Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin is apologizing for comments he made about his assistants' wives.

Franklin, attending the SEC annual meeting in Destin, Fla., this week, said he will not hire an assistant coach unless he has a good-looking wife.

In an interview with Nashville radio station 104.5 The Zone, Franklin responded to a question about whether it helps a coach in recruiting to have a good-looking wife.

"I've been saying it for a long time, I will not hire an assistant coach until I've seen his wife," he said. "His wife, if she looks the part and she's a D1 recruit, then you got a chance to get hired.

"I mean, that's part of the deal. There's a very strong correlation between having the confidence, going up and talking to a woman, and being quick on your feet and having some personality and confidence and being fun and articulate, than it is walking into a high school and recruiting a kid and selling him."

Franklin later went on Twitter to say he was sorry.

"My foot doesn't taste good," he wrote. "I hope I did not offend anyone ... attempt at humor obviously fell a few yds. short. ... I clearly used language that doesn't reflect my view on women and I am SORRY!"

Vanderbilt's vice chancellor of athletics, David Williams, said he told Franklin that his statements were "inappropriate."

"He clearly made a mistake," Williams told USA Today. "And clearly what he said is not how he feels and not how we feel."

Franklin is in his second year as Vanderbilt's head coach. He made headlines last year when he and UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham engaged in a heated post-game confrontation that nearly turned physical.