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James Franklin Refuses To Deny Interest In USC Job

(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

William Davis Contributor
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The USC Trojans do not have a vacant head coaching job yet, but one high-profile football coach has reportedly already shown some interest.

The Trojans are currently nearing the end of what has been a miserable season. USC currently sits at 5–6, and many people believe that the program will look to make a coaching change following their season finale against third-ranked Notre Dame.

Penn State head coach James Franklin has been rumored to be a candidate for the USC coaching job for a few weeks now. Franklin discussed the speculation on Tuesday during his weekly press availability. (RELATED: Why Louisville Couldn’t Afford To Keep Bobby Petrino)

Franklin pointed out how rumors always surface around this time of year and emphasized his focus on Penn State’s upcoming game against Maryland, but one thing Franklin did not do was deny interest in the job.

Franklin started his head coaching career at Vanderbilt, where he took the Commodores to new heights, scoring back to back nine win seasons in 2013 and 2014.

Since taking over at Penn State, Franklin has led the Nittany Lion’s to back to back 11 win seasons, including the 2016 Big Ten Championship. Penn State currently sits at 8-3 heading into their final regular season game.

While Penn State is a very good job, USC is an elite job. It’s much easier to recruit top prospects to sunny Southern California than it is to snowy Pennsylvania.

I suspect Franklin knows this and will give the USC job serious consideration if the Trojans decide to move on from embattled Coach Clay Helton and make a run at Franklin.

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