(OT) Penn State Football - James Franklin no longer

[schillingfan]

Hard game for me, as I am such a huge Oregon fan. Until the Ducks moved to the Big ten it wasn’t an issue. I was happy for a double overtime, since it didn’t hurt Penn State so much. Oregon has a money advantage thqt is hard to much.

[bigegypt0417]

Penn State loses tho the worst team in the Big 10.

James Franklin is a great recruiter....

As a head coach...he's a great recruiter.

[zambonir]

You could not have scripted that any worse. It's one thing to lose big games or make a few poor decisions in-game, but that was a full-on flop by the entire coaching staff. And he dared to blame the travel too (a real thing, but you shouldn't say it).

The hangover from last week also not surprising, but you prepare knowing that.

He is not even that great a recruiter! Had no WRs last year. This year all about the NIL $. And some of his best QBs are the ones who don't stay.

Thing is, I don't think PSU will ever do better. Their powerhouse status was built at a very different time. They've only won or tied for Big 10 four times in 30 years. Wisconsin has five. Even Northwestern has three. Franklin enjoyed some success while Michigan was down, but in this era of CFB Penn State is probably going to be more like Wisconsin or Nebraska than Michigan or tOSU. In that tier, they are the very best! And in the current systeme you can still make the playoff at 9-3. Just not sure they'll get there this year.

Maybe they can hire Cignetti.

[bigegypt0417]

I want to see what Knowles can do given the chance to bring in his type of player...continuing to play with undersized interior lineman is not going to be a successful strategy.

Franklin seemingly coaches scared.

Such a horrible game to watch.

[flyers19rw]

I think that they can do better than Franklin. I suspect that Al Golden would jump at the job.

[zambonir]

Career 59-59 coach between Miami and Temple, okay. Also flopping in the NFL now. I'd much sooner go after Cignetti. Or Clark Lea. But Franklin has to quit for anything to happen.

Wonder what would have happened if he'd left for USC and PSU had hired Fickell.

[phillychuck]

PSU owes Franklin way too much money to fire him.

[zambonir]

For sure. Between the buyout and the fact that PSU finally has its NIL together, as well as the big $ bonanza of the stadium, I doubt he is going anywhere. But if they lose four or five games he might want out of a place that has never really given him the best chance to win (too much dysfunction) nor appreciated him (only sometimes with good reason). And he would get another big job in a minute. He is not a failure who would have to go to a non-power school.

More positively, I think he is Tom Osborn. Or Mack Brown. Or Joe Paterno. Can't win the big one until you do.

[bigegypt0417]

His buy out is somewhere near 50 million dollars.

the best they can hope for is he decides he wants to leave for another job which is not completely out of the question...

[zambonir]

Yeah it only costs him like $2.5 million to leave. Hey, UCLA needs a coach! I can't see him going to back to the SEC.

But also is the buyout 100% paid in full, or offset by next job? Because he makes around $8.5 million. If it is offset and he signed a new deal for, say, five years $25 million that is a bargain for new team, and cuts buyout in half.

I don't seriously think he is in danger of getting canned. There is still no comparison with his shortcomings versus the likes of Jimbo Fisher, Napier, Pittman, Fickell or Mike Norvell. And even in the portal era it would set the program back a year or two. You would also either have to buy out the coordinators or hire a coach who keeps them.

[bigegypt0417]

Penn state will end up in the blockbuster video bowl.

Allar should have gone pro after last season.

[zambonir]

That's actually the Pop-Tarts Bowl, I'll take it!

I think this (Franklin being gone) is probably gonna happen. They could lose their next three straight, or just any three. But best possible record is probably 7-5.

Kind of reminds of '99 but they won three or four big games that year, waited to fall apart at the end.

[bigegypt0417]

Funny...well...maybe not Funny but I didn't realize Allar was done for the season when I posted.

[zambonir]

Wow. Broken foot or ankle or torn Achilles I assume? You could see he was despondent.

He probably still got more money to play for PSU than he was gonna in the NFL, especially with NFL $ not guaranteed. Assuming he hadn't gone in first two rounds which he presumably knew he wasn't.

Wonder if the RBs are obligated by their NIL deals to play all year or in a non-CFP bowl.

[phillychuck]

I think prior to the season (last year at the draft) Allar would have probably gone in round 2. Now, I’m not sure he’ll get drafted at all. What a bad year for him (and the team so far).

[zambonir]

Definitely his ceiling but the possibility of dropping had to be at least a partial factor in coming back (along with the $ and the championship aspiration and the possibility of rising).

Ewers was predicted to go 3rd or 4th round with a ceiling of 2nd round - turns out he actually should have gone into the transfer portal (or you could argue, Texas should have kept him). Allar will probably still get taken, but could be as low as Ewers or McCord.

Probably this whole crew doesn't come back if Allar doesn't, so the what-might-have-been is less could they have done better with Pribula or a transfer as, it was time to start a new era. And now it really is.

[flyers19rw]

Statement from the chair and vice chair of the Penn State Board of Trustees |...

Some concern about the move from being a Nike school to an Addidas one. How much money and where it’s going.

[zambonir]

This is the sort of thing that happens when things are bad. As if the partnership with Nike couldn't have also had the potential for self-dealing. I have not followed this at all but I'm assuming it is just another thing that has its roots in the division that continues to exist on the board, and between the Joe people and non-Joe people, with PSU probably no longer being as important to Nike without Joe as well.

Catching up on these articles now. With the Board it seems they were not consulted (nor do they have to be) and some are mad about that, while others obviously are not.

Penn State, Adidas Deny Wrongdoing Around $300M Apparel Deal

https://www.centredaily.com/sports/college/penn-state-university/psu-football/article311970547.html

[bigegypt0417]

Franklin fired...that was not expected!

47 million dollar buyout.

https://x.com/espn/status/1977435235059917055?s=19

[MichaelJackSchmidt]

Smart move! I've never been a big fan of keeping a coach or player simply because you owe them a lot of money. By the way, WIP radio is saying he's owed 49 million.