Franklin is here to stay!
- Thread starter NittanyChris
- Start date
Without the whole "winning national championships and big games" thing.
Remember when you weren't a c×nt? Me neither.
I can’t figure out if you are ten years old or just a troll. You do have the troll tendency of posting hundreds of one sentence posts with no substance
Lol. Ok. I think we all would take an undefeated season as a measure of success right now.
Depends on how you determine this. He had more undefeated, “uncrowned” teams than all of College football COMBINED over his tenure.
Eventually? Check his record. Joe was doing that almost immediately.
Why do we sign these guys to contacts? They don't seem to honor them anyhow! I was under the impression if one agrees to a contract, they work through the terms they agreed to. I didn't realize that one can renegotiate every year. The University keeps throwing millions at this guy for .500 work. James Franklin seems to consistently make poor in game decisions and he is rewarded for these. He is rewarded for putting unprepared teams on the field. He is rewarded for consistently losing to the same teams year after year. He is rewarded for losing to sub par teams ever year. Some games he is engaged and others on another planet. Who is paying for these outlandish contracts? The tax payers of Pennsylvania? Those who attend PSU? A little of both. It must be nice deciding on how to spend others money without the approval of those who money is being spent. James is only committed to PSU if he gets his dollars. Franklin is not a good coach but a good salesman. There will never be another Joe Paterno. It wasn't at all about Joe but what was good for Penn State.
Joe won his first big game in 1968, in his 3rd year as coach. Franklin has yet to win a big bowl game.
I haven't even skimmed the financials (and won't), however, if Joe was the AD, he would have made the same move!
For those bitching. I moved to Texas in 2010. They said a lot of the same shit about him they did about JF. In 2013 they made the move and got rid of him. Three BIG TIME hires later you see where they are. All I am saying is be careful what u wish for. Welcome back James.
Well…no one said to fire people every 3 years. They should have given a little more time. But 8 years shows a pattern.
Then again, Texas was probably the example used when Sexton negotiated.
Yes they have... tested and found wanting. But good on us for stepping up to the plate and proving to all the "stars don't matter folks" that, ummmm, yeah, they do.
Now, I spoke with my clemson friend and he agreed that this should help us keep MOST of the great class CJF has percolating right now. So let's presume it happens and he keeps 98% of those kids in the fold. Let's say he repeats this success next year.
Well, then by 2024 he better be playoff bound or they will be buying him out. End of the day, he needs to find the right help, secure them and give them the resources to succeed, and then he must WIN. Nothing less than 10-2. 9-3 in a rough year (as 2022 might be) will be ok, but thereafter 10-2 is a minimum given the talent he'll have in the stable.
Or he's toast.
I don't think he will succeed to that level but I sure as hell hope I'm wrong as hell and not only goes 10-2 but even better and takes us to the next level. I'm running out of time on this planet and I'd really like to leave seeing this program as elite. So my hopes and dream are on CJF... it might be all that's left me.
No, he is not. I'm glad he is signed up for a longish haul.
Let's see if he can become something like Joe Paterno.
It is wrong to heap praise, as of yet undeserved, upon a guy. It cheapens what others have accomplished.
lol. Take a peek at the first 6 games of 2022. You might be seeing those 3 losses faster than you thought. #nofavorsbybigten
FWIW...my thoughts on this...
But the base of CJF is sound and he may be one of the best program representatives as a HC in all of college football. He does remind me of Joe in that he puts the kids and the program ahead of pure W/L records. We still have student/athletes not athlete/students. Until we are willing to become tOSU, that will continue.
- when one considers the Franklin era at PSU, one has to remember that the program was in the depth of sanctions. During the two years of O'Brien, he had most of his RS Sr, Sr and Jr classes intact.
- As the sanctions matured, CJF was left with a skeleton roster his first two or three years. I recall a starting JUCO left tackle that was and is the worst OL player I've ever seen in my life. One pundit called the OL, after the Temple loss, the worst OL he had ever seen. Not just at PSU, but at any Div 1A team in history. We did give up a sack when Temple rushed only two DL. Amazing.
- I think it is pretty fair to say that while CJF has put together some excellent classes, they were all affected by the JS issues. I know opposing coaches have asked recruits if they were comfortable showing in the same showers when JS raped kids. Recruiting is like the momentum at a NASCAR race. It takes a while to get that last two or three MPH. After the JS scandal, after those weaker classes rotated out, you still have a mediocre record to have to defend in the living rooms of 17-year-olds.
- So CJF has been a great recruiter, IMHO. This is going to get even more important in the portal and NIL era. Every kid is now a potential recruit. We'll lose a ton of upper class
menplayers and gain a lot as well. So you will be recruiting 95 kids every year. And, you'll have to recruit the skill players on NIL. It is very possible we start a kid like Allar and he is a fresh phenom who ends up deciding to go to USC or Alabama for two years with the promise of a $10m personal NIL contract. Free Agency baby! - With that, I really like the idea of stability for the program. CJF is a good person, won't embarrass the university and kids like him. I saw both Meiga and CV giving him some sincere hugs on the sideline. The love was pretty clear.
- I think CJF is too loyal to certain players. He loves SC and I would suggest it is to a fault. Levis knew he wasn't going to get a fair shake no matter if he came back as an all-american QB. CJF has been starting SC even though his arm is about to fall off and can't run the ball to save his life (due to injuries). And the program knew this for some time. Shameful we didn't have a player that could at least take snaps at QB going into the season.
- Clock management has been, at times, Schizophrenic. Play calling, as well.
- Lack of dev on the OL has been mystifying after three different coordinators.
- Defense has been outstanding as have been the skill positions outside of QB.
But the base of CJF is sound and he may be one of the best program representatives as a HC in all of college football. He does remind me of Joe in that he puts the kids and the program ahead of pure W/L records. We still have student/athletes not athlete/students. Until we are willing to become tOSU, that will continue.
This is a very reasonable and solid take.
Only a few quibbles. First -- the notion that we're not at OSU's level because we're not willing to be OSU is questionable. We and OSU are recruiting many of the same kids and subjecting them to the same academic standards. For a long time, Joe did in fact do things differently than most........but today? Not sure the difference between PSU and OSU (or Michigan or whoever else) is noticeable. That's the argument Michigan makes -- we can't win the big one because of academics. That's clearly BS.
OSU does have certain advantages we don't have, and they make tremendous use of that. They also have an elite AD who knows how to build sports powerhouses, and a coaching staff stocked with elite assistants. That's the biggest gap between them and us, IMO.
I think a few of your last points are really key -- game management, play calling, development, etc. I'm skeptical that a guy who has been a head coach for ~10 years will suddenly make big improvements in certain tendencies like this, but we'll see. Ultimately, he needs to build an elite staff. That'll require $$$, but also requires a good eye for coaching talent. CJF has hired some really good ones, but the record is mixed on the whole.
Many reasons for optimism going forward. Also many reasons for doubt. But I guess that's the case at most schools.
Your posts on this subject have been balanced and rational.
I'm of two minds about it. On the one hand, I'm glad he's staying, glad the circus is presumably over for awhile, glad the distraction has been put to bed, and agree with many of his supporters here -- and generally speaking I am one -- about the positive things he brings to the table and has accomplished.
On the other hand, the experience of the last couple years has left even some supporters like me asking questions and wondering about a pattern that goes back several seasons. Moreover, the word games that have surrounded the latest will-he-or-won't-he drama have left a bad taste in many people's mouths. I do think it leaves Franklin with less margin for error and a widening division of opinion within the fan base.
Saturday shapes up to be an interesting contest. Two teams that were flying high closing out seasons that have ended on a disappointing note. Two coaches coming off big contract renewals. Which team shows up to play? One thing for sure: it would be awkward as hell for James if we don't bring our A-game and leave East Lansing with the W. I think we do and we will.
Why you ask does PS administration (not WE) sign the likes of coach Franklin to outrageous contracts like 10 years, $75 millions ?
Barbour, Barron and soft power ideologues on the BOT can’t DIVORCE themselves from a head football coach who fits their mold of a socialist/ ‘Progressive’. Rewarding an egalitarian model is what they’ve done.
I've lived in ohio for several decades. tOSU has been far and away more aggressive recruiting as a "football factory" than PSU. Far and away. tOSU takes care of their kids, no doubt. But they are their to become NFL players and everyone knows it. That is how they recruit as well. tOSU is a good academic school but their pitch isn't academics, it is look at the number of kids that are in the NFL from tOSU. They were the first in the region to stop recruiting locally, first. This is how we are getting Allar. They got the kid from TX over the kid from Ohio because they have zero loyalty to Ohio. They want the best kids nationally, period. And we are only beginning to catch up. They have also bent the rules on several occasions: Tressel and Pryor, the many personality flaws of Urban Myer that were "overlooked", and now we have Day who is taking Myer's kids and winning. There is no question, in my mind, that tOSU has played the football factory for several decades. They consistently overlook "flaws" in order to win games.
PSU, for good or for bad, is not comparable to tOSU when it comes to a win-at-all-cost mentality.
It’s not going to put stuff to bed…he’ll use the same situations in two years to swindle more money out of the university.
When Franklin got political earlier this year he was virtue signaling to the PS administration who ate it up. Remember that the 2020 BB season when PS administration allowed BLM to be put stitched on warmups ?
Remember when president Barron with BLM activists outside Old Main ? I do.
Remember when president Barron with BLM activists outside Old Main ? I do.
3 of the 8 years we were in the NY6. 2 were shit cause sanctions and 1 was covid.
Your last paragraph is key. There are almost definitely commitments to other aspects like facilities, assistant and analyst salaries, etc. These things will benefit PSU long term no matter who is coaching. I imagine we'll hear a little bit about some of these items today in Franklin's media scrum after practice.
Sunday Tuesday Column: No Matter Your Feelings on the Coach Sticking Around, A Day of Celebration for Penn State Fans
If you’re a Penn State fan and you love James Franklin, Tuesday was a great day. If you’re a Penn State fan and you’ve had your fill of James Franklin, it was a pretty good day, too. The university announced a handsome contract extension for the Nittany Lions’ eight-year football coach that will...fortheblogy.com
If you're Pro-Franklin, today was a good day (obviously).
If you're Anti-Franklin today was still a good day because of the commitment the university is making to be at the forefront of college football in terms of facilities, financial investment, support. The stakes have been raised.
I believe Franklin's prior deal had him here through 2025. I've read that under this new deal, Franklin makes $3.5M total more through 2025, less than a $1M raise per year. This negotiation was more about commitment than it was Franklin's pay. With what is essentially a 10 year guaranteed deal PSU has committed to Franklin. With commitments to facilities PSU is committing to invest in giving PSU what it needs to compete. My only complaint is that I hoped for a bigger buyout clause to stop this renegotiation from happening again in a few years however given than Franklin currently has a lot of leverage and the best agent in the business I'm not surprised he was able to "win" that part of the negotiation.
we also had a guy who wore #26 that was a pretty decent player. I can't recall his name though.
I am not sure what your point is. First, the school was Rutgers. Second, the kid wasn't really highly recruited. (IIRC, he was a three-star until late in the season). We also recruited Lee, Cain and Ford and none of them panned out. Fact is, Barkley, being as good as he was is blind luck. Recruiting is a numbers game. Some kids work out and others do not. the idea is to consistently recuit top kids and develop them. tOSU has done this. PSU has done a good job, but NOT in the same league as schools like tOSU.
Fact is, tOSU has DOMINATED the B1G for over a decade. If I had to rank the health of B1G football programs, I'd say
1) tOSU
There is no 2.
3) tie of PSU and Michigan
4) Wisconsin
5) Michigan State
6) Iowa
7) Northwestern
8) everyone else
tOSU is in the top five elite nationwide that includes AL, GA, Clemson, OK and tOSU. These are the national championship contenders year in and year out. At this point, they stand head and shoulders above everyone else. And PSU is a long way away from that class. And, I am not sure PSU has the resolve, resources and stamina to get there. I realistically think that we internally aspire to be in the next class. The one that finishes somewhere between 6 and 15 consistently. That puts us squarely in the UM/Wisconsin category. For example, GA fired a really good coach and hired an exceptional one. We extended a really good coach (as did Michigan State). I am not disappointed or angry. But I recognize reality.
Nine years and we are going in the wrong direction. The only positive is that the buyout is doable in 2 years so we could make the move without breaking the Bank if we get another two years like the past two crap years. The bad news is Dan Mullen will be the head coach at USC or some other top program and we have to pray that Schiano will be ready to come on board and finish his career here.
My point was people that usually blame Franklin for everything often fail to give him any credit at all. Your example of Barkley is just that. Instead just try saying Franklin thought he was better than a three star, saw his talents, got him to flip, and then developed him and used him perfectly.
The buyout is only doable for Franklin if he decides to leave. It would cost PSU like 60 mill to fire him after two years
Good post. I agree with everything you said. I will say this however, Joe did win two national championships, and could have won a third in 94 if we would have had the current system in place. Joe also won big games on a regular basis. This said as someone who thought Joe should have hung it up in the early 2000's. It is still possible IMO, to win a NC and big games with Student Athletes. It remains to be seen if Franklin is the coach that can do it. I have no problem with giving him more time to do so, but I'm not sold on a ten year span to see if he can do so.
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