James Franklin describes challenge of coaching good team, preparing for next season

This season is the deepest James Franklin has ever coached a team and it’s the latest that the Penn State Nittany Lions have been playing meaningful football games. That comes with added challenges for a coaching staff, as they look to balance winning now with preparing the team for future seasons.

Ahead of the Orange Bowl, Franklin shared that it’s incredibly valuable to be able to deal with that challenge and find time to focus on the future and the present without letting the two bleed into one another.

Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”

“I talked to a buddy at another school that had a really good season,” James Franklin said. “They were saying that was a mistake that they made was they put everything into that season, rightfully so, but then a year later, you’re paying for that, right, and that’s the challenge. That’s where having these staff sizes are so important, and trying to balance those two things constantly. We have kids on campus right now for official visits. So, that is challenging.”

This season, James Franklin led Penn State to the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. That has seen the Nittany Lions play 16 games, including the upcoming Orange Bowl, up from 13 last season, meaning there are important games for players and coaches to focus on along with the general challenges of the offseason.

“What we have been trying to do,” Franklin said. “And I’ve been talking about this with our team, it can be a real differentiator, and it can be a real superpower if you can compartmentalize, which is easier said than done. So, what we’ve been trying to do, this week was harder because we had less days, but the days before we get into the game week we are trying to sit down and meet with as many guys as we possibly can about their futures, about NFL decisions, about their futures at Penn State, about NIL, about all these different things. Because the most important thing that we can do is retain our current roster for the future.”

One of the biggest challenges this time of year is dealing with the Transfer Portal. Players are looking to move and find new programs and even if they can enter the portal later, they may have needed to do it sooner than that to find their best possible next program. That’s what happened with backup quarterback Beau Pribula at Penn State.

“But then you do that, you do that two days ago, and then I need them to put that on the back burner because we are in game week,” Franklin said. “And there’s no more talking about it. We’re in game week. That’s easier said than done. It’s hard for me at 52 years old now and been doing it for 30 years, and I’m asking 18-, 19-, 20-, 21-, 22-year-old kids to do it, and their families, as well. So, to me, the programs that are able to do that, are the most successful programs at this time of the year because as we all know, the calendar does not reinforce that.”

In the months of December and January, teams are now dealing with multiple College Football Playoff games as well as the Transfer Portal, NIL issues, and high school recruiting. That has made for a difficult calendar all around college football.

“The calendar does not support that. In a lot of ways, they’re in conflict of one another. Trying to get our guys to understand that, talking to the leadership counsel about it, and talking to the captains about it. Then, what I said yesterday after practice is, if you’re struggling with doing that, be honest with me and come into my office and talk to me. I’d prefer not to,” Franklin said. “But if you’re struggling doing that, come into my office and have a man-to-man conversation with me, and let’s talk through it so I can understand where you’re coming from. Or if you’re a captain or you’re on the leadership council and you know it’s happening, come and tell me about it so we can address it and be as transparent and authentic about it as we possibly can.” 

Now, the focus for James Franklin is going to be on the Orange Bowl and Notre Dame. That will be played at 7:30 p.m. EST on January 9th with the winner advancing to play for a national championship.

“But I thought the last two weeks, we’ve done a really good job of managing it, and we’re going to have to continue doing that,” Franklin said. “Because again, it is easier said than done.”