Missouri Tigers assistant fired after blowout loss versus Tennessee

Jethro Franklin, defensive line coach for the Missouri Tigers, is out, according to reporting from the Columbia Missourian. Eli Drinkwitz fired his first-year defensive line coach after the Tigers suffered a 62-24 loss to Tennessee on Saturday.

Defensive analyst Al Davis will take over the role in Franklin’s stead. Davis was previously defensive line coach at Illinois.

Missouri is now 2-3 on the season with losses to Tennessee, Boston College and Kentucky.

In January, the former NFL assistant coach replaced Brick Haley who was with Missouri since 2017. Haley is not coaching this season.

Franklin is making $400,000 this year and was due a raise to $425,000 in his second year with Mizzou.

“A guy who’s got a tremendous amount of history both in the NFL and in college,” Drinkwitz said as he announced Franklin’s hire. “Just a tremendous amount of energy and character.  A guy who knows technique and details and somebody that I think can really help us grow in the defensive line room and in recruiting.”

Through five games, the Missouri defense is last in the SEC in scoring defense and rushing defense. They’ve allowed a whopping 308 rushing yards per game and 38 points per game. The Vols rushed for 458 yards on Saturday.

More about Jethro Franklin

Jethro Franklin joined the Mizzou staff as defensive line coach in January, 2021. He has 29 years of coaching experience total – 16 in college football and 13 in the NFL. Franklin helped three NFL teams to seven playoff appearances and three FBS teams to seven bowl games.

Franklin most recently served as the assistant defensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 2018-19. In Seattle, he mentored Jadeveon Clowney and helped lead the team to back-to-back NFL Playoff appearances in his two seasons.

Prior to Seattle, Franklin spent three seasons as the defensive line coach for the Oakland Raiders. He mentored two of the NFL’s best young pass rushers, Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin. Mack earned back-to-back NFL All-Pro honors in 2015 and 2016 and racked up 36.5 sacks in three seasons.

Franklin spent the 2006 season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive line coach. During the 2007 and 2008 seasons, he was with the Houston Texans. He first broke into the NFL with the Green Bay Packers. He spent five seasons as the team’s defensive line coach (2000-04). The Packers won three NFC North Division titles (2002-04) and four consecutive playoff appearances (2001-04).

In between his second and third stints in the NFL, the San Jose, Calif., native spent six seasons at the college level. He was with USC (2009), Temple (2010) and Miami (2011-14). Franklin was a part of three teams that reached bowl games during this six-year stint. The Trojans reached the 2009 Emerald Bowl, and the Hurricanes played in the 2013 Russell Athletic and 2014 Independence Bowls.

He first joined the USC football program in 2005. He helped lead the team to a Pac-10 Championship and a National Championship appearance in the Rose Bowl against Texas.

Franklin spent the 1999 season as the interim defensive line coach at UCLA after spending eight seasons at his alma mater, Fresno State, from 1991-98.

Franklin’s playing career began at San Jose City College (1984-85) where he was named a 1985 NJCAA All-American. He then moved on to Fresno State (1986-87). He set the school record for sacks (19.5) in 1986 and was named the 1987 Pacific Coast Player of the Year.

After being drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1988, he spent 1989 playing for the Seattle Seahawks. He then was the No. 1 draft choice of the San Antonio Rough Riders of the World League of American Football in 1991, but instead opted to begin his coaching career.

Franklin graduated from Fresno State with a degree in criminology in 1988.