Somethings not right with Franklin.

[BobPSU92]

Well, my wife and I just finished listening to the presser (first one since the JoePa days when I concluded it was worthless to listen to them) and I disagree with your conclusion, in part. I do not believe it was "heavy" political influence, but if you read between the lines it appears that politics have been involved, but is only part of the picture.

Basically CJF said there have been a lot of factors this year and if you are not careful they become distractions. A lot of time and energy has been spent on dealing with things away from football. That is telling, at least to me. Obviously dealing with Covid as well as what has been going on in politics in this country are probably the two biggest things, but there are likely some others (player drug busts, etc.). He bails himself out of this topic by stating that this press conference is really about playing football - that is End of Discussion. Later on when the last reporter asked a directly political question, Franklin stated he was very active himself helping to get people active in politics. So yes, there has been the influence of politics upon the team, some of it brought upon the team by Franklin himself. Maybe not a heavy amount, but at least a moderate amount.

CJF did say that locker room culture this year is part of the problem sort of in a back door way. He said when they were successful in the past that part of the success was locker room culture, but you can't say that when there is lack of success that the culture doesn't play into it.

One of the things that stood out with us is that he said "he leads with love." As soon as my wife heard this, she said "what is he, a late 60's hippy flower child? He needs to stop smoking the doobies." I started laughing, but it is true in some sense. He sounds more like a pre-school or kindergarden teacher than a college head football coach.

A thing that also stuck out to me is that he harped on the "two biggest statistics" important to winning football games. 1 - Turnovers, and 2 - Explosive Plays. Well to many, that is part of the statistical factors that determine the outcome of a game, but not the most important ones. A lot of games can be won being behind in the turnover category or being burned on an explosive play, and the good teams overcome those problems.

My conclusions:

1. There has been a lot of time spent on dealing with things away from football. Some of this has to do with politics as Franklin stated he had been very active himself in this fashion. IMO, this does not belong in the locker room and can be divisive.

2. There is a locker room culture problem which has affected the football team's performance.

3. Franklin is more on the spectrum of a kindergarden teacher type coach rather than a kick'em in the a$$ coach.

4. CJF hones in on 2 statistics that he believes are the most important ones - Turnovers and Explosive plays.

The point about locker room culture is interesting. We had a sense that something was amiss based on how the players have carried themselves this year, plus Dotson’s comment about “distractions” on Saturday. In the past, when the team was successful, Franklin said things to the effect that nothing was better than what the team had in the locker room. Past Franklin teams had great chemistry. Besides being good, they appeared to have fun. This year’s team doesn’t seem to have it, and it probably is not all Franklin’s fault. Sometimes teams don‘t come together. It isn’t easy to fix. Franklin can’t force good team chemistry.

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

Culture and divisiveness?

Read that as some players think other players are getting away with murder and lack focus. Getting high, raving about politics bs, getting arrested, and still getting playing time with no time on the bench to get their head straight. Meanwhile the Dotsons and Cliffords are left to suffer the consequences.

Meanwhile our multi million dollar coach is lonely? Guys, have you ever thought to tell the boss I am not meeting my goals because of being alone? OMG! He is getting $5 million plus and he is trying to get away with that excuse? F em.

 

[PearlSUJam]

Culture and divisiveness?

Read that as some players think other players are getting away with murder and lack focus. Getting high, raving about politics bs, getting arrested, and still getting playing time with no time on the bench to get their head straight. Meanwhile the Dotsons and Cliffords are left to suffer the consequences.

Meanwhile our multi million dollar coach is lonely? Guys, have you ever thought to tell the boss I am not meeting my goals because of being alone? OMG! He is getting $5 million plus and he is trying to get away with that excuse? F em.

Look at it this way Dave. When college players are getting paid and can transfer without penalty in 2 years you're going to quit watching anyhow so enjoy it now.

 

[PS4814]

Culture and divisiveness?

Read that as some players think other players are getting away with murder and lack focus. Getting high, raving about politics bs, getting arrested, and still getting playing time with no time on the bench to get their head straight. Meanwhile the Dotsons and Cliffords are left to suffer the consequences.

Do you have a link to any of what you shared? Would be interested in reading that too.

 

[trz103]

The family separation must be difficult and I have empathy for that. But the political activism, player suspensions, etc....well he brings a lot of these distractions on himself. He has brought a lot of the criticism to himself as well with his arrogance in the past. If he wants to coach PSU football then get back to doing it. If he’s not sure then maybe a relocation is needed and PSU moves on.

 

[NittanyIllinois]

So just so I'm reading this right.....

A bunch of you STILL insist this is because of political activism?

Do a damn one of you have any evidence for it? Or are you conveniently blaming something you despise for the inability to win football games?

I guess I'm just massively confused why social activism isn't negatively impacting every other team. Because it's happening all over the country.

 

[PS4814]

So just so I'm reading this right.....

A bunch of you STILL insist this is because of political activism?

Do a damn one of you have any evidence for it? Or are you conveniently blaming something you despise for the inability to win football games?

I guess I'm just massively confused why social activism isn't negatively impacting every other team. Because it's happening all over the country.

Of course there's no actual evidence, just like there's no actual evidence about many of the theories and things that are discussed around here.

However, my take on it is that George Floyd's death and the subsequent protests changed things for many people. Personal example here but at my job during the protests a group of employees took the opportunity to go straight to the top and demand changes based on race. The leadership tried to be nice and due to the climate at the time gave into the groups "demands" and this has caused tension on multiple levels but to go into details would send this post to the Test Board. I can imagine a similar scenario occurring within the team if certain players felt very strongly about what took place - and the reason it would impact PSU more so than other teams is Franklin's leadership style. Where other coaches may have given lip service and moved onto solely focus on football - Franklin "leads with love" and advocates the family concept within the team. Due to this he could have embraced and taken to heart the issues, empowered the players that were angry/upset, and allowed things to go too far unintentionally causing tension and a lack of cohesion within the team.

Again absolutely no evidence of any of this but it's a scenario I personally can see playing out over the last several months. I could be 100% wrong - but it's a discussion board so I'm discussing things lol.

 

[NittanyIllinois]

Of course there's no actual evidence, just like there's no actual evidence about many of the theories and things that are discussed around here.

However, my take on it is that George Floyd's death and the subsequent protests changed things for many people. Personal example here but at my job during the protests a group of employees took the opportunity to go straight to the top and demand changes based on race. The leadership tried to be nice and due to the climate at the time gave into the groups "demands" and this has caused tension on multiple levels but to go into details would send this post to the Test Board. I can imagine a similar scenario occurring within the team if certain players felt very strongly about what took place - and the reason it would impact PSU more so than other teams is Franklin's leadership style. Where other coaches may have given lip service and moved onto solely focus on football - Franklin "leads with love" and advocates the family concept within the team. Due to this he could have embraced and taken to heart the issues, empowered the players that were angry/upset, and allowed things to go too far unintentionally causing tension and a lack of cohesion within the team.

Again absolutely no evidence of any of this but it's a scenario I personally can see playing out over the last several months. I could be 100% wrong - but it's a discussion board so I'm discussing things lol.

All true. As a manager, I've dealt with racial equality issues within my own workforce, and certainly a lot of people are thinking about these issues.

But here's my issue with this theory. Why aren't other teams being impacted the way we are? This is not unique to PSU's roster.

Lots of other programs have had several players very visibly get involved in racial equality issues. They seem to be doing fine -- to include programs with coaches that have gotten very intimately involved in these issues.

You know who was very vocal about BLM issues? Mike Locksley. Also a player's coach. Also black. And they just whooped our ass.

So, this theory has some holes in it.

 

[CoastGuard2018]

All true. As a manager, I've dealt with racial equality issues within my own workforce, and certainly a lot of people are thinking about these issues.

But here's my issue with this theory. Why aren't other teams being impacted the way we are? This is not unique to PSU's roster.

Lots of other programs have had several players very visibly get involved in racial equality issues. They seem to be doing fine -- to include programs with coaches that have gotten very intimately involved in these issues.

You know who was very vocal about BLM issues? Mike Locksley. Also a player's coach. Also black. And they just whooped our ass.

So, this theory has some holes in it.

I think it has more to do with the family issue and the lack of leadership and attitude of some of the players Couple that with the injuries, Parsons leaving and the new assistants especially the offensive coordinator who didn’t have the requisite time to install the new offense.

 

[Thomas1945]

Of course there's no actual evidence, just like there's no actual evidence about many of the theories and things that are discussed around here.

However, my take on it is that George Floyd's death and the subsequent protests changed things for many people. Personal example here but at my job during the protests a group of employees took the opportunity to go straight to the top and demand changes based on race. The leadership tried to be nice and due to the climate at the time gave into the groups "demands" and this has caused tension on multiple levels but to go into details would send this post to the Test Board. I can imagine a similar scenario occurring within the team if certain players felt very strongly about what took place - and the reason it would impact PSU more so than other teams is Franklin's leadership style. Where other coaches may have given lip service and moved onto solely focus on football - Franklin "leads with love" and advocates the family concept within the team. Due to this he could have embraced and taken to heart the issues, empowered the players that were angry/upset, and allowed things to go too far unintentionally causing tension and a lack of cohesion within the team.

Again absolutely no evidence of any of this but it's a scenario I personally can see playing out over the last several months. I could be 100% wrong - but it's a discussion board so I'm discussing things lol.

Fortunately I never over think 🤔 anything. I’m still going with some players we’re overrated, and some have their head up their ass. Combined with poor coaching development of talents they do have, and stubbornly not installing schemes that utilize those talents optimally. Then add in some mind boggling game day moves and you get back what you put in the oven.

 

[danvillenit]

I think it has more to do with the family issue and the lack of leadership and attitude of some of the players Couple that with the injuries, Parsons leaving and the new assistants especially the offensive coordinator who didn’t have the requisite time to install the new offense.

I think the family issue has affected other areas like player leadership and attitude. I’m thinking in the past he would have dealt with it more effectively. I know I’ve seen when managers are struggling with personal issues they are less gung-ho to deal with problems.

 

[Waste Management Consultant]

No matter the cause or reason, It is certainly one hell of a dumpster fire.

 

[Woodpecker]

Don’t you love the drake!?

I'm looking forward to meeting the Drakette!

 

[BostonNit]

Could any of the divisiveness on the team come from the fact that 90+ players standing on the sideline know you take 3 knees against Indiana and kick a FG, or take 4 knees and give them the ball with 80 yards to go, 20 seconds, and no TO's?

You've worked your balls off to get ready for the season in very trying times. You have a rough start to the game but eventually battle back to put yourself in a place to ice the game. Then the coach does something even us armchair QB's know you don't do.

Could this group of 18-22 y.o.'s have begun to question why they work so hard (if they do) only to have it blundered by a braindead coaching decision? Could this group unconsciously begun working just a little less hard because they feel they've held up their end of the bargain only to be let down by their highly paid coach?

Don't get me wrong, I love Franklin and all the positives he's brought to the program. But short of a fumbled snap on that series against Indiana, the ONLY thing that could've lost that game was coaching. And it did.

 

[KSLion]

Something just doesn’t add up, to me.
He seems distant, and not engaged.
I never seen one of his teams be this woefully unprepared 3 weeks in a row.

Looking in from the outside, it seemed odd that the family would relocate to a state where the COVID incidence was so much higher than PA, currently about 3.5 times the number of active infections, ostensibly to protect a child with higher-than-normal COVID vulnerability due to a pre-existing condition.

 

[grinagrin]

Looking in from the outside, it seemed odd that the family would relocate to a state where the COVID incidence was so much higher than PA, currently about 3.5 times the number of active infections, ostensibly to protect to protect a child with higher-than-normal COVID vulnerability due to a pre-existing condition.

They have a large house in Destin. The kids are in school virtually and the family never leaves the property. Everything they need gets delivered to them and they then proceed to wipe everything down before using. Franklin has mentioned this before. It’s really not that hard to understand.

 

[danvillenit]

Could any of the divisiveness on the team come from the fact that 90+ players standing on the sideline know you take 3 knees against Indiana and kick a FG, or take 4 knees and give them the ball with 80 yards to go, 20 seconds, and no TO's?

You've worked your balls off to get ready for the season in very trying times. You have a rough start to the game but eventually battle back to put yourself in a place to ice the game. Then the coach does something even us armchair QB's know you don't do.

Could this group of 18-22 y.o.'s have begun to question why they work so hard (if they do) only to have it blundered by a braindead coaching decision? Could this group unconsciously begun working just a little less hard because they feel they've held up their end of the bargain only to be let down by their highly paid coach?

Don't get me wrong, I love Franklin and all the positives he's brought to the program. But short of a fumbled snap on that series against Indiana, the ONLY thing that could've lost that game was coaching. And it did.

As been discussed the correct sequence is to run plays to get a first down but not score. That is the only way to run out the clock. This was reiterated by Urban Meyer on BTN. Only after the fact is it obvious to armchair experts. No, your scenario that players feel let down cause their coach is highly paid is unlikely.

 

[danvillenit]

They have a large house in Destin. The kids are in school virtually and the family never leaves the property. Everything they need gets delivered to them and they then proceed to wipe everything down before using. Franklin has mentioned this before. It’s really not that hard to understand.

Also Franklin has mentioned multiple times that if they were in PA the temptation to see each other may be too great to resist.