Where will Penn State’s James Franklin coach next year?

James Franklin has been linked to the USC and LSU head coaching vacancies throughout Penn State Football’s 2021 college football season 

James Franklin’s name can’t seem to stay out of the news.

With rumors swirling Franklin may leave Penn State for the open USC job and LSU job (and any other job you can think of).

Whether to maintain leverage over the Penn State administration when it comes to a potential contract extension and commitment to spending on the football program, or because he is legitimately interested in the marquee openings, Franklin hasn’t completely shot down the speculation.

Our Victory Bell Rings writers peer into the VBR Crystal Ball to tell you where we think James Franklin will be coaching when the 2022 college football season starts.

Nick Kreiser (Football Writer)

Although some fans may not like it, I think James Franklin sticks around and is the head coach of Penn State Football again next season.

I had a brief day or two where I suspected otherwise, but as the dust begins to settle, I think he sticks around.

I find it hard to believe he would walk away from his highest-ranked recruiting class to date coming in next season, including 5-star quarterback Drew Allar. One of the primary criticisms of Franklin has been his inability to recruit elite quarterback talent, and now he has one that will be on campus within 3 months if he sticks around. Another position he has struggled to recruit is the offensive line.

Over the summer, Franklin picked up a commit from the top offensive lineman in the class of 2023, 5-star Alex Birchmier. He would be the highest-rated offensive lineman he has ever had. Franklin also has true freshman Landon Tengwall on campus already, who is the second highest-rated offensive lineman the Franklin has ever signed at Penn State. They also have Drew Shelton committed for the class of 2022, who would also be one of the better offensive lineman Franklin has brought in.  Add in all of that with the best running back in the country (Nick Singleton) coming in next year, and the offensive success looks to be on the rise in the near future.

Franklin also showed the willingness to fill roster holes via the transfer portal this past offseason, as well as to go out and make a splash hire at offensive coordinator after just 1 season of Kirk Ciarrocca. The historically loyal Franklin would not have made those moves if the possibility for him to leave in the near future existed.

Finally, the football facilities on campus are supposed to be getting facelifts sooner rather than later, making Happy Valley more attractive to recruits.

For all those reasons, I don’t think James Franklin will be moving to either version of LA (Los Angeles or Louisiana) this offseason.