It’s not the lose its the way it happened. This team looked unprepared. When you have 2 weeks to get ready for a game and play the way they played someone is to blame. This has happened many times over the Franklin years and the one constant is James Franklin. Coordinators have come and gone but he’s the only one that’s been here the whole time. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Ruhle will have his pick of whatever job he wants more than likely and did a little more than just Temple.
Sit Sutherland and Elsdon. They are both slow and can't tackle or cover. Start Carter and Deluca.
This is an under-appreciated comment. What about all of those less than Top Ten teams know that we did not? Did they all recruit better than we did? Iowa is always an exception, but the rest are not exactly giant killers. We got bulldozed and had no answers.
This is what I have been saying. I’m one of the biggest Franklin fans out there, so this kind of hurts. He’s really smart and a good coach, but not what we need. He’s not an elite coach. Games like this absolutely cannot continue to happen. Im starting to change my opinion. I’m also pretty confident that things are going to get way worse the next 4 games. History has told us this. You think it’s bad now? Just wait. This loss could start the snowball effect. And yes he has a ridiculous buyout, but if we keep getting more of this and things get worse after about this year or next, the fans and media will make things really uncomfortable for him to be there. After which point Kraft might sit him down and say look you’re embarrassing the program. (Might be a strong choice of words given his high character, but you get get it). At that point, they will have to figure something out. Franklin getting boatload of cash either way.
Don't see it playing out that way. If PSU football descends into mediocrity or worse, which is not a given, the discussion will go one way. That will occur when PSU can afford the contractual buyout. Nothing will happen before then because Franklin's coaching career at this level will be effectively over.
From what I remember it goes down in increments of $8 million per year. So, the AD has a long way to wait for that bag of cash to decrease.
Yep, not taking anything away from Michigan, they're a very good football team but how could lesser (supposedly) talented teams (Maryland, Indy and Iowa) figure it out and stand toe to toe with them in the trenches and they just waste us. Obviously, there are other issues going on
At what point will unhappy fans start to have uncomfortable verbal exchanges with Franklin in downtown State College?
Franklin would make a great studio analyst or game commentator. He speaks well and projects a good image. Could he pull an Urban Meyer and just leave with some sort of settlement, saying that there's too much pressure in the game? My gut says that the fans will not pressure him and the university won't either, and he stays - most likely to the end of the contract.
Penn State could afford to pay “victims” then they can find a way to afford the buyout.
are we sure MY is setting the offensive game plan and calling the plays?
Wikipedia (not always a definitive source but a good first stop) calls Franklin the "head football coach" at Penn State. That said, if the man really is the coach, then he's in charge and the buck should stop with him.
Here's how obscene Franklin's guaranteed buyout terms are.
I think after the 2026 season is the earliest this can happen due to the incompetent dollars Sandy committed after last year.
That could happen, but I don't see him leaving for anything less than a full payout of his remaining contract under any circumstances.
Interesting part of that saga is that the Athletic Department was put on the hook fro the $60mm NCAA fine. That lasted a year, maybe two and it disappeared from its books. So much for a "self-sustaining" Athletic Department. And make no mistake, the money for this comes from tuition dollars. Limp Rod got one thing right.
He’s a very savvy coach in terms of the business side of the game. He 100% pushed for the 10-year deal as his golden parachute with a new President and AD coming in.
Exactly. He and his agent(s) have used all the leverage they could muster in every negotiation. He's not settling for anything less that the full amount he's legally entitled to.
He has a pretty cush gig right now. He’s making $8 million a year to deliver 8-9 wins. No other major program would be happy with those results at that comp level.
