James Franklin’s time at Penn State came to an abrupt end earlier this week when the school made the decision to fire him following a 22-21 loss at home to Northwestern. The move triggered a buyout of his deal that will pay him $1 million for the rest of this season, and an additional $48 million over the next six years. With all of the coaching positions expected to become available at the end of this season, the 53-year-old could jump straight back on to the sideline. But reports indicate that might not be the wisest move for his bank account.
Franklin’s Next Coaching Decision Could Cost Him
Is TV the smartest option for James Franklin
According to a report by Front Office Sports, Franklin’s buyout comes with a “duty to mitigate” clause that would lessen the amount of money Penn State would have to pay him were he to obtain another coaching job. That clause prevents Franklin from being able to “double dip” when it comes to his paychecks as a coach. However, that clause appears to not be the case should he get a job as a college football analyst on television. With both Fox and CBS carrying Big Ten games on their network, it seems like it would be a perfect fit to grab the recently departed Nittany Lions coach for a place on one of their panels.
It’s a common occurrence for a coach to move from the sideline to television after leaving a team. Urban Meyer joined Fox after leaving Ohio State, and returned to Big Noon Kickoff after being fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bill Parcells, Mike Ditka, and Nick Saban also followed the same path. It all depends on the type of schedule Franklin will want to undertake.
Which Pregame Show Is A Better Fit For Franklin
When it comes to the two networks that carry Big Ten football, their pregame shows are very different in scope. Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff is on-location every week on the Fox television network. CBS’s College Foootball Pregame show is normally held in their New York studios and airs on CBS Spoorts Network, their cable station. Big Noon Kickoff runs for two hours, while College Football Pregame goes three hours. CBS also airs select Pac-12, Mountain West, and service academy games both on their network and on CBS Sports Network. That would allow Franklin, who also coached at Vanderbilt and was an assistant at Maryland and Washington State, to show some range. Fox only carries the Big Ten. Franklin would have to hear about his record against the other top teams in the conference.
It seems like the fit would be better at CBS. But either network would allow him to rebuild his image and collect his full paycheck from Penn State. The question then becomes how long would he stay on television. That answer would only be known by Franklin.
Check out our Big Ten Paradigm podcast, as Noah Drury addresses the firing of James Franklin at Penn State.
Listen to “Big Ten Paradigm: James Franklin Fired At Penn State” on Spreaker.
