When Virginia Tech fired football coach Brent Pry back in September, there was a search committee that was put together to find his replacement. After Penn State fired James Franklin, he moved to the top of Virginia Tech's search committee list.
Over the last couple of weeks, there have been a lot of rumors surrounding Franklin to Virginia Tech, but that has seemed to have cooled off lately. His agent, Jimmy Sexton, plays hardball and appears to be using Virginia Tech as leverage for another job. Which job? That remains to be seen, but there are some openings that are appealing and a potential one in Florida in the ACC with Florida State later this month.
Regardless of which jobs are open or could become open, one college football insider put some water on the smoke of James Franklin to Virginia Tech.
Andy Staples of On3 throws water on James Franklin to Virginia Tech rumors
Andy Staples of On3 threw some water on the Franklin rumors to Virginia Tech, and truth be told, with how this is dragging out, it makes sense.
“James Franklin’s gonna have options if he thought his best option was Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech was offering the job, he would have already taken it,” Staples said on the Dan Patrick Show.
Staples went on to mention Auburn and Florida State as jobs that could be holding things up. FSU has already said that it is making a decision on Mike Novell's future, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Franklin holding out to see if that job does open. It would certainly be a better option than Virginia Tech in terms of winning.
That isn't to say that Franklin couldn't come to Blacksburg and win as quickly as next year with the resources that the school has for him and the money that is being pumped into the athletic department. The longer this goes on, you get the feeling that Franklin going to Virginia Tech becomes unlikely. Staples' insight is not what Hokies' fans want to hear.