4. James Franklin, Penn State
I suspect the rumor mill will be circling the wagons with this one in the coming weeks. While Penn State is an incredible place to be a head coach, the feeling around college football is when James Franklin moves to a top-level job and not if he ever will. He’s one of the top coaches in all of college football, not to mention an incredible recruiter and role model. You can bet Florida State may even make the call on this one.
Despite Franklin being one of the top head coaches, his salary lines up with Pat Fitzgerald, and Florida State is not going to be afraid to splash the cash if they can get a guy of Franklin’s level.
The issue, besides if Franklin will legitimately have interest, is whether Florida State will pay Willie Taggart’s buy out of about $17 million, and pay James Franklin’s buy out at Penn State, which could be around $16 million as well. That’s a steep price, but this is the best coach Florida State could get at this juncture.