OT: Franklin Canned!!!

Rutgers Chris

All-American
Nov 29, 2005
5,271
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They should've stuck to their guns and let the season play out before deciding to fire Franklin. Who is going to want to coach at PSU for the money they'll pay? Are donors going to contribute millions more out of loyalty to their alma mater?

From a business perspective, it doesn't look like PSU's athletics department has their stuff together. 4 & 5 star recruits aren't going to go with a program just because of brand recognition. They need trust from the head coach that they're either going to get a) NIL money or b) developed into an NFL draft prospect.

And after seeing at what happened to Franklin, are any coaches going to be confident enough to rebuild PSU from scratch? PSU isn't Ohio State or Alabama. They don't get resources handed to them on a plate like elite programs do from blindly loyal fans.

We'll see how it plays out. But I doubt PSU will be playoff competitive anytime soon after this mess.
If the Pegulas are involved in the buyout, I’d argue the opposite. I hadn’t heard of them so I looked up a few articles. Their donations helped the Penn state hockey team go from club level to frozen four in a little over a decade. All speculation at this point but if they helped cover the buyout, I would say the athletic department is in good shape there
 
Aug 11, 2025
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Wtf are you smoking ? They ain’t hiring a guy with 25% Big10 winning percentage who got fired at his previous couple of jobs.

PSU expects to compete for nattys. Rutgers only expects the team to get to the stadium on time and Grifter Greg does go 1-0 each week in that regard, so he does have that going for him. Time for another extension.
That sarcastic joke went right over your head, didn’t it?🤣
 
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noble106

Junior
Aug 17, 2017
217
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When will you guys get it that no money ≠ no competitive wins.

Look at Colorado, BYU, Pitt. Then compare them to OSU, Georgia, Indiana.

The sport is rigged. It'd be better to take our small wins while we can than fire someone who's consistent and go back to being an FCS level team. You're not beating NFL ready athletes, top tier coaching and facilities, refs, and other funded teams activities with bottom tier revenue streams.

Alabama will always be dominant. PSU will never get over the hump. The money is just too much to beat.
 

Shelby65

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2008
8,435
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At this point , I don’t think he would be high on their list. I would think Matt Rhule at Nebraska, who played there about 30 years ago would be near the top.
Your response shows clearly you don’t understand how this works. “You don’t think”?

The only way our losing coach would ever get mentioned is if they were all drunk and suggested it just to get laughs. A+ programs don’t hire proven football losers.
 

MADHAT1

Heisman
Apr 1, 2003
31,648
16,440
113
Penn State104–45B1G; 64–36
Vandy 24-15SEC 11-13

Greg: 97-104/ B1G 13-35
lets make Greg part of every thread when another program does something.
What we should look at is: if Greg is so bad and disliked , paying him $23 million shouldn't be a drawback
if PSU can shell out $50 mil to give Franklin the boot.
Maybe it's the fanbases that make the Nits go for broke with their support while the RU fanbase claims to be broke when the program asks them for support.

Greg is a product of the lack of support and the type of HC that support can hire and can't get ride of because the support won't pay up
Franklin was the type of HC the Nits hire with the fans support and will dump when the fanbase realizes he's not going to do the job expected of him even though he has a great winning percentage .

Schano will not get Rutgers where its fanbase wants it to go, but won't be going anywhere because Schiano is a reflection of the RU fanbase, , just not good enough to win and will stay that way because winning is too expensive .
Franbklin is a reflection of the Nit fanbase , play to win and let nothing stop that , even if it means paying a bunch when dumping a winning coach because he did not win the games he was expected to.

Boo hoo it's Greg's fault Franklin was fired ,while Schiano's accomplisments aren't enough to want him

I get what you mean Shifty, just tired of seeing posts constantly implying Greg isn't good enough and knowing he probably be at RU until, probasnly , the end of the 2027-28 season because unlike Penn State, the money to dump an unwanted HC isn't there at RU like it is at PSU
 

DJ Spanky

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
49,126
60,315
113
I guess I won't be able to post this anymore.



They should've stuck to their guns and let the season play out before deciding to fire Franklin.

Yup.

When will you guys get it that no money ≠ no competitive wins.

For a certain subset, never.
 

RUGuitarMan1

All-Conference
Apr 5, 2021
2,528
3,945
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Your response shows clearly you don’t understand how this works. “You don’t think”?

The only way our losing coach would ever get mentioned is if they were all drunk and suggested it just to get laughs. A+ programs don’t hire proven football losers.
Your response is predictable. Clearly the man pissed in your cornflakes at some point.
 

T2Kplus20

Heisman
May 1, 2007
32,062
19,988
113
I’m very shocked only because of the money. My goodness the amount of money colleges waste lol. Hope they learn not to hand out all these stupid long deals and realize anything can go south on anyone and keep it manageable.


PSU has a lot of money and advantages. Franklin was the perfect HC to hold them back from reaching their potential. LOL! Not a good day for RU.
 

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
89,227
87,179
113
lets make Greg part of every thread when another program does something.
What we should look at is: if Greg is so bad and disliked , paying him $23 million shouldn't be a drawback
if PSU can shell out $50 mil to give Franklin the boot.
Maybe it's the fanbases that make the Nits go for broke with their support while the RU fanbase claims to be broke when the program asks them for support.

Greg is a product of the lack of support and the type of HC that support can hire and can't get ride of because the support won't pay up
Franklin was the type of HC the Nits hire with the fans support and will dump when the fanbase realizes he's not going to do the job expected of him even though he has a great winning percentage .

Schano will not get Rutgers where its fanbase wants it to go, but won't be going anywhere because Schiano is a reflection of the RU fanbase, , just not good enough to win and will stay that way because winning is too expensive .
Franbklin is a reflection of the Nit fanbase , play to win and let nothing stop that , even if it means paying a bunch when dumping a winning coach because he did not win the games he was expected to.

Boo hoo it's Greg's fault Franklin was fired ,while Schiano's accomplisments aren't enough to want him

I get what you mean Shifty, just tired of seeing posts constantly implying Greg isn't good enough and knowing he probably be at RU until, probasnly , the end of the 2027-28 season because unlike Penn State, the money to dump an unwanted HC isn't there at RU like it is at PSU
My post was more about a program holding a coach to a standard.
Up until when Pres Tate and Keli Zinn were hired, the only standard Rutgers seemed to know was giving extensions and raises for mediocrity.
In case you have not noticed, Tate and Zinn came from a school that takes winning seriously.
 

Steve91562

All-American
Oct 23, 2007
6,102
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Surprised. Pizzing away 50 million and the coach made the playoffs last year. That makes as much common sense as giving these long term contracts. Guess you only do that if you already have someone really good on the hook.
 

rutgersguy2

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Jul 9, 2025
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Texted buddy who played at PSU in the 90’s and this is what he’s hearing.
Penn State alum D’Anton Lynn.
Defensive coordinator from USC but just rumor
Firing Franklin for a first time HC seems risky if that’s true.

I’ve seen his name for UCLA but PSU is a different animal.

They looked good last night but were also run over by Illinois. He did a nice job in his one year as UCLA DC. At USC as DC…improved but some mixed performances. Good test coming up against ND, let’s see how they do away from home when they usually have more problems.
 
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Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
19,240
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My post was more about a program holding a coach to a standard.
Up until when Pres Tate and Keli Zinn were hired, the only standard Rutgers seemed to know was giving extensions and raises for mediocrity.
In case you have not noticed, Tate and Zinn came from a school that takes winning seriously.
The standard is highly correlated to deep pocket donors.
 
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kupuna133

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Jul 13, 2015
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Firing Franklin for a first time HC seems risky if that’s true.

I’ve seen his name for UCLA but PSU is a different animal.

They looked good last night but were also run over by Illinois. He did a nice job in his one year as UCLA DC. At USC as DC…improved but some mixed performances. Good test coming up against ND, let’s see how they do away from home when they usually have more problems.
Yea I would think they would aim a little higher. But who knows. Bring him into recruit and surround him with GM and serious staff. I didn’t think ND would stick with Freeman either.
 
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rutgersguy2

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Yea I would think they would aim a little higher. But who knows. Bring him into recruit and surround him with GM and serious staff. I didn’t think ND would stick with Freeman either.
Yea but that was a promotion from within as opposed to an “outsider”
 

RUJMM78

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
26,256
12,534
113
They should've stuck to their guns and let the season play out before deciding to fire Franklin. Who is going to want to coach at PSU for the money they'll pay? Are donors going to contribute millions more out of loyalty to their alma mater?

From a business perspective, it doesn't look like PSU's athletics department has their stuff together. 4 & 5 star recruits aren't going to go with a program just because of brand recognition. They need trust from the head coach that they're either going to get a) NIL money or b) developed into an NFL draft prospect.

And after seeing at what happened to Franklin, are any coaches going to be confident enough to rebuild PSU from scratch? PSU isn't Ohio State or Alabama. They don't get resources handed to them on a plate like elite programs do from blindly loyal fans.

We'll see how it plays out. But I doubt PSU will be playoff competitive anytime soon after this mess.
Not true.The Penn State fan base kept filling the stadium after the Sandusky scandal.Happy Valley loves their footballl and wrestling programs.
 

kupuna133

All-American
Jul 13, 2015
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Yea but that was a promotion from within as opposed to an “outsider”
I get it. But my point was who would have thought that the mighty ND would settle for a first time head coach insider or not. And Lynn is a Penn State football alimuni. Not exactly an “outsider”.
 

rutgersguy2

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Mullen or Campbell from this list seem like good options.

Not sure how realistic other names like Kelly, Cignetti, Rhule are….possible playoff runs could be an issue as well.

 

MADHAT1

Heisman
Apr 1, 2003
31,648
16,440
113
First: my opinion
Sandy Barbour might be next and she should have never been hired as AD
Before Penn State hired her , Barbour, having served as Cal’s athletic director from 2004 to 2014, i
Reason: While the Cal AD former UC Berkeley swimmer Jenna Rais alleged that Barbour failed to address her claim that she was sexually assaulted by Cal staff member Rais said she emailed Cal chancellor Robert Birgeneau and Barbour Rais received no response in 2010.
Just like Pervert State to hire someone that turns a blind eye towards complaints about perverts in their mist.

now for a nice article I want to share :
>What did Penn State get wrong?
In hindsight, Penn State may have whistled past the graveyard in ignoring Jim Knowles's messy exit from Ohio State in their rush to pay him $3 million a year. But that wasn't close to the worst contract mistake of the Franklin era. That was, unquestionably, the 10-year, $75 million extension Penn State signed Franklin to at the end of the 2021 season. More specifically, that extension was announced Nov. 23, 2021, four days before the Lions lost to Michigan State to conclude a 7-5 regular season. It was as if AD Sandy Barbour saw the equally-mindless extension Mel Tucker had signed at Michigan State and wanted in on the fun.<
 

MADHAT1

Heisman
Apr 1, 2003
31,648
16,440
113
My post was more about a program holding a coach to a standard.
Up until when Pres Tate and Keli Zinn were hired, the only standard Rutgers seemed to know was giving extensions and raises for mediocrity.
In case you have not noticed, Tate and Zinn came from a school that takes winning seriously.
I noticed that and also understand that they come to a school that isn't put winning first.
LSU was all about winning since the Paul Dietzel "Chinese Bandits " days,
So Tate and Zinn had a fanbase they could work with to have a top program
Penn State was all about winning over anything and everything once Joe Paterno replaced Rip Engle.
Penn State has a fanbase that expects big wins because nothing else matters
I just was pointing out the Rutgers fanbase is the opposite of LSU & PSU.

I was just pointing out
Rutgers fans will *****, moan and complain about Schiano not being a good HC and needs to go
but unlike the PSU ($50mil) and LSU ( Ed Orgeron's $18.7 mil) fanbases the RU fanbase never finds enough funds to help dump the" bastard "
So it gets old seeing the Greg isn't as good as this bum fired messages just about every time a failure is fired.
In the eyes of Penn State fans Franklin failed and he's gone.
LSU fans felt Orgeron wasn't good enough and he was dumped
For both schools the fanbase support for school forced them to cann the coach.
Rutgers fan base doesn't put up the funds so RU can send Greg packing , but whines like it does.

Nothing personal, it's not just you but 90% (It seems) of TKR members who want Greg gone don;t adress that fact.
I wouldn't mind RU letting Schiano know : better do well the remainder of season, make the fanbase smile when bowl pairing are announced, or bye bye Greggie .
But I understand Rutgers won't do that because the fanbase won't help fund his ouster.
When the Flood era was here and the fanbase was against him , the rumor was that Julie tried to get boostes to help pay his buyout and that move didn't work out.
At LSU the money would be there, so despite coming from a program that knows how to win, Tate and Zinn must change RU's culture so it's willing to put up winning money and stop declaring bankruptcy
 
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rutgersguy2

All-Conference
Jul 9, 2025
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First: my opinion
Sandy Barbour might be next and she should have never been hired as AD
Before Penn State hired her , Barbour, having served as Cal’s athletic director from 2004 to 2014, i
Reason: While the Cal AD former UC Berkeley swimmer Jenna Rais alleged that Barbour failed to address her claim that she was sexually assaulted by Cal staff member Rais said she emailed Cal chancellor Robert Birgeneau and Barbour Rais received no response in 2010.
Just like Pervert State to hire someone that turns a blind eye towards complaints about perverts in their mist.

now for a nice article I want to share :
>What did Penn State get wrong?
In hindsight, Penn State may have whistled past the graveyard in ignoring Jim Knowles's messy exit from Ohio State in their rush to pay him $3 million a year. But that wasn't close to the worst contract mistake of the Franklin era. That was, unquestionably, the 10-year, $75 million extension Penn State signed Franklin to at the end of the 2021 season. More specifically, that extension was announced Nov. 23, 2021, four days before the Lions lost to Michigan State to conclude a 7-5 regular season. It was as if AD Sandy Barbour saw the equally-mindless extension Mel Tucker had signed at Michigan State and wanted in on the fun.<
She’s not the AD anymore. Pat Kraft is the PSU AD since 2022
 

rutgersguy2

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Jul 9, 2025
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I wonder if the school (UCLA) that helped send Franklin on his way might not be a good landing spot. His personality seems like it would work in LA. Cali is a good recruiting ground. Expectations aren’t as high as PSU or USC and the money saved on PSU’s dime can be used for staff or NIL. I could even see him keep Jerry N on board if the offense continues to flourish the rest of the year.