Where there's James Franklin smoke, there's fire: Pete Thamel gives new update

There have been rumors for some time that former Penn State head coach James Franklin and Virginia Tech had interest after the Hokies fired Brent Pry and Penn State let Franklin go. Getting any credible rumors has been tough since all parties involved signed NDAs.

On Thursday night, Franklin was in attendance at the Troy/Old Dominion game to visit with former assistant coaches from his stops at Vanderbilt and Penn State. David Teel of The Virginian-Pilot asked Franklin about the Virginia Tech rumors, and he declined to comment. He can't. That didn't stop Pete Thamel of ESPN from breaking some big news on Saturday morning on College GameDay.

James Franklin in discussions to become the next Virginia Tech football coach

Thamel reported that Franklin and Virginia Tech are "engaged in early talks" and discussions for him to become the school's next head coach, and something could be done in the coming days. It's not surprising that it was reported that way, as there has been smoke about that for weeks around Franklin and the program, but Thamel said he expected something to be done in the coming days.

Thamel went on and reported that nothing has been done yet, but the two sides could resolve it early next week. It has been reported by different people that there have been discussions about Franklin making the move to Blacksburg. He would be a massive hire as he had six 10-plus win seasons with the Nittany Lions.

Getting this done sooner rather than later would be big for the program and Franklin ahead of next weekend's final home game of the 2025 season when Miami comes to town. It could be a massive recruiting weekend for Franklin. The ACC has the game in a six-day hold, and the time and channel will be announced on Sunday (or after Saturday night's games across the conference).

This report isn't shocking, but if Thamel is reporting it, then it's closer to being a done deal than some may think.