A Reporter Grilled James Franklin About His Job Prospects And It Got Awkward

The speculation is that Penn State coach James Franklin will soon be USC coach James Franklin. Tuesday was the Big Ten coaches teleconference, giving reporters an opportunity to get right to the bottom of this matter by asking Franklin directly.

It wasn’t productive.

This is a perfectly absurd exchange. In all likelihood, Franklin’s real answer to that question is, “I don’t know,” but answering it that way would only make life more complicated for Franklin, so he’s not going to do that.

Another option would be to answer, “Yes,” and that could be true at the moment he said it, but not true a week, a day, an hour later.

And of course he could say, “No,” if that is indeed the case, but I’m assuming he’d rather deliver that message to his bosses and players in a manner other than a teleconference with Big Ten reporters.

Then again, what’s a reporter to do, not ask the one question everybody wants to know about James Franklin?

Ultimately, after years of watching and participating in press conferences, I’m not so sure they’re worthwhile, or even a good idea in theory.