Penn State's James Franklin says Nick Saban should be commish - ESPN

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Penn State coach James Franklin on Sunday added his name to the growing list of college football voices who believe the sport needs a commissioner and thinks there's one man right for the job.

Speaking at media availability for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Franklin said former Alabama coach Nick Saban is the «obvious choice» to navigate college football through a period of sweeping change.

«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, right?»

Franklin is not alone in nominating Saban for the hypothetical job. Last week, Ole Miss coach and former Saban assistant Lane Kiffin posted on X that he would vote for Saban in that role.

On Sunday, Franklin added that hiring a commissioner would be an important first step to «move forward and come up with some solutions» to the transfer portal and NIL, but he also didn't hold back on offering some of his own.

Franklin was asked about what could be done to incentivize players to stay on rosters and continue to compete through the end of the season, and he said it's time for leaders throughout the sport to stop talking about the issues and start solving them.

He proposed eliminating conference championship games so the season is shorter and the College Football Playoff selection committee can have a more fair comparison.

«When you have a committee sitting in a room trying to compare apples