James Franklin to appear live on ‘College GameDay’ this Saturday

Under a week after his high-profile canning from Penn State, James Franklin will sit down for his first interview.

On Thursday, ESPN announced that Franklin will appear during Saturday’s episode of College GameDay for a live interview, just six days after being fired as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions amid a three-game losing streak. Franklin will join the GameDay crew live on set from Athens, Georgia, where the show is located for Saturday’s top-10 matchup between Ole Miss and Georgia.

Penn State will pay a reported $49 million buyout to its former head coach, although his contract includes offset language that will only hold the school liable for the difference between his next salary, and the $8 million annual payout from the buyout. That offset language compels Franklin to make a “good-faith effort” to land a new job in coaching, scouting, or broadcasting, leading many to speculate that he could eye a media job before jumping back into coaching.

If he did look towards broadcasting for his next gig, Penn State would be on the hook for the vast majority of that $49 million buyout.

College GameDay panelist Kirk Herbstreit has already said publicly that Franklin would be a “natural” fit for television.

It’s certainly unique to see a coach that so recently underwent a highly public firing give an interview, especially on his sport’s preeminent studio show. ESPN didn’t give any indication as to what the contents of said interview will be, or who will be conducting the majority of it. But one would have to imagine Franklin will give his perspective on the firing, and provide some information about what his future holds.

If anything, maybe Franklin is testing the television waters, seeing if he’d be interested in a more regular role. He’ll certainly have enough free time to contribute throughout the rest of this season.