STATE COLLEGE - A week after Bill O'Brien's departure for Houston and the NFL, the soap opera continued at Penn State.
Let's call it, "As The Coaching Search Turns."
Another day passed without a hire, a day after athletic director Dr. David Joyner reiterated his opinion from late last week that the search for the 16th Nittany Lions coach is "robust" and should be over in a matter of days.
But Wednesday did more to provide cloudy forecasts as to who might be coming to Happy Valley to lead the program than it did to provide any more clarity about the man who became the frontrunner Tuesday.
Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin reportedly will interview with the Washington Redskins for their vacant head coaching position at some point, and the Cleveland Browns would be interested in talking to him as well, according to reports from CBS Sports. But the man most interested in getting Franklin to lead his program is the one who already has him leading his program.
Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams told Nashville radio station 104.5 FM that he has spoken with Franklin about staying with the Commodores in the wake of the news he'd accept the Penn State offer.
Williams wouldn't confirm speculation that he offered the man he called "the best college football coach in America" more money, improved facilities or a bigger financial commitment to the program to stay.
"I'd shave my head (to keep Franklin)," Williams said, "and I'd give him the money I saved going to the barber shop."
Meanwhile, Scranton native Mike Munchak waited for word on whether his interview Sunday would lead to an offer. But all that came out Wednesday about him was he got one day closer to his reported interview with the Detroit Lions on Friday for their head coaching job.
Sources say that, if neither the Nittany Lions nor Lions work out, Munchak will gain plenty of interest from teams around the NFL who are searching for offensive line coaches, including the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Meanwhile, CBS reported the Penn State search committee interviewed San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Monday.
The longtime offensive coordinator for head coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford and in San Francisco, Roman is preparing the 49ers for their NFC Division Playoff meeting with the Panthers in Carolina on Sunday.
Roman expressed interest in the Penn State job in 2011, when the search committee ultimately gave it to O'Brien.