So awesome to see CMC honor the past in such a genuine way. My Lettermen friends are delighted. But the proof will be in the pudding. I say give him half as long as Franklin and see where we are at. CMC has started to rebuild respect for our past - one of the very best in all of College Football.
Not hard to see Campbell is bulking up in the trenches like many have wanted for years...
- Thread starter Bwifan
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Cignetti did a total rebuild in 2 seasons. We deserve better.
If any team in the country loses 75 players, it is a major rebuild. Additionally, due to the timing of the hire the recruiting class was very minimal in quantity and quality, and these factors together will necessitate years to get back to normal in terms of roster management. But this was always going to be a rebuild, even if Franklin was still here. We were very low in starting depth at certain positions in 2025, like LB, WR, DT, RB and James outright refused to give reps to some of the second and third stringers. I certainly have hope that retaining the best quality of PSU and ISU talent with an easy schedule will give us a respectable win total, but due to losing 75 players and needing to merge two teams into one in the off-season, I think it’s ridiculous for that poster to state that 10 wins should be the minimum expectation. We were 6-6 last season loaded with senior talent that played together for years.
Many people are forgetting the bold part. PSU had very few starters coming back no matter who was coach. I know they would have gone to the portal but without TS giving some of the young guys a chance over the last month, they would be gone too.
I agree with you. I was blasted for saying it was a major rebuild in the past on here by a few who have unrealistic expectations and think Indiana is the norm rather than Colorado in the portal world.
James went all-in for 2025 and it blew up before the season even started, demanding a raise in the summer (told to win the big games in 2025 first) and crumbling under the weight of not just those expectations but the fact he (per other sources out there) micromanaged every aspect of the program to the point nothing was getting done with competence. He was not making good decisions, and one of them was refusing to give any reps to the next man up in each position group.
We’re going to have to recruit a very large class for 2027 (30-35 at least), and we will have to go back into the portal heavily in January as we will still be low in depth. Hopefully we are back normal in roster management in 2028 or 2029. It supposedly costs half as much to develop and retain your own versus going into the portal. We could conceivably win 10+ games, but it shouldn’t be the expectation when we’re churning 75 players. This was a team that was gashed by Rutgers last season!
I agree. I think we are in the minority in that thinking though. That’s why I am a little concerned about the current state of 2027 recruiting.
It's a major rebuild with a band aid year of ISU transfers this year, but who knows how successful they will be. Right now we have to hope MC has a good year and recruiting momentum starts coming PSU's way. Granted he has only been there a few months so this season coming up will have some meaning to it from a momentum standpoint with recruiting/portal/NIL. Anyone saying it's an easy schedule with that much turn over clearly doesn't understand the sport changed recently. If every school could just hire a Cignetti and win it with JMU players....why aren't they doing it? PSU, UF, FSU, USC, Tex, USCe, A&M, OU.......etc? People seem to forget PSU is about 1 of 15 or so that think they are entitled to MNC's, but it doesn't work that way.
The whole Cignetti thing has been a blessing and a curse. I love that it shows that “team first” can still win over money and stars, but it has created an expectation of excellence and championships for both Blue Bloods and lower tier football schools alike!
No...he gets credit for doing his job....but not glorified for a win which you could have coached...just like every otherI'm confused. Are we critical of Franklin for beating the teams he should have beaten? Because I'm pretty sure that even the teams that win "big games" pad their records against the second division teams.
So he gets no credit for beating the Northwesterns, but gets fired for losing to them? Sounds logical to me.
Franklin coached 149 games at PSU 104-45 overall and 64-36 Big Ten Conference. I wonder what PSU's record was for the prior 150 games? You know I know. But suffice it to say he did better than the outcome of the previous 13 seasons. So, while one can hope.....it's hard to argue that "we deserve better," unless we go back 40 years.
job you are expected to complete your daily task but not given a reward for completing your assignment. As for picking your time frame for comparison....you use Paternlo's record from his final down years, why not just use his all-time record? I believe he had far more wins against top 10 teams with a better winning percentage. People claim James was a great recruiter, yet the numbers say he averaged 14th without a top 5 class.
James had a good run, not exceptional, but his greatest accomplishment was restructuring PSU into today's game.
I was OK with JF in the beginning , actually liked him. The mega contract, the USC rumors made me turn in
addition I couldn't understand losing the big Pa recruits to ND and OSU.
MC has a huge task ahead of him, but like JF in the beginning, i like him. Recruiting has to sell itself by recruits
buying in and comparing visits to school A to B to C.
I don’t know why Kraft said what he did. Frankly, he sounded and acted like a naive fanboy. Let’s hope that Campbell achieves the success Kraft promised and that Kraft hasn’t turned the Penn State football program into another Iowa and Nebraska.
If Campbell doesn’t kill it Kraft’s days SHOULD be numbered.
Pretty sure huh that he win those games? Funny how Campbell never won a single championship or qualified for the playoffs in a decade while coaching in an easier conference. The someone(s) who know college football sure as hell don’t include you.
Kraft’s days SHOULD be numbered.
Kraft is the one who said Franklin was fired for not meeting the “standard” of Big and National Championships and that the fans “deserved” a National Championship. HE is the one who created the expectation of excellence at Penn State.
He was fired for going over Kraft’s head over the summer for a raise, sulking about being told to win the big games first, and then allowing his negativity to spill over to the team, who crumbled under the pressure of expectations that Franklin created very publicly.
Well, outside of OSU and a couple of years at the end against Michigan, he did just fine…so you must be considering everyone other than OSU the worst teams- but that’s about par for the course on here.
And 0 NC’s and 3 Big Ten titles….as I said, that wouldn’t be acceptable on this board these days. And clearly not enough wins in “big games” or there would have been more Big Ten titles and at least one NC.
Low IQ post. He made it clear over the years he doesn’t do interviews until the season is over. He turned down the Detroit Lions before they hired Dan Cambell among other head coaching gigs in college.
True. Except, he didn't (since he was never offered). Unless you also think Franklin "turned down" USC and all those other programs too.
And, of course, he took the PSU job (not just had talks) before ISU's season was over.
Jeebzus. Other than that.... yep.
Not that it matters
FWIW, the day after it became "legal" for one NFL team to hire a coach from another NFL team - the Lions and Dan Campbell got together (that was their guy). Matt Campbell's camp leaked that "they had removed Matt's name from consideration" a couple days before that.
"The source told Birkett that the Lions did discuss their opening with Campbell -- the Iowa State coach also reportedly spoke with the New York Jets -- but the conversation never got beyond a first interview, and certainly never to a point where contract specifics were discussed and offered.
The report says the Lions interviewed Dan Campbell on Jan. 11 -- the first day NFL rules made him available -- and implies they would have hired him sooner than his Jan. 20 hire date if not for NFL rules preventing coaches from taking jobs during their respective seasons. Campbell, with the Saints at the time, did not become formally eligible for hire until New Orleans was eliminated by Tampa Bay on Jan. 17."
You don’t think a semi-competent coach could beat SMU at home in 10 degrees and Potato State? Yes, I am pretty comfortable on that.
I forgot more about Penn State football than you will ever know, Skippy.
Paterno won multiple NCs and had more undefeated, untied, and uncrowned teams than all other College Football teams IN HISTORY COMBINED.
He also had 4 losing seasons and five years and got a free pass. He let the program slide and didn't keep up with other programs. He barely recruited in the end......so while he was great in his prime, his ego led to a slide in the program too. No coach anywhere today would get that leash and rightfully so.
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lol there’s funny funny shiat right there ,followed up that w 3 11 win seasons in 5 yrs 2 top 8 finishes and was on his way to another Naty when BOG fired him by note on a paper
When someone starts a post LOL, it means they cannot refute anything that was posted. He did have 4 losing seasons in 5 years. Tell me which school or program would allow that today? James Franklin had a better decade full of 11 win+ seasons than Joe's last decade and he was fired mid season. That kind of reiterates my point that NO COACH would survive the dark years. Sorry I know it's tough on some folks to hear their idols didn't walk on water. Joe is a legend, but he did stay too long and sorry that bothers you, but it's the truth.
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Campbell recently said in a PC that his goal is to be bigger and more physical along the OL/DL than anyone they'd face.
This is a noticeable script change vs what our last staff did. And even a change from what Campbell did at ISU - now that he has the resources and roster at his disposal, looks like he wants to try and manhandle people up front.
This is a noticeable script change vs what our last staff did. And even a change from what Campbell did at ISU - now that he has the resources and roster at his disposal, looks like he wants to try and manhandle people up front.
nice goal- easy to say, not so easy to do in this conference- especially when speed still matters
there aren't huge numbers of big guys who can move, and those guys go to the NFL pretty quickly
On his way to another Natty? When? 2011? I don’t think so. They barely squeaked by teams like Temple, Indiana, Iowa, Purdue, and Illinois. They got manhandled by Alabama at home in a game where the incompetent offensive coaches called all three timeouts in the opening offensive series. The Illinois win for 409 was a major snooze fest and not a good game. The B1G was down and PSU took a small advantage of beating some of the worst teams in the conference to look respectable. They had major QB issues with Bolden, Jones, and McGloin as the options. They would have gotten creamed against the SEC in any postseason game. That 2011 team was in no way, shape, or form going to compete for a Natty.
I didnt mean to hurt your feelings, but how many other coaches had 34 yrs before they entered the 'dark years' for the first time? I'd say none, but I sure you'll find one. You do build up some currency over time. And how many coaches have given back so much including having a Library named for them? a Library not a stadium. yes well 11 wins seasons became a bigger thing under CJF as the regular season went to 12 and then add in multiple payoff games available.
I know it bothers you they didnt throw JVP out with the trash after '03 or '04 but he did go own to win 51 out of the next 64 games or 80% but we all know you deserve more. So as far as staying too long, well that shoots that down as well. And that is the TRUTH.
2005 lost the Natty by 2 points, in 2011 they go 11-1 who knows what happens , heck Alabama didnt even win the SEC.
You said “on his way to another natty, when the BOT fired him”. That was 2011. Not 2005. 2005 was a very good team. So was 2008. The rest from 2000-2011 was meh to not good. You forgot to mention they lost 9 in a row to Michigan. Joe had a losing record to Tressel, Carr, and Ferentz. Ironically, the same folks who yelled the loudest for JF not beating OSU and Michigan are the ones who conveniently forget that. He stayed too long. Whether you want to admit that or not.
as I mentioned they go 11-1 in 2011 who knows what happens . FTR I never called for CJF to be fired.
They weren’t going 11-1 and the conference was baby sh^t soft that year which inflated their record. They caught OSU on a down year with Fickell as interim coach. The schedule did not include Michigan that year either. They lost to every ranked team they played and they were not beating Alabama in a rematch or LSU. A natty in 2011 was a pipe dream.