Vanderbilt Head Coach James Franklin to go to Penn State – reports

Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin is going to leave the SEC and be the next coach of Penn State, according to reports.

Franklin, who had been head coach in Nashville since 2011, took the Commodores to an unprecedented two straight bowl games, going 2-0. They beat Houston 41-24 in their last one only last week.

But Vanderbilt has denied the rumors. “Until I hear otherwise, he (James Franklin) is Vanderbilt’s football coach,” said Vandy AD David Williams to Jeff Lockridge at the Tennessean, who tweeted this out.

Penn State site Fight On State said Franklin had signed a contract, but the deal had yet to be approved by the Penn State Board of Trustees.

BOTTOM LINE: Franklin’s enthusiasm for the Vanderbilt program had the team energized – including a famous get-together with Georgia Defensive co-ordinator Todd Grantham after the team’s narrow home loss to the Bulldogs in 2011.Vanderbilt was 6-7 in 2011, and then had back-to-back 9-4 years. His running back Zac Stacy, who played for him in 2011 and 2012, put up 973 yards and 7 TDs in his rookie season for the St Louis Rams.In this appearance on an ESPN National Championship preview show in Pasadena, Franklin didn’t answer whether he was planning to leave Vanderbilt, although after turnaround at Vanderbilt, he was a hot property.

Not only was he interviewed by Penn State, but he was also interviewed by the Washington Redskins, who today opted by Jay Gruden.