Source: James Franklin to Penn St.
— -- Vanderbilt's James Franklin is expected to accept an offer Thursday to become the head coach at Penn State, a source told ESPN's Brett McMurphy on Thursday.
Penn State had targeted Franklin because of his track record of success at a respected academic institution, another source said ESPN's Joe Schad.
The 41-year-old Franklin, a Pennsylvania native, had become one of the hottest coaching names from his success with the Commodores, winning 24 games over the past three seasons.
He has led Vanderbilt to bowl games in all three of his seasons and posted back-to-back bowl victories, both firsts in program history.
Franklin would succeed Bill O'Brien, who was introduced as the new coach of the NFL's Houston Texans last week after two seasons with the Nittany Lions.
San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman interviewed for the job on Monday in Chicago, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Other reported candidates for the position had included Miami coach Al Golden, recently fired Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak and San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
ESPN's Brett McMurphy contributed to this report.
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