ESPN had an American Conference battle between Tulsa and East Carolina on Thursday night. Matt Barrie handled the play-by-play duties with Tom Luginbill, the analyst. In the third quarter of East Carolina's 41-27 victory over the Golden Hurricanes, Barrie and Luginbill spoke about James Franklin's future, and it included Virginia Tech.
Where Franklin ends up remains to be seen, but a job in TV of some capacity is not out of the question either, while Penn State pays him. If he does get back into coaching, they floated Virginia Tech as an option.
“I would imagine, unless he doesn’t want to be because he’s getting paid good money not to (coach),” Barrie said. “But I’d be interested to see what his next move is because certainly, there are going to be some jobs opening that would want James Franklin as their head coach. … You look at a job like Virginia Tech. The energy that James Franklin would bring to a Virginia Tech.”
“James Franklin coached at Maryland,'' Luginbill followed up with. "Very familiar with the DMV, the DC, Maryland, Virginia, tri-state area, the state as a whole.''
James Franklin to Virginia Tech feels like a long shot
All of that sounds great, but what are the realistic chances that Franklin would choose Virginia Tech over other openings? Right now, his job is the most lucrative opening, but for him, there are likely going to be other options. There are rumors that Florida is going to open soon, and that would be more desirable than Virginia Tech.
Barrie and Luginbill also noted the commitment that Virginia Tech is making to athletics and putting into football, which they hope is something that will attract a profile hire. It was reported by Andy Bitter of Tech Sideline that the Hokies committee signed NDAs, so don't expect much to be leaked during the process over the coming weeks and months.