James Franklin’s coaching future is a distraction for Penn State that only he can fix

STATE COLLEGE – Penn State’s 2021 season began with five straight wins and a lot of optimism about reaching the college football playoff. Since then, it has turned into back-to-back losses and a carousel of managerial rumors surrounding James Franklin.

As Penn State tries to avoid three straight losses this week against Ohio State, Franklin was again named the favorite to fill the head coach job at USC.

It was also reported this week Franklin changed agents to Jimmy Sexton from Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Franklin confirmed that Tuesday but said it happened over the summer and was only reported this week.

“[I am] completely focused on our season and our team and finding a way to beat Ohio State and be 1-0 this week, “Franklin said. “I will not go into details”.

Reporters peppered Franklin with numerous questions about the USC rumors. Athletic Audrey Snyder asked if he intends to train for Penn State after this season.

“My focus is completely on Illinois, and this team and this program,” Franklin said. “I believe that during my 8 years I have demonstrated my commitment to this university and this community. And that’s my statement. ”

Franklin, of course, meant Ohio State instead of Illinois. A harmless mistake, until you made the same mistake twice in your weekly availability.

“I think we are trying to focus on Illinois and talk about Illinois as much as we can,” Franklin said once again with the intention of talking about the state of Ohio.

He also named this week’s venue The Big House (Michigan Stadium), instead of The Shoe (where the Buckeyes play).

It’s easy to say that the loss to Illinois (arguably the worst loss in Franklin’s tenure at Penn State) and the rumors about the USC or LSU jobs have pushed the program into a pit of distraction.

“It hasn’t been a discussion or a staff or player issue,” Franklin said of the training rumors. “We have kept it very direct. Obviously, there are things that we discuss in great detail in our building. ”

But when asked to commit to the show and Penn State in the future, Franklin danced around the issue.

“There are things we can control and things we cannot from the outside,” Franklin said. “But this has been kind of a story that has happened numerous times and we just try to keep it as focused as possible.”

The only one with the ability to end distraction is Franklin. The eight-year-old head coach could say he has no intention of leaving Penn State. But it hasn’t.

Penn State (5-2) travels to Ohio State (6-1) on Saturday, October 30. The start is at 7:30 pm on abc27. Full highlights and reactions will follow on abc27 News at 11.