put together. You would hope that Tom Allen and Andy Kotelnicki would stay on as his two coordinators of note, but that would be a picturesque situation. This is the best job I think Knowles could possibly get.

Knowles was the runner-up for the Duke job that went to former Penn State coordinator Manny Diaz.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Tom Allen

Oh, this would ruffle some feathers, alright. What if the Penn State athletic department decided to kick Franklin to the curb after a frustrating end to the season, only to promote defensive coordinator Tom Allen from within? He is only one year removed from being the head coach at Indiana. While Curt Cignetti is doing unbelievable things as his successor in Bloomington, Allen is a Power Four coach.

My hope for Allen in his next job, whenever that may arise, is that he goes to a place with a greater winning tradition than Indiana, one where recruiting is not going to be so difficult. I think he would do quite well taking over at a Big 12 school or somewhere in Florida. But what about him taking over from Franklin in Happy Valley? It was not his side of the ball that cost Penn State the game in Week 10...

Very few teams have a great candidate in-house, but I would argue that Penn State does in Allen.

2. Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold

This would be a lot of fun. I understand that the Kansas Jayhawks are not the least bit good under Lance Leipold this year. Much of that probably has to do with Jalon Daniels being a shell of himself physically at quarterback, as well as Andy Kotelnicki leaving Lawrence for State College. What if I told you there was a chance that Leipold could reunite with his protege and become his boss once again?

Admittedly, this is too tall of an ask, but we have seen what the Leipold/Kotelnicki pairing is capable at several levels of college football. From Wisconsin-Whitewater, to Buffalo, to Kansas, they found ways to win where most other individuals could not. Leipold may be getting up there in age, but I think he would be the perfect stop-gap coach for Penn State before Kotelnicki is ready to run the program.

Regardless of how good the fit is, it is apparent Leipold stayed in Kansas longer than he should have.

1. Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell

Even if his team lost for the first time this season over the weekend, who cares? Matt Campbell is still one helluva head coach at Iowa State. He has taken a perennial Big 12 doormat and has turned them into a regular title contender in the conference most years. While Campbell may have a great athletic director in Jamie Pollard, I just wonder what all he could be capable of with even greater resources...

Campbell's name is starting to resurface as a head-coaching candidate to watch potentially move to a better job. I believe he would be an improvement over what is going at places like Michigan, USC and even Auburn. To me, Campbell feels like a head coach who is destined to stay in the midwestern geographical footprint. Let's be honest. He is not long for Ames, so don't let Michigan hire him first.

Campbell knows how to build a defensive-minded, blue-collar football culture and sustain excellence.