Latest Franklin shot towards PSU
- Thread starter Patterson825
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I'm not as cynical so I don't see it as a shot at PSU or anyone else. No doubt the budget was smaller at Vanderbilt when James was there, so I can't fault the guy for stating a fact. I wouldn't say PSU was earlier in his career since he was still at PSU nine months ago. And with the way he kept finagling a pay raise almost every year, he certainly can't accuse PSU of being cheap when it came to paying him. Get a fat raise?? And have a team many considered to be one of the best in the country?? And start 3-3 with a couple truly embarrassing losses?? Something was wrong. Nobody, including James, should have been shocked by what happened next.
If he had been the head coach of either OSU or Michigan and continually lost to his arch rival year after year after year, he would've been fired long before he reached a twelfth season like at PSU. He should be so thankful to the PSU Presidents and ADs who continually stuck with him despite his seasons being like Groundshog Day.
I'm going to enjoy seeing his befuddled look when coaches like Cristobal hand him his lunch on a consistent basis, and of course when his inept coaching and preparation cause his team to lose to a less talented team like a few of the MSU, Illinois, UCLA and Northwestern losses, among others.
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Franklin did so little when he had so much. He was a clown hire just to minimize Joe.
Agree with all of this.
He had TEN different college coaching stints prior to Penn State, so we definitely don’t qualify as “early in his career.” But even early in his PSU tenure specifically, we were still under sanctions, so “doing less with more” applies there if one insists on counting that. I don’t take this as a shot at Penn State. We really don’t need to go digging for more CJF-related drama.
The rest of what @NittPicker said is also quite true.
Can’t agree with you there. He absolutely plateaued and got stuck there — frustratingly so. But “did so little” is a big stretch.
I agree. Overall, his tenure at PSU was good to very good, but he obviously took the program as far as he was going to take it. If he were going to win a NC at PSU or even play for one, he would've done that long before the disastrous 2025 season.
I have no idea whether Campbell or any future coaches will get PSU to the next step, but it was time to go in a different direction.
Agree. Especially the last paragraph. I think the situation could be good for PSU and James.
It's incredible how quickly PSU fans have forgotten the sanctions and that we only had 4 scholarship OL on the roster when Franklin got here. He couldn't get PSU to a NC. But there were some very good seasons. He flamed out last year and a change was in order. Campbell was brought in to do better than Franklin. It may not be as easy as some surmise.
Early in his career would be Vandy. Not everything is about Penn State.
Franklin is an expert in bullsh*t. This tracks. At some point his act won’t fly anymore and he’ll be holding pressers at North Texas or something.
So, he didn’t figure out how to do more with more at PSU? Like, having the two highest paid coordinators in the sport? Private jets? No wonder he sucked.
Put down your glass of Franklin Hatorade.
I don’t even think the quote pertains to PSU.
People need to stop driving by their boyfriends house and not thinking everything in his instagram post is about them.
Here’s the full, non-hackjob McMurphy-ized quote:
Q. You've had a lot of different stops. Everywhere you go to, you learn something good or bad. What did you learn that is going to make you be successful and compete for the ACC this year?
A. Yeah, I think everybody's journey is different, right? I talk about this with the players, as well. You got to embrace your journey.
I played Division II football. I coached Division II football. I think those humble beginnings - Marcellous has a similar background as well. Those humble beginnings make you appreciate everything.
I think a sense of appreciation for what you have and your blessings in the places you were at are more important than they've ever been in college football. When you're in D-ll, you don't have a nutrition bar, you have to wear a ton of different hats as a young coach, take on a ton of different responsibilities, that's valuable.
At each level there's different challenges and there's different resources. You got to take advantage of it.
Early in my career we always had to do more with less. Then when you get to a place like Virginia Tech, you got to understand how to do more with more. That's what we're all about. That's what we're going to embrace. I think my background and experiences in three of the major conferences in college football, as well as my time in the NFL, I think is going to serve me well at Virginia Tech and hopefully put these players in the best position to be successful.”
Q. You've had a lot of different stops. Everywhere you go to, you learn something good or bad. What did you learn that is going to make you be successful and compete for the ACC this year?
A. Yeah, I think everybody's journey is different, right? I talk about this with the players, as well. You got to embrace your journey.
I played Division II football. I coached Division II football. I think those humble beginnings - Marcellous has a similar background as well. Those humble beginnings make you appreciate everything.
I think a sense of appreciation for what you have and your blessings in the places you were at are more important than they've ever been in college football. When you're in D-ll, you don't have a nutrition bar, you have to wear a ton of different hats as a young coach, take on a ton of different responsibilities, that's valuable.
At each level there's different challenges and there's different resources. You got to take advantage of it.
Early in my career we always had to do more with less. Then when you get to a place like Virginia Tech, you got to understand how to do more with more. That's what we're all about. That's what we're going to embrace. I think my background and experiences in three of the major conferences in college football, as well as my time in the NFL, I think is going to serve me well at Virginia Tech and hopefully put these players in the best position to be successful.”
Probably in northern Louisiana.
How can it not? He had more at PSU. More than he will have at VT. And he saying he need to figure out how to do more with more as if it’s a new situation for him. Suggest you do the same with the glass of Franklin Can Do No Wrong.
Franklin wouldn't be out of line remembering how far behind PSU had fallen with strength and conditioning, football facilities, housing for athletes etc. Bill O'Brien was the first to point these out. Even how admissions processed transfers and commits needed cooperation. Joe took pride in treating the team similar to the normal college experience. Times have changed. PSU can be a bit slow with progress.
Early years to me is Vandy or maybe even what he had at MD (granted not as head coach).
As for the last part, You’ve read my posts and you know that is complete bull$hitz I e had my issues with franklin and have said them many times.
Your‘e better than that.
This^^. Why is everyone so thin skinned around here? Good grief. Sack up people!
Don't compare resources at Ohio State with PSU. Also you conveniently don't mention the small detail that PSU was in the midst of the second most draconian sanctions in NCAA football history when Franklin came here. Was Penn State really patient with Franklin or the other way around ? I'd like someone to tell us that after 2016 he couldn't have left PSU for another program.
I think PSU parted ways with Franklin at about the appropriate time. Honest assessments would state that the relationship had been good for both up until last season.
There's a petty, entitled and delusional segment of the fanbase that pretend nothing good happened for 11 years. Perhaps they are the same loyal PSU fans that slurred his family at the final two games? Something to be proud of.
at least I've worn one Sally.
No kidding.
Hell even though he wasn’t head coach he could have been talking about his time at MD
Stop looking for reasons to hate the guy more.
He pretty much got what he wanted at Vanderbilt. The school has very generous alumni and constantly upgrades its physical plant In his early years at Penn State, Franklin compared its facilities unfavorably to Vanderbilt's.
I acknowledge what you said about Cooper’s futility against Michigan. However, that was a different time: there’s no way that he would’ve remained OSU’s head coach for as long as he did if he had lost to Michigan consistently in this new era of college football. God, there was speculation that Ryan Day was going to be fired after his fourth loss in a row to Michigan in 2024 until his great playoff run, and his winning percentage is probably one of the highest in history.
Also, in the end, Cooper was fired and only coached at OSU from 1988 to 2000, which is basically the same tenure as Franklin’s at PSU.
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Harbaugh lost to Ohio State 5 years in a row. Paterno lost to Michigan 9 times in a row. But, you are correct, today’s environment is much less tolerant.
We can each read what we want into this, none of us knows for certain what was on his mind. My personal interpretation is that this quote doesn’t touch on his time at PSU at all, or at most factors in those early sanction-burdened years. it compares “early in his career” against now when arriving at VT.
I don’t begrudge others their own opinions on the quote. Maybe I do begrudge a little though that we’re finding ourselves collectively sucked into spending time and brain cycles on dissecting it
Ugh… those nine losses to UM over eleven years became agony to me. That streak got in my craw far worse than the current losing streak against OSU does.
That’s by no means a commentary by me on Joe vs James or anything. It’s mostly a byproduct of my being older and number now, lol