James Franklin and USC / Update - Looks like Helton is staying at USC

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Peter Ghersen
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@Pete_Ghersen
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BREAKING: A source close to the situation is telling me that #USC head coach Clay Helton is coming back next season. #Trojans #FightOn #USCfootball @USCScoop #Pac12FB

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“The Audible” Podcast Discusses James Franklin and USC

Although we have yet to see an official report from any outlet, it’s been speculated by a number of national media pundits — from Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, to Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel of The Athletic — that James Franklin could be connected to the opening gig at USC should the Trojans fire Clay Helton.

Here’s a piece of what Feldman and Mandel said on “The Audible” podcast:

Feldman: People will say, “He’s a Pennsylvania guy.” Yes he is. And he has really done a really good job in State College. Here is the reality though, and I don’t know if Penn State fans probably will not like to hear this, but if you’re the head coach at USC, you have by far the best job, the best program in the conference. It is not even close in terms of you have all these recruits in your background. You have manageable academics to get them into school. A lot of these kids — most of these kids — grew up dreaming of playing for USC. You have really good facilities. You are also going into the Pac 12 South when it is in complete disarray, right? If you’re at Penn State. Yeah, it’s got great tradition too, and you got really good facilities. You also have Ohio State and Michigan in your division, not to mention Michigan State. I mean, I think most people who are objective and who are not diehard Penn State fans would say that’s probably the third best job in the division, right?

Mandel: Absolutely. That’s the reality of it. And another thing that should be brought up is: I don’t know if the Penn State fan base has ever fully embraced James Franklin even after winning a Big Ten Championship. I still hear the criticism every time they lose a game. They’re 8-3, you know, that’s not a bad season by any means, but I’m sure a lot of people thought it should have been better. So you could stick around and continue to butt heads with Ohio State and Michigan and trying to keep winning everybody over, or you could go to a place that is so hungry and desperate to win that you’ll be given the royal treatment the minute you step off the plane.

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