Penn State AD: James Franklin not on any hot seat

Penn State coach James Franklin is not meeting expectations.

Even so, his job, Nittany Lions athletic director Sandy Barbour said, is entirely safe.

"James is not on any hot seat," Barbour said Wednesday, speaking at a casino in Blair County, responding to questions about a 49-10 loss to Michigan last week. "He's not on the hot seat, and he's not going to be on the hot seat in December.

"James is going to be our football coach," she said, according to the Altoona (Pa.) Record. "I believe in where this football program is going under James Franklin, and I think he's going to be our football coach, period."

Barbour said scholarship sanctions that are part of Penn State's recent reality were not part of the path Michigan took to a strong rebound under Jim Harbaugh the past two seasons.

"Was Saturday disappointing? Of course it was. But no one's more disappointed than our coaching staff and our student-athletes in our football program," Barbour said of losing to fourth-ranked Michigan. "So I certainly understand where our fans are coming from and the disappointment."

Barbour held tight to the assertion Franklin is the right coach for Penn State, no matter how questions were phrased and directed.

"I think I've been really, really clear on I think he's doing a spectacular job as a teacher, as a coach, as a leader of these young men," she said. "That's really, really important to Penn State. He and his staff are absolutely nailing that.

"I believe that James is the right guy, and yeah, he's going to be our football coach."

Penn State was 7-6 in 2014 and again in 2015. At 2-2 this season, the Nittany Lions are not a challenger in the Big Ten and have never been ranked in the Top 25 since Franklin arrived from Vanderbilt, where he was 39-24 in three seasons.