The Carolina Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule on Monday, quickly leading to instant speculation over his next job.
Since he coached at Temple and Baylor before jumping to the NFL in 2020, a return to the college ranks wouldn’t surprise many in the football world. However, a recent suggestion raised some eyebrows.
Journalist John U. Bacon said to “keep an eye” on Penn State as a possible landing spot. He reasoned that athletic director Patrick Kraft is friends with Rhule, and head coach James Franklin could “feel the heat” if the Nittany Lions falter during a tough upcoming series of games against Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio State.
Bacon posted a Twitter thread clarifying his stance after his original post “touched a nerve” with Penn State fans.
He said the speculation came from a program insider. While Franklin has a substantial buyout clause, Bacon believes boosters would be “eager to help” if they want a change.
“I’m not a big Franklin fan, but mainly because my friends inside PSU athletics, who know him, aren’t,” Bacon said. “That said, the odds of any big coaching changes any time soon obviously aren’t that great. Just pointing out that with Kraft as AD and his friend Rhule available, Franklin’s margin of error has shrunk a bit.”
The timing for such a suggestion seems strange, as Penn State is 5-0 and ranked No. 10 in the AP poll. Franklin’s program appears to have turned the corner after going 11-11 in the previous two seasons.
Yet the Nittany Lions could fall back to earth against the Wolverines and Buckeyes. That alone likely wouldn’t be enough to fire Franklin after such a promising start to his ninth season, but perhaps a steeper fall could put him on the hot seat.