Fire Franklin, Hire Malzahn

[Texas Lion]

Harrisburg Dave is right. His numbers are what they are. However, I am not willing to risk what we have for what we could have.

 

[cjrugger]

Good coach, but wrapped waaaay too tight. Makes recruits and parents leave their phones in his office when he takes them outside to see practice......... SEC serious. I’ll pass.

The word "paranoid" was often used by colleagues and former co-workers to describe Malzahn, who is said to have once sent a member of the support staff out of practice because he graduated from the school Auburn was playing that week.

Not flattering: https://www.espn.com/college-footba...217-million-walk-away-offensive-woes-top-list

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

The word "paranoid" was often used by colleagues and former co-workers to describe Malzahn, who is said to have once sent a member of the support staff out of practice because he graduated from the school Auburn was playing that week.

Not flattering: https://www.espn.com/college-footba...217-million-walk-away-offensive-woes-top-list

Football coaches are control freaks. We had one here for 60 years who would go postal about any number of issues - practice access, player issues, sports writers, the list went on.

 

[cjrugger]

Football coaches are control freaks. We had one here for 60 years who would go postal about any number of issues - practice access, player issues, sports writers, the list went on.

Yeah, none of those things are on the same planet as making an employee leave practice because you think he’s a spy tho

 

[Grant Green]

Yeah, none of those things are on the same planet as making an employee leave practice because you think he’s a spy tho

Not disagreeing at all, but reminds me of an interesting story from Wake Forest a few years ago...

Espionage. Spying on those you’re supposedly loyal to. Giving away secrets to your opponent. That’s what you’d expect from the bad guy in a mediocre spy movie, right? Well, when Louisville and Wake Forest met up, the college football world found out that it was getting its own version of that mediocre spy movie.

A former Wake Forest player turned former assistant coach who would go on to become a radio announcer for the Demon Deacons apparently had been giving away the Demon Deacons’ game plans to opponents.

Tommy Elrod played for Wake Forest. He coached for Wake Forest. The dude was broadcasting Wake Forest games on the radio. And he was also reportedly giving away secrets to opponents. All of this became public knowledge around the time of Louisville and Wake Forest meeting back in 2016. Elrod had reportedly been doing this since 2014.

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson would shut off access to practices, which is completely and totally understandable. His team had to come up with a new game plan prior to that 2016 match up with Louisville. Elrod no longer works for Wake Forest.

While Elrod isn’t quite as bad as Benedict Arnold, turning on the team he played for, coached for, and broadcasted games for is pretty bad.

 

[PSU_Nut]

Franklin only leaves on his terms. He raped PSU in contract negotiations. His payout is too big and he gets over $6 million this year in salary plus extras.

Franklins compensation is ridiculous-

1 B1G title in 7 years, as many conference titles as losing records

1 tOSU win in 7 years. Gus has beaten Saban 3 times in 10 coaching Bama’s kid brother.

Franklin has 11 win seasons built on wins over nobody’s. Something like 18 teams won 11 games in 2019. Franklin has a poor losing record against ranked teams.

I wish that USC, Texas, or Arizona would throw cash at Franklin and take him. I doubt they will. I would like to be proven wrong on that.

Where was the program when he took over 7 years ago? People have to get a grip on reality. Penn State has not been an elite program in three decades. Franklin took over a dumpster fire. A program coming off the worst college sports scandal ever. A program in the middle of the second harshest sanctions the NCAA has ever handed out. A program with facilities that were left to rot by previous administration that let become some of the worst in Power 5 programs. A program located in an area with a dwindling talent pool. A program with divided fan base much of wish still worship a dead coach and think nothing should change. A program he would rather invest in restoring some statue then into the program. Yet in spite of all this because Penn State won a national title 30+ years ago and get 100k in the stadium they think Penn State should instantly be dominate.

 

[mn78psu83]

Where was the program when he took over 7 years ago? People have to get a grip on reality. Penn State has not been an elite program in three decades. Franklin took over a dumpster fire. A program coming off the worst college sports scandal ever. A program in the middle of the second harshest sanctions the NCAA has ever handed out. A program with facilities that were left to rot by previous administration that let become some of the worst in Power 5 programs. A program located in an area with a dwindling talent pool. A program with divided fan base much of wish still worship a dead coach and think nothing should change. A program he would rather invest in restoring some statue then into the program. Yet in spite of all this because Penn State won a national title 30+ years ago and get 100k in the stadium they think Penn State should instantly be dominate.

Well, two decades and change anyway.

 

[PSU_Nut]

Well, two decades and change anyway.

Well with the ridiculous expectations some on this board have one could make an argument that Penn State was never elite. It seems like most think you are only elite if you are challenging for a national championship back to back years which Penn State hasn't done since 81/82 which is almost 40 years ago.

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

National championships? Dream on.

Franklin can only show one East title in 7 years. He has that many losing seasons since he arrived. Three losses this year to ranked teams. No wins against winning teams

 

[Bobpsu]

It is not bullshit.

GM may be a coach inferior to Franklin in some respects, but he has an elite offensive mind, proven over a long period.

He is not a selective recruiter or much of a disciplinarian. He recruits lots of recruits and then it is a turnstile because of grades and other issues.

However, his offense scores points and generally mauls the other guy with the run game.

He would be a great consultant if Franklin would let him offer some insight to the workings of an efficient offense, not this pee wee level offense we have with the 3 second mesh point and the endless ridiculous play calling.

Personally, I think Franklin has his hand in the offense way more that he should, so maybe GM's observations would go unheard.

But, it is not bullshit to think that he is a much better offensive mind than any coach currently on the staff.

Really.

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

Well with the ridiculous expectations some on this board have one could make an argument that Penn State was never elite. It seems like most think you are only elite if you are challenging for a national championship back to back years which Penn State hasn't done since 81/82 which is almost 40 years ago.

We had two B1G titles and teams challenging for an NC twice in the Ten years before Franklin arrived. This talk about 25 or 30 years ago conveniently overlooks that.

BOB also stabilized the program and pulled off winning seasonsduring the worst of the sanctions. Sure, Franklin helped, but don’t talk like he did the heavy lifting.

 

[Art]

Where was the program when he took over 7 years ago? People have to get a grip on reality. Penn State has not been an elite program in three decades. Franklin took over a dumpster fire. A program coming off the worst college sports scandal ever. A program in the middle of the second harshest sanctions the NCAA has ever handed out. A program with facilities that were left to rot by previous administration that let become some of the worst in Power 5 programs. A program located in an area with a dwindling talent pool. A program with divided fan base much of wish still worship a dead coach and think nothing should change. A program he would rather invest in restoring some statue then into the program. Yet in spite of all this because Penn State won a national title 30+ years ago and get 100k in the stadium they think Penn State should instantly be dominate.

Sounds like yer nuts are still stuck in that panini press.

 

[PSUSignore]

Well with the ridiculous expectations some on this board have one could make an argument that Penn State was never elite. It seems like most think you are only elite if you are challenging for a national championship back to back years which Penn State hasn't done since 81/82 which is almost 40 years ago.

I think one reason for this is because they see OSU, Bama and Clemson do it every year and think "why not us?" Years ago it felt like there was more diversity at the top so we didn't feel as left out when competing for a title only once every 5-6 years. But now a new standard has been set and everyone wants their team to take what they feel are the necessary actions to be the next Bama.

 

[Art]

We had two B1G titles and teams challenging for an NC twice in the Ten years before Franklin arrived. This talk about 25 or 30 years ago conveniently overlooks that.

BOB also stabilized the program and pulled off winning seasonsduring the worst of the sanctions. Sure, Franklin helped, but don’t talk like he did the heavy lifting.

Speaking of heavy lifting, is there any evidence that Franklin is beating the hustings to raise money for those facility upgrades he so desperately needs?

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

I have to laugh when people crow on here that Franklin has a better bowl record the Malzahn. They conveniently overlook that one of those losses was in a NC game. How many Pinstripe Bowl wins would you guys trade for one of those?

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

Speaking of heavy lifting, is there any evidence that Franklin is beating the hustings to raise money for those facility upgrades he so desperately needs?

Did Franklin take a Voluntary salary cut this year?

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

I think one reason for this is because they see OSU, Bama and Clemson do it every year and think "why not us?" Years ago it felt like there was more diversity at the top so we didn't feel as left out when competing for a title only once every 5-6 years. But now a new standard has been set and everyone wants their team to take what they feel are the necessary actions to be the next Bama.

How about one, just one, appearance in the playoffs? Is that too much to ask for?

How about winning seasons, with no losing seasons with no wins against teams with winning records?

 

[katchthis]

Where was the program when he took over 7 years ago? People have to get a grip on reality. Penn State has not been an elite program in three decades. Franklin took over a dumpster fire. A program coming off the worst college sports scandal ever. A program in the middle of the second harshest sanctions the NCAA has ever handed out. A program with facilities that were left to rot by previous administration that let become some of the worst in Power 5 programs. A program located in an area with a dwindling talent pool. A program with divided fan base much of wish still worship a dead coach and think nothing should change. A program he would rather invest in restoring some statue then into the program. Yet in spite of all this because Penn State won a national title 30+ years ago and get 100k in the stadium they think Penn State should instantly be dominate.

I don't see you being a writer for the Hallmark channel.

 

[Art]

I have to laugh when people crow on here that Franklin has a better bowl record the Malzahn. They conveniently overlook that one of those losses was in a NC game. How many Pinstripe Bowl wins would you guys trade for one of those?

If the folks at Auburn felt that Malzahn would regularly contend for division/conference/national championships they wouldn't have fired him.

 

[Art]

I don't see you being a writer for the Hallmark channel.

Do they have a show that specializes in panini recipes?

 

[PSU_Nut]

We had two B1G titles and teams challenging for an NC twice in the Ten years before Franklin arrived. This talk about 25 or 30 years ago conveniently overlooks that.

BOB also stabilized the program and pulled off winning seasonsduring the worst of the sanctions. Sure, Franklin helped, but don’t talk like he did the heavy lifting.

Those teams were no where near competing for a national title. The team that was closest need multiple overtimes just to beat a 5 loss FSU team in the bowl.

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

Really.

Yes, really. He has a Coach of the year award as a head coach and as an assistant coach.

He has two conference titles as a head coach.

He has more wins against Saban in the last decade than ANYONE.

Franklin has been dependent upon assistants to produce offense for him. He is referred to as aCEO type for a reason.

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

If the folks at Auburn felt that Malzahn would regularly contend for division/conference/national championships they wouldn't have fired him.

He was in the SEC not the B1G. They have lofty standards there. That’s why Franklin is not on their list of coaching prospects.

 

[Art]

He was in the SEC not the B1G. They have lofty standards there. That’s why Franklin is not on their list of coaching prospects.

Malzahn isn't going to win at that level anywhere else, either. He can keep Franklin company.

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

Those teams were no where near competing for a national title. The team that was closest need multiple overtimes just to beat a 5 loss FSU team in the bowl.

Be serious.

1 loss and ranked 3rd is not good enough for you? Now who is being unrealistic)

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

Malzahn isn't going to win at that level anywhere else, either. He can keep Franklin company.

I’ll tell him that, to give back the SEC title, and the NC game appearance.

 

[Art]

I’ll tell him that, to give back the SEC title, and the NC game appearance.

You can. Don't think it changes Auburn's decision either way.

 

[AWS1022]

I’ll tell him that, to give back the SEC title, and the NC game appearance.

Larry Coker did better with the team he inherited than Gus did....he had three double digit win seasons in a row, three conference championships in a row, and a NC before he petered out. Gus petered out in year two. You’re not very bright.

 

[AWS1022]

Elite coaches like this do not come available often.

Don't get caught in the trap of "records", they can be inflated playing bad OOC teams, or even downgraded a bit because of not fault of a team'S own but by just having to play (LSU, Alabama, Texas AM, in the west) and at least a cross over game again UGA or UF each year. Coaching in the SEC West is no joke. Franklin would be lost in that division.

The GOAL is to make the CFP Playoffs (not 9 or 10 wins) and he took his team to the title game once and they lost in the de facto "playoff play in game" against UGA 2 years back, so he has hit MUCH "Higher Highs" than Franklin.

Also dont forgot he was 90% of the brains behind their NC back when Newton was the QB, as Gene c. proved the following 2 years he was a clueless joke. Gus ran the show that year, any Auburn fan will tell you that. So put that feather in Gus's cap.

Just for sh*ts and giggles he coached 1 year at Central Arkansas , went 7-1 in their conference, WON the conference, and their bowl game. He has proven he can coach at any level, even High School if you look back he had a dominate program.

Just to put a cherry on this, Please name me how many active college heads BEAT Nick Saban's Alabama teams 3 (T-H-R-E-E) times. ??

3-Gus Malzahn, Les Miles 2-Hugh Freeze, Dabo Swinney 1-Mack Brown, David Cutcliffe, Kirk Ferentz, Ed Orgeron, Kevin Sumlin, Kyle Whittingham


Gus is the most under rated coach in the country. He is an Elite level coach.

Tell me after coaching in the SEC West, with the success he had, he could not go head to head with Day at OSU ?

Just an absolute moron.

 

[AWS1022]

We had two B1G titles and teams challenging for an NC twice in the Ten years before Franklin arrived. This talk about 25 or 30 years ago conveniently overlooks that.

BOB also stabilized the program and pulled off winning seasonsduring the worst of the sanctions. Sure, Franklin helped, but don’t talk like he did the heavy lifting.

Challenging for a NC twice in ten years? More like once in 17 years.

 

[marshall23]

We had two B1G titles and teams challenging for an NC twice in the Ten years before Franklin arrived. This talk about 25 or 30 years ago conveniently overlooks that.

BOB also stabilized the program and pulled off winning seasonsduring the worst of the sanctions. Sure, Franklin helped, but don’t talk like he did the heavy lifting.

BOB lost to Ohio.....LOL inherited a loaded team. BOB ran away when the worst of the sanctions were about to take effect.

 

[mn78psu83]

Well with the ridiculous expectations some on this board have one could make an argument that Penn State was never elite. It seems like most think you are only elite if you are challenging for a national championship back to back years which Penn State hasn't done since 81/82 which is almost 40 years ago.

Penn State was once an elite college football team. It's been a long time, however, that Penn State has not been an elite college football team. The 1994 team certainly was elite. The 1995 team expected to be and fell short. It ended there.

 

[marshall23]

Penn State was once an elite college football team. It's been a long time, however, that Penn State has not been an elite college football team. The 1994 team certainly was elite. The 1995 team expected to be and fell short. It ended there.

Depends on how and who is defining elite. If you are #3 in the nation, is that elite?

 

[AWS1022]

Penn State was once an elite college football team. It's been a long time, however, that Penn State has not been an elite college football team. The 1994 team certainly was elite. The 1995 team expected to be and fell short. It ended there.

And even though we know the ‘94 team was elite, it wasn’t viewed as elite by those that counted. The program stopped being viewed as elite in the 80’s. Do you think if USC, Miami or any other of the teams that were viewed as elite in ‘94 had a team like PSU, they wouldn’t have been voted in as #1? Hell, they would have had all of the first place votes.

 

[mn78psu83]

Depends on how and who is defining elite. If you are #3 in the nation, is that elite?

I shouldn't even get into this type of argument about the team. I have to look into the mirror and ask myself, "Am I an elite fan?" That is the true measure for me, as you have often stated. I don't think so. What can I do to be an elite fan? I'm flummoxed. The salt has lost its savor.

 

[AWS1022]

Depends on how and who is defining elite. If you are #3 in the nation, is that elite?

I don’t think one season makes a program elite.

 

[marshall23]

I shouldn't even get into this type of argument about the team. I have to look into the mirror and ask myself, "Am I an elite fan?" That is the true measure for me, as you have often stated. I don't think so. What can I do to be an elite fan? I'm flummoxed. The salt has lost its savor.

I detest the term. The only thing I have gained by frequenting here is the knowledge of how clueless most fans are about the game and there is a great deal of truth in what Pitt Fans call the arrogance of many PSU Fans.
But it is entertaining and amusing.

 

[cjrugger]

Yes, really. He has a Coach of the year award as a head coach and as an assistant coach.

He has two conference titles as a head coach.

He has more wins against Saban in the last decade than ANYONE.

Franklin has been dependent upon assistants to produce offense for him. He is referred to as aCEO type for a reason.

We’re all very very impressed with his 9-3 record and sun belt conference championship. Great stuff

 

[marshall23]

We’re all very very impressed with his 9-3 record and sun belt conference championship. Great stuff

But 9 wins oddly enough makes HIM elite. Funny how that distinction is a moving target?

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

But 9 wins oddly enough makes HIM elite. Funny how that distinction is a moving target?

Funny you conveniently ignore the NC game appearance, the SEC title, the victories over Saban, and his playing in the SEC.

Elite? Not yet. But far closer to being elite than Franklin.