Of all the people to potentially get the Philadelphia Eagles into hot water with the NFL, Penn State head coach James Franklin is probably the most surprising.
In a recent interview, Franklin seemed to suggest that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman had spoken to and pitched Saquon Barkley on coming to Philadelphia and joining them in free agency. There’s just one problem: Such a call would have occurred before the legal tampering period.
“For him now to come back and be able to play within the state in Philadelphia, (Barkley) said that was one of the first things that Howie said to him on the phone as part of his sales pitch to him,” Franklin said, via Jeff Skversy. “Not only the Philadelphia Eagles but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan bases as well.”
Lo and behold, the Eagles are reportedly being investigated for tampering as of this morning. As you might expect, Eagles fans would like a “word” with Franklin after learning that he might have gotten the team in trouble.
“James Franklin needs to worry about keeping Ohio State and Michigan within 17 and leave the Eagles name out his mouth!!!” one user wrote on X.
“James Franklin snitching and potentially costing the Eagles a draft pick is very on brand with the (expletive) job he does at Penn State,” wrote another.
“This confirms James Franklin is definitely a Giants fan right?” a third wondered.
Franklin has worn out a lot of football fans in the state of Pennsylvania over his inability to get over the hump in the Big Ten. If the Eagles lose draft picks over this, he might lose support of the entire city of Philadelphia to boot.