5 questions ESPN should ask James Franklin on the College GameDay set

For the first time since he was fired this past Sunday, James Franklin is set to make a public appearance.

The longtime Penn State coach will join ESPN’s College GameDay set Saturday for an “exclusive interview,” according to an ESPN release.

The show will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, airing from Athens, Georgia, for the Georgia-Ole Miss game.

Nittany Lions athletic director Pat Kraft decided to fire Franklin after Penn State, the preseason No. 2 team, fell in its third straight game. Kraft said the decision was not based solely on those three games, but also on the fact that he thinks the next coach can lead Penn State to a national championship.

Franklin has not made any public statements or taken an interview since his firing.

Here are a few things we hope to learn from the ESPN set this weekend.

How did things fall apart this season?

Penn State was one of the country’s most popular picks to win a national title this season.

Franklin and his staff made the national semifinal last year and came three points from beating Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Then Penn State returned a huge chunk of its talent (Drew Allar, Dani Dennis-Sutton, etc.) and added at key positions via the transfer portal (three wide receivers, linebacker Amare Campbell).

The Lions seemed to break after a loss in the White Out to Oregon, but they also never quite lived up to their potential through a cupcake nonconference slate.

Now that Franklin is removed from the program, will he be able to put his finger more directly on what went wrong?

What’s next?

This is the big one.

Will Franklin go right back into coaching next season, or would he prefer to take a year or two off and relax in the media circuit as a TV pundit?

There are set to be many attractive head coach openings this offseason that would be a good fit for Franklin. It may be hard for a college football lifer to sit this cycle out.

But what if he’s going on GameDay to announce he’s joining ESPN’s weekly set? It certainly would be the least stressful option of the two.

Why was Terry Smith the right choice for interim head coach?

Smith revealed this week that Franklin always said he should be the next man up if anything happened to his old boss. Now, we’re living that reality.

Franklin will undoubtedly be asked about his successor. He’s loyal to his guys, and he’ll likely have nothing but good things to say about Smith, no matter how tough the situation may be.

After all, the two have worked together since Franklin’s first season at Penn State.

Who should be Penn State’s next coach?

Yeah, no chance he answers this one, right?

But it would be pretty fun to see Nick Saban ask straight up who fits Penn State best moving forward.

Considering Franklin’s humorous back-and-forth with Saban over the past couple of years, he’d probably point right back at the legendary former Alabama coach.

But come on, wouldn’t it be fun to hear Franklin give a ringing endorsement for (or against) Matt Rhule, Eli Drinkwitz, Urban Meyer or any other top name in the rumor mill?

How will you remember your time at Penn State?

It’s been an overwhelmingly emotional week for those still at Penn State, from coaches to players and beyond. Everyone inside the Lasch Football Building was there because of something Franklin did.

Thus, it may be an emotional opportunity for Franklin to reflect on his 11-plus years in Happy Valley.

Things got ugly at the end. Fans booed him relentlessly after his final loss against Northwestern.

But there was so much good in his tenure, and he brought Penn State back to being a nationally relevant program after a few dark years.

It’ll be interesting to see how Franklin, ever the diplomat, addresses such an important era in history.

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