Pete Thamel is reporting (and others have apparently confirmed) that Penn State is parting ways with embattled coach James Franklin.
It’s a shocking move, one which very few had on their bingo cards, especially given that only fifteen days ago the Nittany Lions were undefeated and ranked #3 in the country. But you lose three games in a row in progressively more embarrassed fashion and people start to get angry.
Franklin’s famously heartwarming personality may not have helped the situation. Still, he’a due a $48 million buyout under his contract, so the move signals one of two things for me. Either a) Penn State really very desperately wanted to part ways with ole Jimmy, and was willing to pay any price to hit the reset button, or b) Penn State has reason to believe they can get out of at least a portion of the buyout. Option b is obviously the more entertaining one, as it would imply some sort of breach by Franklin, which I would find both wholly predictable and warmly satisfying. In the fashion of Early Cuyler, I don’t really care for James Franklin.
The more pressing issue for Bulldog fans would be whether Franklin’s ouster could have downstream effects on the UGA staff. One of the benefits of nepotistically hiring so many UGA alums and SEC fixtures is that Georgia doesn’t have a whole lot of guys on staff likely to head to State College. Glenn Schumann’s name could come up in discussions, but I expect Penn State is going to be looking for an experienced head coach and a splash hire at that. Indiana’s Curt Cignetti is clearly the hottest name in coaching circles at the moment, and the Nittany Lions will be under pressure to at least gage his interest.
Another intriguing name would be Syracuse boss Fran Brown, who of course served as defensive backs coach at Georgia until last season. Brown might reach out to some staffers and coaches he’s worked with at Georgia, but frankly there aren’t a lot of coaches for whom it would make sense to head to Penn State without a solid promotion. Eliah Drinkwitz also has Missouri on a hot streak (relatively speaking) and could be a candidate. That could have some knock on effects in SEC country.
Regardless of the impact on the Bulldogs, the fact that Franklin got the boot before the likes of Billy Napier and Hugh Freeze is pretty amazing. Going from winning two playoff games to not making it to Halloween the next season feels like some sort of record for program collapse. What a surprising ending for a universally beloved coach.
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
