UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Penn State University called a press conference for Saturday amid multiple reports the school will announce the hiring of James Franklin as its football coach.
Franklin, currently the head coach at Vanderbilt, has reportedly accepted Penn State's offer. The school found itself in need of a new coach when Bill O'Brien left Penn State to become the head coach of the NFL's Houston Texans.
Franklin has been at Vanderbilt for three years and this season the Commodores compiled their second straight 9-4 campaign. They defeated Houston 41-24 in the BBVA Compass Bowl.
With a 24-15 record during his stay at Vanderbilt, Franklin became the first coach at that school to post a career winning mark in 40 years.
O'Brien coached Penn State to a 15-9 record in his two years there, a tenure that came in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal and the resignation of longtime coach Joe Paterno, who later died.
