James Franklin to FSU?
Seems to be some smoke building here. FSU might not be the blue blood that PSU is, but the ACC is way less competitive and Florida is a better recruiting region, and that’s Franklin’s forte.
I’m sure Rhule would be Penn State’s top candidate, as a former Nittany Lion, but he had NFL offers last cycle, and there will be more coming this year for sure. Would be interesting if Franklin bolts for FSU after Rhule has taken an NFL job. Not sure who the target would become then. Maybe Matt Campbell.
November 21st, 2019 at 3:43 PM ^
I agree with much of what you said, but IMO FSU isn't as prestigious a job as PSU. I'll also push back a bit on those who feel recruiting at FSU is easier than PSU.
First, PSU is THE school in Pennsylvania, at least in a football sense. Pitt is their little brother. 100K stadium, rabid fan base, long and winning tradition. PA's a pretty good HS football state, PSU the #1 option for most in-state kids. Sandusky scandal notwithstanding, PSU's been a prominent program since at least 1950.
Second, PSU has long been the #1 program in the northeast. Michigan and OSU have cut into their recruiting monopoly, but PSU is geographically close to DMV, NY and NJ. Lots of good players in PSU's recruiting footprint.
FSU's had 1 great coach and 1 good one (and Jimbo jumped ship for A&M FWIW). Prior to Bowden FSU was a football backwater. No national prominence til late '80's. Never beat an SEC team til 1958, first beat biggest rival (UF) in '64. FSU was GREAT in the '90's and had strong run in early 2010's. You could argue they're the third most prominent program in their state.
Florida produces a ton of talent, and FSU's academic standards are probably lower than PSU's. There's also a ton of competition for Florida players. They're close to GA and AL, but face big competition there too.
So, I'd say PSU has a better tradition, better school, larger support/fan base, better stadium/facilities. FSU has Bowden era, Florida athletes, and and easier schedule.
All that said - right now it's probably easier to win big at FSU because the ACC sucks vs. B1G east.
OTOH, if USC comes calling, Franklin should jump.
November 21st, 2019 at 6:10 PM ^
"FSU's had 1 great coach and 1 good one (and Jimbo jumped ship for A&M FWIW)."
You just disproved your entire post with one quote. Florida State is a job where you can win a natty with a merely good coach. Penn State's never won a national title as a member of a conference despite its former coach being the winningest of all time.
There is exactly one (1) benefit to being "the top program in the northeast," and that's donor base/money. It doesn't get you a single other thing. You're talking about a region that is on the one rapidly declining in population and on the other hand facing more and more parents keeping their kids out of HS football. There's not a single solitary HS kid who gives a dang about what Penn State did in 1979 when FSU was a backwater!
Here's what the kids who will make or break either program know: Penn State has been really good under James Franklin, and was crap before he got there. Florida State won a national title when they were in middle school at a formative time for them. Anything further back from that means nothing.
November 21st, 2019 at 1:10 PM ^
Pope Urban and Jerry Jones, that is a partnership made in.......!
November 21st, 2019 at 10:39 AM ^
It's amazing how bad of a coach people here think Franklin is considering his tenure at PSU is just as good as Harbaugh's at Michigan.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:41 AM ^
It's amazing that you don't remember a nontrivial number of people being super pissed that Harbaugh hasn't done better than 10-3 in five years. If Franklin is our measuring stick, we're fucked.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:58 AM ^
James Franklin got out-coached...
... by Brady Hoke...
... in clock management.
I hope he stays at PSU for a long, long time.
November 21st, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
Franklin is 2-4 against Michigan, including against the team that got Hoke fired. He's one catch or some consistent officiating from being 1-5 against us. Franklin has not been up to Harbaugh's level in his time at Penn State (and 0-1 against Hoke isn't a great look).
November 21st, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
Franklin is 2-4 against Michigan, including against the team that got Hoke fired. He's one catch or some consistent officiating from being 1-5 against us. Franklin has not been up to Harbaugh's level in his time at Penn State (and 0-1 against Hoke isn't a great look).
November 21st, 2019 at 11:29 AM ^
He is a good coach as he has had lots of success. Being a good coach is not being just an X's and O's guy. He has to function as a high level CEO with many responsibilities. He is leading this program and they are a very good program. Therefore, he is a good coach IMO.
His in game management is a thing of beauty though for the non-psu observer.
November 21st, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
He isn't a bad coach he is just a complete tool.
November 21st, 2019 at 1:20 PM ^
....but a hell of an artist...
November 21st, 2019 at 1:14 PM ^
Terrible coach he says, yet he throttles us.... ok.... give the dude credit.
November 21st, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
This shit is hilarious.
Year after successful year people on this board (who seem to thik they know so much more than anyone else) keep saying the same things about Franklin, and he keeps winning, and he keeps recruiting very well, and message board guy keeps looking foolish.
I know everyone FINALLY got it right with Dantonio, after a decade, so even a squirrel finds the hidden treasure every once in a while, but Franklin is doing just fine and will keep caching big paychecks, much to the apparent chagrin of the hate-filled echo chamber members here.
November 21st, 2019 at 2:10 PM ^
he should've taken the job when Saquon left, he wouldve had a 2 year head start
November 21st, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^
It would be pretty amusing to see the fan reaction to James Franklin rejecting them for the Florida State job, since they regard themselves as a destination gig on par with Notre Dame.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^
Let's not sell Penn St short. They are in one of the still most populous states (that still has significant football participation) and historically has been a destination school for mid to NE Atlantic state high school talent. The football team gets tremendous support from the administration, has great facilities, and plays in a respected national conference against two all-time blue bloods each year, guaranteed. And between O'Brien and Franklin (Frames's in-game bufoonery aside), they've largely contained and cleaned up the mess post-Sandusky.
So yes, I agree with you it'll be funny to see the fan base react if Franklin leaves, but let's not pretend that Penn St isn't one of the top 20 or so college jobs in the country. They'll get a quality candidate who'll be a tough match-up. Unless they hire Charlie Weis. At that point, I'll laugh my ass off.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
I wasn't trying to suggest that Penn State isn't a good head coaching gig. It certainly is. I was more taking a shot at their fanbase who has an over-inflated sense of their place in the college football world, something I've found irritating.
November 21st, 2019 at 11:01 AM ^
...their fanbase who has an over-inflated sense of their place in the college football world...
This seems vaguely familiar for some reason.
November 21st, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^
There's no irony in your post. None whatsoever...
November 21st, 2019 at 10:09 AM ^
I would be good with this development.
There are potential downsides. One is that, as HenneGivenSunday notes, they could upgrade at coach.
The flipside of that is they fall off again but that could potentially help MSU stop from cratering.
I wouldn't mind the chaos and seeing PSU fans squirm as they contemplate sending their death threats and requests for haircuts.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
Well I think you make a good point: on top of the gauntlet that is the Big Ten right now, Franklin has had to deal with some pretty gross fan behavior this year. He might be getting burned out in State College from multiple angles.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:34 AM ^
I'd prefer Franklin to stay. I'm not convinced he isn't going to tail off soon enough with Moorhead gone (kinda how Shaw is finally tailing off at Stanford) and we've got a good footing in the rivalry where we obliterate them in Ann Arbor and we're close to getting them in Happy Valley. They could always upgrade to Rhule and potentially be a 2nd top 5 program in our division which would be awful
November 21st, 2019 at 10:11 AM ^
He is from Pennsylvania so PSU has that going for them.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
He is but he’s not a PSU alum. He’s also from Far East PA, basically Philly/New Jersey, and not the more rural/middle part where PSU is. Pennsylvania is a big state, and I’m not sure that he’s tied to PSU just because he grew up outside of Philly.
November 21st, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
I'm from Far East PA. Penn State is the only college football we cared about in the Far East.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:12 AM ^
Not sure who the target would become then. Maybe Matt Campbell.
With his Northern Ohio roots I was kind of hoping Campbell might be our next HC.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:21 AM ^
Matt Campbell... the Luke Fickell/Happy Gilmore look-alike
November 21st, 2019 at 10:27 AM ^
Moorehead, Schiano, Campbell, Urban?
PSU is a scumbag school, but they have super deep pockets.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:35 AM ^
Moorehead
He's not looking so hot these days. His .615 record last year was historically good, not great, for that school and his current .400 record is the 6th worst in their last 20 years. Sure, it might improve, but he's lost some luster at this point.
November 21st, 2019 at 2:23 PM ^
By the way, what happened to Schiano to Rutgers? It sounded like it was a done deal.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
Didn't he just use the rumor of going to USC last year to get his assistants paid more? I just get the feeling he's a lifer at Penn State.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
RichRod backed out on Bama and then left WVU. People change their minds.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
But he had conflict with the AD. Plus, PSU is a way better job than WVU.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:19 AM ^
I dont know if that was last year or a couple weeks ago but the fact his name keeps coming up is either because he is open to it or Harbaugh has called some friends.
November 21st, 2019 at 11:22 AM ^
Feels similar to Harbaugh to NFL rumors... I don't see anything about it on PSU blogs, which means they aren't worried about it.
Kind of like how Harbaugh to NFL is all of RCMB and 11W but on here everyone is just like "oh this stupid rumor again"
November 21st, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^
I don't know what Frames' contract situation looks like, but this smells like the ol' "Agent of a successful coach gets their client's name thrown into a discussion for a big time job so their current employer will overreact with a massive contract extension" that we see around this time every year.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:19 AM ^
Franklin’s contract currently runs through 2022 and he’s guaranteed $6M per year. Could be a raise/extension ploy, but we are closer to the time he signed the extension than to the time it expires, and I don’t know how much more than $6M he can really ask for.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:33 AM ^
With a salary that high, why leave for a rebuild project? Especially to a school that just fired its coach in the middle of his second season.
I mean, the path to the playoff would be easier at FSU if he can turn it around, but is that enough of a reason to leave? Is something happening in Happy Valley that I'm not aware of?*
*as per usual
November 21st, 2019 at 10:37 AM ^
With a salary that high, why leave for a rebuild project?
Because he stole a win over Harbaugh and looks to be well positioned to make the B1G championship game (which he won't because he's getting killed this year by OSU) so the getting is good.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:47 AM ^
Agree. The guys is not a good coach but he has had enough success at PSU that he will not have to worry about his job in the near future. At FSU, you get less than 2-years apparently.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
Probably a negotiating ploy to get more out of PSU, which has deeper pockets and is a far more prestigious job than Florida State. Although with some stability and good recruiting FSU could rule the ACC--Clemson is bound to go back to being Clemson at some point.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:30 AM ^
Florida State’s athletic department has slightly higher revenue than PSU’s actually. They will be fine with a bidding war.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:32 AM ^
I mean, they just flushed 100 billion dollars down the toilet to get rid of Taggart.
Also, I would argue that FSU is as prestigious if not more than PSU for coaching college football. PSU has a longer history but FSU is still football royalty.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:15 AM ^
I've never bought Franklin as a particularly good coach (he's a great recruiter), but going to FSU would be a pretty smart move. He'll bring in his fair share of 5* kids, beat up on some terrible ACC teams, and chug along with 1-2 losses a year. I do think this season has been a bit of a mirage for him; PSU is 4-1 in 1-score games and hasn't been particularly good on the road. Flip a couple of those results and he's continuing his meh trend.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
He reminds me of Thad Matta.
November 21st, 2019 at 12:16 PM ^
Franklin also inherited a massive rebuilding job. He walked into a far worse situation than Harbaugh (at least, IMO). O'Brien had done some rebuilding, but it was a disaster.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
James Franklin is basically Mark Dantonio. He's done a decent job of getting his team to be competitive but it would seem that luck has taken him the rest of the way.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
Bill O'Brien had an epic rant on his way out of town. Unfortunately, Franklin doesn't seem articulate enough to entertain us in the same way.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
In all candor, Franklin would win big at USC (SoCal) or FSU. Fertile recruiting grounds in back yard and weak conferences. They would compete next year for a ACC title at FSU. FSU has no shortage of talent now.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:21 AM ^
Agreed that he would do well at both schools because of his recruiting chops, but FSU seems like the better bet of the two to win big. The ACC is insanely bad, at least the PAC12 has some competitive programs right now. There’s nobody who can sniff Clemson in the ACC right now.