James Franklin has been connected to the Auburn Tigers head football coaching job since his firing from the Penn State Nittany Lions, even though AU's current coach, Hugh Freeze, may not be let loose after the season.
That hasn't stopped some from daydreaming about the scenario, with “Prime Time for College Football" host Phillip Dukes excited about the idea of Franklin having one of the recruits Freeze recruited to the Plains, quarterback Deuce Knight.
“I would love for Auburn to say that. The way that you could recruit at Auburn, I definitely think he could get over the hump at Auburn. Andy Reid didn’t get over the hump until he got to Kansas City and got Mahomes. James Franklin and Deuce Knight could be a match made in heaven," Dukes said.
“You’re gonna be able to recruit Running Backs like, there’s a ton of potential at Auburn. There are some people who feel like James Franklin would be a great candidate for the Auburn job, and there’s gonna be so many openings this cycle, he’ll get one of them.”
Would Franklin actually consider Auburn, though?
Or, a more relevant question: would Auburn actually consider Franklin?
Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde cast doubt on the latter, believing the Tigers could pass on Franklin because they don't think he'd move the needle against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
"Franklin said on GameDay that he will 'win a national championship somewhere else now.' Auburn is a place where it has been done. It remains to be seen whether the Tigers think he could take down their Iron Bowl nemesis, Alabama," Forde wrote.
Auburn may be the least likely team with a coach on the hot seat to actually pull the trigger. John Cohen has reiterated confidence in Freeze, and although he didn't give him the vote of confidence the coach is looking for, Freeze could silence any doubt in the team's last four games.
Win two more, and the boosters will view this season as an 8-4 campaign due to the bad officiating during the Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners losses. Win three or four more and you won't be hearing any hot seat talk in 2025.