Penn State head coach James Franklin has voiced his belief that college football would benefit from a centralized figure leading the sport – and he has a clear candidate in mind: retired Alabama coach Nick Saban.
“I think one of the most important things we can do is, let’s get a commissioner of college football that is waking up every single morning and going to bed every single night making decisions that’s in the best interest of college football,” Franklin said.
“I think Nick Saban would be the obvious choice if we made that decision. Now, Nick will probably call me tonight and say, ‘Don’t do this,’ but I think he’s the obvious choice.”
Saban, who stepped away from coaching after the 2023 season, is widely considered the greatest coach in college football history.
Beyond endorsing Saban for a leadership role, Franklin proposed significant changes to the CFP structure, including eliminating conference championship games.
“When you have a committee sitting in a room trying to compare apples to apples, or oranges to oranges, it’s hard to do that when not everybody’s playing under the same model,” Franklin added.
“Get rid of the conference championship game. That will shorten the season and help with the window a little bit.”
Franklin also raised concerns about the demands placed on players, particularly during the summer, and suggested revisiting the scheduling model to better align with their academic and personal needs.
It’s clear as day that several changes need to be made in college football. Many of them are of the common sense variety.
Having an official “commissioner of college football” who can make any and all decisions with the best interest of the sport in mind figures to be the best way of improving the current flawed structure.
As for Franklin, his Nittany Lions are focused on their semifinal matchup against Marcus Freeman and the red-hot Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The winner of Thursday’s showdown will advance to the national championship game where they will face the winner of Friday’s matchup between Texas and Ohio State.
What are your thoughts on Franklin’s suggestion that a new “college football commissioner” role be created and that Saban is the one to take the throne?
While we’re on the subject of Franklin, do you think his Penn State team will be up to the challenge against the stingy Fighting Irish???
