One Down: James Franklin Is Reportedly Finalizing a Deal To Be Virginia Tech's Next Coach

The first domino of what may be the wildest coaching carousel we've ever seen has fallen, as James Franklin is reportedly heading to Blacksburg to be the next head coach at Virginia Tech.

I think this is a home run. Yes, Franklin had a very bad three-week stretch this season in a year Penn State was supposed to be competing for a national championship. But if you had anybody write down the 10 best coaches in college football in August, there wouldn't have been a list out there that didn't include Franklin. This guy didn't forget how to coach.

And by the way, I know people of a certain age still associate Virginia Tech with Michael Vick and Frank Beamer, but that run was the exception for the Hokies, not the rule. VT was elite from 1995-2011, but outside of that, it's not a particularly successful program and I'm not sure it's a very desirable job in the current landscape of college football.

But I said that to reinforce that getting Franklin is an absolute steal. With the exception of LSU, whose fans expect to be competing for championships immediately and often, I think Franklin would have been an awesome hire for every job open right now — including Penn State. Florida managing to get Lane Kiffin would obviously be huge, but other than that, it would be hard for a school to top this hire in regards to the relative upgrade in caliber of coach.

What a hire for the Hokies. Let the carousel spin.