College Football
James Franklin Endorses Nick Saban for College Football Commissioner
PHOENIX – Based on the current college football landscape with the transfer portal, NIL and an expanded College Football Playoff, should the sport have a commissioner like the NFL and other major professional leagues? Penn State coach James Franklin made it clear he definitely believes a commissioner is now necessary earlier in the month.
But he didn’t initially mention who he thinks should have the job.
In Arizona Sunday, Dec. 29, Franklin endorsed his man.
For Franklin, that man is none other than West Virginia native and legendary coach Nick Saban. And of course, Saban’s credentials are obvious. He is the man many feel is the greatest college football coach who ever lived. The Alabama legend coached his teams to seven national titles over a career than spanned more than three decades.
There’s an argument to make Saban is more qualified than anyone for such a job.
Now, Saban is a panelist on ESPN’s College GameDay. But would he want to leave TV and become an administrator? There’s no guarantee he would even want the headache of the commissioner role, especially when he retired from coaching largely due to the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the sport.
“I think one of the most important things we can do is, let’s get a commissioner of college football that is waking up every single morning and going to bed every single night making decisions that’s in the best interest of college football,” Franklin said. “I think Nick Saban would be the obvious choice if we made that decision. Now, Nick will probably call me tonight and say, ‘Don’t do this,’ but I think he’s the obvious choice, right?”
James Franklin once called Nick Saban ‘NICKY SATAN’
Franklin and Saban have a history that dates back more than a decade. Before he was the Penn State boss, Franklin spent three seasons as the head coach at Vanderbilt, which meant he shared a conference with Saban and Alabama.
During this time, Franklin, when speaking at a high school sports banquet in Macon, Georgia, jokingly referred to Saban as “Nicky Satan.”
(I was) really talking about the work ethic that he has a reputation for, and that we’re going to outwork them. I made a joke. And in today’s society with all the media and social media and people with tape recorders and things like that, that doesn’t come off that way. I know people have tremendous pride in Alabama, and their fans are fanatical. So I understand. But it was a joke and I didn’t mean to offend anybody.”
“He’s got a lot on his plate right now with recruiting,” Franklin said. “I have a lot on my plate right now with recruiting. We spoke briefly. He said, ‘Coach, I have a lot of respect for what you guys are doing up there at Vanderbilt.’ I said, ‘Coach, I’ve got tremendous respect for what you’re doing.’ And that was it. Got off the phone and that was it.”
WV Sports Now’s partner site Nittany Sports Now helped with reporting for this story.
