I have some questions regarding the evaluation of James Franklin, I'd really like to see where fans are at with how they look at him.
1. Do you think it is fair to evaluate his record based on 2014-2015, or do you believe those years statistically should be ignored due to playing with 25 less schollies?
1a. Do you actually view his 2014/2015 seasons as successes due to what he had to deal with?
2. Do you think being a top ten team is achievable by just good recruiting? Or do you need some semblance of X/O knowledge, game-planning, and player improvement?
3. What do you think his weaknesses are as a coach?
4. What do you think his strengths are as a coach?
5. Do you think another coach would have been more successful in the last 5 years? If so, who?
I will go. (Sitting in hospital room having nothing to do. Back surgery. Lamenectomy/a few bars inserted.)
1. Yes. You have to count them but not hold him accountable for them. You only said 14-15 but you have to include 2016 in that group. You don’t see post sanction players making up decent portions of the roster till then. Grade for those years: A man gave us winning seasons with a juco team and a completely overrated QB. He had the patience to hold players back and build the team.
2. No. You can have all the jimmies and joes you want but if you don’t have the x’s and O’s You don’t win. He understands the type of team he wants and for the most part hires his assistants accordingly though he had one apparent misfire for WR coach. That happened I’m told because franklin had someone else at the top of his list but contract negotiations fell short of what that person wanted at the last minute so he had to make a hire. JF and Barbour have made asst salary increases a priority to stop stuf like that happening again
3. His weakness is experience. He’s still building his resume and learning. He’s 8 years into his HC career that started with a turnaround of a terrible team in Vandy. Then IMO has bee masterful taking over PSU High School football and turning them into a 3 time straight top 25 FBS team. You actually could say he only has 5 years of actually being HC of an FBS team and three years of something no current coach has had to do. I personally don’t see many weaknesses. As we saw from Saban and the fan reactions, win a game by 1 and ur a hero, lose a game by 1 and you are a clueless coach
4. Strengths are many. Knows how to land recruits. Knows how to win over parents. Has an excellent system to hire a competent staff that delivers what is needed. He keeps it young with the players, they relate with him. His education standards and “won’t think twice of suspending you a game if you slip” mantra are spot on. He’s a great motivator and can get a slug doing the zombie jump. His ability to get upgrades, which so many people just don’t understand how far psu was behind many too programs, is huge and still an ongoing process. He chose an offense and defense he likes and sticks to it. Psu will never have another fullback with franklin there. I never question game decisions. I’m not of 6 million dollar FBS HC cloth. There’s a reason some coaches make big bucks. I’ve made my arguments with 2 big calls people think we’re boneheaded. I disagree and see the coach/player view of those calls as correct.
5. Nobody.
As a sidenote do you remember back when everybody was Saint James Franklin has to stop being such a big cheerleader and start being a football coach? Well I think for the last two years the cheerleader has disappeared don’t see the big Rob raw events that he needed to rebuild the brand so that is also a plus for James Franklin he did what he needed to do to rebuild the brand and now he’s on to coaching the football team
Nice eval, thanks for taking the time. I hope some others do to, it would be good to see how people look at things from different perspectives.
Hope your surgery goes/went well. Rest up and get well soon!
I have some questions regarding the evaluation of James Franklin, I'd really like to see where fans are at with how they look at him.
1. Do you think it is fair to evaluate his record based on 2014-2015, or do you believe those years statistically should be ignored due to playing with 25 less schollies?
1a. Do you actually view his 2014/2015 seasons as successes due to what he had to deal with?
2. Do you think being a top ten team is achievable by just good recruiting? Or do you need some semblance of X/O knowledge, game-planning, and player improvement?
3. What do you think his weaknesses are as a coach?
4. What do you think his strengths are as a coach?
5. Do you think another coach would have been more successful in the last 5 years? If so, who?
My response will not be as insightful as Murray's since I do not have the interface that he does, I am purely just a fan on PSU Football and a Joe Disciple.
1 & 1A - Yes you count them, but not really. So few teams have experienced the unwarranted sanctions that were placed on PSU, so comparison are out the window. But when you look at a much larger sample of data - those years prove to be impressive. If you only counted those years, the Al Gores of the world would have a completely different opinion on the matter.
2 - Yes and No - Talent alone can win many games, but not the big games where talent is equal on both sides of the ball, this is where X & O savvy comes in.
3- Still not certain how to evaluate this .... there have been times in a game where I questioned the call, or use of timeouts, and other similar things. Bleeding into the 4th question - I believe Franklin's strengths are his overall package. Great CEO, seems to have every aspect of a D1 program under control with goals assigned and met. Recruiting another strength - running a tight ship and bringing in the top talent are admirable. His no-nonsense approach to discipline is a BIG PLUS - you must play by the rules or else !!! Now as a Head Coach/CEO I still do not know how much of game time decisions are actually called by Franklin vs giving his assistants full reign. I agree he and his coaches establish game plans each week, but once that is created, does he let his coaches coach??? So when I start questioning something I deem boneheaded - I'm not sure who to point the finger at. Many great managers do not micromanage their employees, while others are constantly stepping in and not letting the so called person responsible live or die by the sword. Very winded, I hope I explained myself well.
5 - If there was another coach who could have done what Franklin did, I am not aware of them - I am very pleased with where this program has gone under the leadership of Franklin.
Too sum up, very pleased but still have some doubt on his X's and O's skillset. If he IS weak on that matter and he knows that is his weakness, one great way to remedy this is by hiring GREAT coordinators, or as Tsuga would say, Puffing out your chest to compensate for a small pecker!
I want to add an addendum to my comment:
One improvement I would like to see now that he's getting a complete roster loaded with talent. Play the best player!! Sounds simple enough, but I understand the team building aspect of a program. My 2 main examples are Koa Farmer and DeAndre Thompkins. I think is was clear this year, that several freshmen had surpassed them talent wise. Since those players came into the program when Franklin was still rebuilding the program, their leadership and hard work earned them playing time and even possibly the starting nod. Now that he is into reloading instead of rebuilding, maybe making the switch to more talented individuals can happen much quicker.
I have some questions regarding the evaluation of James Franklin, I'd really like to see where fans are at with how they look at him.
1. Do you think it is fair to evaluate his record based on 2014-2015, or do you believe those years statistically should be ignored due to playing with 25 less schollies?
1a. Do you actually view his 2014/2015 seasons as successes due to what he had to deal with?
2. Do you think being a top ten team is achievable by just good recruiting? Or do you need some semblance of X/O knowledge, game-planning, and player improvement?
3. What do you think his weaknesses are as a coach?
4. What do you think his strengths are as a coach?
5. Do you think another coach would have been more successful in the last 5 years? If so, who?
I'd like to offer my thoughts for what they're worth. I'll keep it brief and forgo a detailed rationale behind my responses"
1 - I believe you would evaluate him on his 2014/2015 record. You gotta play the hand you're dealt.
1a - I would rate his performance as successful, given the limitations and turmoil in place at that time.
2 - In my opinion, player development skills are maybe more important than home run recruiting. You can have a top 10 program without a load of 5* players if you have the staff to develop your 3* & 4* players - Joepa did! Also, you need to recruit to fill your needs, not simply to go after a kid because he's rated 5*.
3 - I think his weaknesses are game management and his ego. Fortunately he can improve his game management skills over time and hopefully learn to keep his ego under control.
4 - I'd say his strengths are his positive attitude and his energy level. Both have helped him with his recruiting success as well as moving on from the uncertainties clouding the future of the program when he took over.
5 - I don't think this is a fair question. I don't know if another coach could have been more successful or who he might be. However, given all the coaches in the "universe" of coaching I would think at least 1 other coach could have been.
To sum it all up, I think Franklin has done a real good job to date, but he needs to continue his personal development so he can eliminate some of the criticisms we all have made from time to time and take the program to the next level. Can I or any of my fellow posters do a better job? I sincerely doubt it, but I reserve the right to vent when I disagree with one of his calls because its part of the fun in being a NIT OF THE ROUNDTABLE.
Sorry to hear that Murray . Hoping for a speedy recovery. I know the pain involved , hope all goes well .
1. Do you think it is fair to evaluate his record based on 2014-2015, or do you believe those years statistically should be ignored due to playing with 25 less schollies?
I think it is fair. I also think anyone evaluating him objectively would have to marvel in what he was able to accomplish given the insurmountable odds he faced. Remember, in 2012 all the pundits were saying that Penn State was done for a decade or more because of the sanctions.
1a. Do you actually view his 2014/2015 seasons as successes due to what he had to deal with?
Most definitely!
2. Do you think being a top ten team is achievable by just good recruiting? Or do you need some semblance of X/O knowledge, game-planning, and player improvement?
No I do not think being a top ten team is achievable by just good recruiting?
3. What do you think his weaknesses are as a coach?
I think he has had some missteps in game management and I don't mean going for a field goal or a 4th & 5 play against OSU. More like working the clock and use of time outs, those type of things. I think that one of his strengths, his confident and positive demeanor can sometimes turn into one of his weaknesses.
4. What do you think his strengths are as a coach?
Recruiter, team builder, organizational skills, positive demeanor and positive role model and the way he runs the program along with emphasis on academics and trying to teach life skills
5. Do you think another coach would have been more successful in the last 5 years? If so, who?
I'm sure that there is some coach out there somewhere that could have possibly equalled or achieved greater success but not many. Have no idea who.
Awesome posts guys, thanks! Hopefully some more coming too...
I think what we have right now is a young committed coach who's only obstacle is time. I don't for a minute think many other coaches could have come into Happy Valley and done much better than what JF has done to date based on ALL of the prior history leading up to his hire. Recruiting is key, you got to have talent to work with if you want to compete. But recognizing weaknesses and strengths of a player is also important and I feel JF has played the right guys at the right time in critical situations. I haven't agreed with some the plays he called, but I have always felt he had the right guys on the field to give his team a chance to win or make that big play.
Strengths? He doesn't look ahead and stays focused on the moment. He is one game at a time and I think he has done a great job keeping the kids focused. As much I still don't like that 4th down decision against Kentucky, He was down 27-7 and that game could have easily slipped out of his hands. Instead, he was able to keep his team in the game mentally was only 17 yards away from taking the lead. That says something to me when you are only playing for pride at that point.
Weakness? I am not sure I can really call out a weakness this soon. I think after next season we will all have a better handle on where he is heading with this program. We lost some good guys to graduation and early draft exits, but he has enough returning to have another good competitive season.
I busted on Pry pretty hard the previous two seasons. But talk about turning the corner, this guy get's it now. I expect a great defense next year and if JF can get a QB settled in, there is plenty of talent on the Offense returning to have a good season.
Hope your back gets better Murray.
Lots of criteria go into evaluating a coach. Some not identified on this post include:
1. Building positive relationships with alumni groups
2. Completing all required paperwork for AD
3. Getting along with all University personnel
4. Ensuring that the educational principles that the athletic program is based on are the main focus of the program
5. Support all PSU’s teams
I think if he has a weakness it will show through his OC and DCs; a head coach is only as successful as the coordinators/staff underneath him.
Well, I'll take my turn then...
1. Do you think it is fair to evaluate his record based on 2014-2015, or do you believe those years statistically should be ignored due to playing with 25 less schollies?
I think it's unfair to evaluate James Franklin's overall record counting 2014-2015. To me, it's nonsense that should be ignored. While I feel 7-6 is an amazing accomplishment for what he was dealing with at the time, the record is also not indicative of his true potential as a coach. The last 3 years are more in line with what he can do.
1a. Do you actually view his 2014/2015 seasons as successes due to what he had to deal with?
Absolutely. I know I just got done saying he shouldn't be evaluated on 2014-2015, but what I meant there is when viewing his record as a whole without context. However, being able to keep the program above water like he did was simply amazing...
2. Do you think being a top ten team is achievable by just good recruiting? Or do you need some semblance of X/O knowledge, game-planning, and player improvement?
Absolutely not, it requires a heck of a lot more than recruiting prowess. USC has recruited like gangbusters and what were they last year? Other teams also recruit well and never get close to what Franklin and PSU have been lately. I think player improvement X / O knowledge, and game-planning are vitally important and Franklin does it well
3. What do you think his weaknesses are as a coach?
First and foremost I feel he gets a bit tight in big moments. What I mean by that is he gets stuck in his head a bit, tends to overthink it. Almost like he feels he needs a trick or gambit to get the first down, or complete the play. It is what it is, though I think it's fixable too. Of all the weaknesses to have, it's not really that bad.
4. What do you think his strengths are as a coach?
Player buy-in. I think these kids will run through walls for the guy, they buy into whatever he's saying. That's a BIG strength. I feels he's better in the X / O department than people give him credit for too, all the talent in the world isn't helping game-plan for OSU. He had the team ready 4 out of 5 times (2015 sanction year) to play a tremendous opponent. That doesn't happen if you stink at X / O stuff.
5. Do you think another coach would have been more successful in the last 5 years? If so, who?
No, and quite honestly I don't think many would have even had the balls to take the job in the first place. I think where others saw excuses for losing, Franklin saw opportunities for overcoming.
Very good input indeed, thanks for all who contributed. I can just say that when most of us were hoping for a new energetic, intelligent coach to replace JoePa who could recruit top young athletes JF seemed made to order. I think he's made some mistakes that will enable him to be a much better game day coach. He has all the other attributes.
Well one can't cause he is STILL fishing!! LMFAO!!!!!
Well one can't cause he is STILL fishing!! LMFAO!!!!!
if only he could fish forever 🤣
He is 1 derogatory disrespectful comment away from the full time Bass Pro Tour!!
