Reading this article, it seems Franklin did have a heavy hand and it is why coordinators often looked vastly different here. Personally I always though Franklin made the coordinators change, there is no way both Yurchih and Kotelnicki looked that different as coordinators elsewhere if it wasn't Franklin.
Here is a snippet of what was said about Franklin in the article:
"Franklin spoke to his staff in disgusting ways, often belittling and micromanaging them. Talked to some of his staff like little kids—worse than his players. He was often verbally abusive.
Some coaches on the staff began to grow weary of Franklin, from some coordinators all the way down to the medical trainers. When decision-making is driven by ego and control instead of production and readiness"
It's an interesting read: https://basicblues.substack.com/p/the-standard-shattered-what-really
I thought AK and Grunk were doing some good things considering Franklin getting fired and DA getting hurt. The Clemson game we were jelling Grunk was on fire and that was without our best RB playing. IMO Jim Knowles was the problem for whatever reason but AK got most of the blame when I thought the offense was so much better after Franklin got fired.
I think it's fairly clear from the aricle, at least from a few of the players perspectives, Franklin was the problem.I thought AK and Grunk were doing some good things considering Franklin getting fired and DA getting hurt. The Clemson game we were jelling Grunk was on fire and that was without our best RB playing. IMO Jim Knowles was the problem for whatever reason but AK got most of the blame when I thought the offense was so much better after Franklin got fired.
I thought AK and Grunk were doing some good things considering Franklin getting fired and DA getting hurt. The Clemson game we were jelling Grunk was on fire and that was without our best RB playing. IMO Jim Knowles was the problem for whatever reason but AK got most of the blame when I thought the offense was so much better after Franklin got fired.
I think it's fairly clear from the aricle, at least from a few of the players perspectives, Franklin was the problem.
The article goes on to talk about how loyalty mattered more over production and effort... just conforming he played favorites. The article reads like a dumster fire... and the locker room had it with the "oh so close" losses
Another telling excerpt:
It was very obvious Terry didn’t agree with or wasn’t on the same page as Franklin as far as the way he did and ran things. And you could tell from the immediate change when Terry took over. Guys loved and yearned for it to be the new way of doing things—part of why the support behind Terry was so strong.
I was always a Franklin supporter, right or wrong. But I think you are right. Which just proves that I was wrong AGAIN!!! Imagine that.
I've heard through the grapevine that JF was an @ss and treated people like shet, also heard his lack of involvement in the community had turned a lot of people off.
I think the way he acted for the last 2 years or so on the field before and after games also said a lot about the guy.
Kemon Spell decomitting and afterwards saying what he did about PSU and the culture of losing big games said a lot about what top recruits thought.
I'm not surprised. I said from the beginning I thought Jimmy had an "I" problem. The best success we had was when we had coordinators that appeared to stand up to him, i.e. JoMo & Manny!
Imo: JF got called out by Kraft and was basically told to put up or shut up, and hit the door if you don’t deliver. His demeanor last year and the first of this year was one of a man taking a short walk on a long plank fast. That article, even though based on two sources, imo, validated a lot of speculation.
Will be interesting to see how he now fares at VTech. Grunk transferring to VTech is a bit puzzling; maybe VT was the best offer he had.
Reading that article makes me even happier he's finally gone !!
@psujoe I was a huge James Franklin fan but the last 2 years I lost all confidence in him on winning a big game against the heavyweights especially after the ND loss I was wanting him fired after that game. I liked him but If he’s hurting Penn St football he has to go!
I always wondered why the turnover in coaches but the program was very tight lipped. What happens in Vegas... Now people are not so afraid to talk but to some degree talking is not professional....
I suspected he was micromanaging but the talking points were that he wasn't. Still some followed him to VT.
IMO some coaches deserve to be fired but that doesn’t mean they’re not good coaches. James Franklin, Harbaugh and McDemott all deserved to be fired but these are 3 coaches that need new starts and all 3 can win big at their next stops. VT is a great place for JF and Harbaugh is a great fit with the Giants and man I wish the Falcons could’ve got the bills coach. Sometimes new blood is needed and coaches need new starts at other teams.
I keep seeing in the comments of this article people referring to "BGJ" as the problem. Who the heck is BGJ? Is it slang for something?
@southern-psu-fan lol Welcome to the party!
Even if he does the same thing at VT, he lost the team because of his narcissistic ways? He had more talent last year than i believe he ever will at VT.IMO some coaches deserve to be fired but that doesn’t mean they’re not good coaches. James Franklin, Harbaugh and McDemott all deserved to be fired but these are 3 coaches that need new starts and all 3 can win big at their next stops. VT is a great place for JF and Harbaugh is a great fit with the Giants and man I wish the Falcons could’ve got the bills coach. Sometimes new blood is needed and coaches need new starts at other teams.
To me it just sounds like Franklin got full of himself, thought he knew better, and that's why his coaching staff turnover got ridiculous. Another reason I believe this is his constant need for a new extension, and almost yearly "rumors" of him looking elsewhere. Everyone could see through it at the end, and new it was his camp putting out these "rumors" to get leverage.
To me it just sounds like Franklin got full of himself, thought he knew better, and that's why his coaching staff turnover became ridiculous. Of course, except for people who recruited well, which he obviously values over actual coaching skills.
Another reason I believe this theroy is his constant need for a new extension, and almost yearly "rumors" of him looking elsewhere. Everyone could see through it at the end, and new it was his camp putting out these "rumors" to get leverage and a bigger contract.
might also be why we took a small step back in recruiting. Not a huge step back but a step back.
James Franklin did inherit a bunch of walk on players and without him it would’ve taken years to recover and he had Penn St back in the top 10 in a couple of years so I do appreciate that from him and I’ll be pulling for him because I still like the dude I’m just disappointed on what could’ve been a NC the last few years.
Glass ceiling, he had peaked. Without winning the big game his salesman performance (recruiting) was in decline IMO. His problem is different now, when he came to PSU he was seen as a great recruiter that did more with less at Vandy. Now the world has seen behind the curtain (Wizard of Oz Reference for you youngsters). He is no longer a great recruiter nor has he shown he can do more with less.
He needs to do a self assessment.
Please don't invent things. Franklin did not inherit "a bunch of walk-ons". The previous 2 recruiting classes before he arrived were #33 and #24 in the nation. Hardly walkons, and both classes were smaller due to sactions so the ranking would have been even higher with more guys.James Franklin did inherit a bunch of walk on players and without him it would’ve taken years to recover and he had Penn St back in the top 10 in a couple of years so I do appreciate that from him and I’ll be pulling for him because I still like the dude I’m just disappointed on what could’ve been a NC the last few years.
He did a great job when he first arrived, no need to embellish what he had. What he walked into was a decently talented team with little depth, not walk on players. There was plenty of talent on the team.
- 2013 Season: Penn State added a crop of 17 new "run-ons" (walk-ons) to the team.
- 2014 Season: The team welcomed another 12 new walk-ons who began their careers in the summer of 2014.
Penn State Football’s 2014 Official Roster: 20 Players Remain From Paterno Era.
These 20 players were good from the JoePa years but freshman and walk-ons is what James Franklin walked into. I don’t remember BOB being that good at recruiting either but I didn’t keep up with recruiting back then like I do today I depended on Homer and a few others for information and I don’t remember anyone being that optimistic about Bob and his recruiting.
