Michigan and Penn State, if you believe the recruiting rankings, are very neck and neck.Head coaches moving up to bigger jobs historically don't fare well either, see below.
Franklin played 25 top ten teams. He had better/equal talent than 2021 Iowa 2022 Utah and 2024 Boise State. Everyone else had better recruiting/talent.
If Scott Frost/Mike Riley had the resources of Nebraska he'd do even more than he's doing at UCF/OSU.
If Lincoln Riley had USC's resources he'd do even more than he's doing at Oklahoma
If Tom Herman/Charlie Strong had Texas' resources he'd do even more than he's doing at Houston/Louisville.
If Rich Rod had Michigan's resources he'd do even more than he's doing at WVU.
The list goes on forever.
Temple had a better record the 4 years preceding Rhule than they did with Rhule.Think Golden and Rhule were first time HCs at Temple and Golden especially had his work cut out for him; O’Brien at PSU too. Need to stop with this gatekeeping on coordinators. Plenty are qualified.
The coaching search would be considered wildly successful if they wind up hiring someone who did as good a job as Bill O’ Brien did those two years. I’m on an island here, but he’d still do better than 3/4 of the names I see. Including the guy at Nebraska."Bottom-feeders" are 1-11 or 2-10. PSU was 8-4 and 7-5 in 2012 and 2013 when the sanctions bit hard. Bill O'Brien did a phenomenal job, for which he seldom gets much credit, and maintained a foundation from which Franklin was able to build as the sanctions were lifted.
Requirements for PSU HC in order of importance:
- Must be good ambassador
- Good family man
- Adhere to "Success with honor"
- Recognize and honor Joe weekly
- No names on unis
If we have all these critical requirements fulfilled then we likely go undefeated multiple seasons.
The actual winning of games is secondary, right?
Brian Newberry, HC, , Navy, 51, unbeaten.Laughs my *** off.
We are
Already there.
This is why I continue to bring up Dan Mullen’s name more than anyone else.It cannot be stated enough that through our next coach we need to finally prioritize developing the QB position. Like it or not, Penn State has the perception of “where quarterback dreams go to die.” We have underperformed or failed with so many 5* and 4* quarterbacks over the last 25 years - Morelli, Hackenberg, Devlin, Bolden, Paul Jones, O’Connor…and while Allar almost took us to the NC last year, he barely developed under Franklin and all things considered never put up the numbers that a 5* QB would be expected to, particularly in this day and age. Meanwhile, our more productive QBs have been 3*, many of whom were never Plan A when they arrived on campus - Robinson, Clark, McGloin, McSorley, and Clifford.
Look at today’s CFB landscape. You don’t need an air raid system for your QB to be productive. We have a total of six seasons where a QB has thrown for at least 3,000 yards. We have never had a QB throw for 30 TDs in a season. This needs to change for Penn State to finally take that next step and be on the winning side against other elite teams. We’ll always have talent in the trenches and on defense. That’s not enough and hasn’t been for a while.
High school QBs need to finally be assured that they will be developed and produce here. We have produced exactly one QB who was drafted higher than the 5th round since Kerry Collins (Hackenberg) and he was so unprepared he never took a snap in the NFL.
I’m in the Joe Brady and Alex Golesh camps for this very reason. Those are the guys who have a demonstrated record as OCs to change the offensive culture here and provide an immediate sell to high school QBs.
I love the Mullen idea, I just don’t think he’s into the recruiting/talent accumulation part of the job. If you get a strong GM, that would be optimal (you’ll need one anyway), but Mullen still needs involved in it.This is why I continue to bring up Dan Mullen’s name more than anyone else.
He’s available. Cut rate and has his own car.Oh Gosh.
Totally ridiculous. If he was not a Penn Stater, he would not even be contacted. We are our own worst enemies.
Would much rather have Sandy Barbour leading the search.Things that help:
Still a huge name brand in college football
Taj Mahal facilities
Pretty much an unlimited budget to spend.
INCREDIBLY easy schedule to break in with in year 1
PSU will be willing to make next coach the highest paid in history - if they can get a big name coach to sign on.
Things that hurt:
Going to have to rebuild roster significantly. Being in the age of "portal" and 105 man roster limits does help to mitigate that a lot. Back in the day, would have been looking at 2-3 year to rebuild roster. Today, most of that can be done in 2-3 months
Pat Kraft as a boss. Nice to have someone willing to mortgage to the hilt to give you money, but whatever rep PK had 6 months ago, it is far worse today after the nasty divorce with (former) HCJF.
Pat Kraft running the search show, assuming he will be, which I think is a pretty good bet. Limited track record vav coaching hires is "not good".
Well when you put it like that.He’s available. Cut rate and has his own car.
I would take Manny Diaz over Rhule anyday. At least Manny brings a great defensive aptitude, idk what Rhule brings other than he’s a psu guyI understand that som e fans are crazy about Manny Diaz's hair. And we all probably enjoyed his defenses, when they weren't surrending first downs on 3rd-and-long. But other than his coiffure, Diaz has not shown to be a championship level HC.
As HC at Miami, he went 6-7, 8-3, and 7-5. He lost both Bowl games. And that's in an unremarkable ACC.
I don't know who could bring Penn State up to a level comparable to Ohio State, but I do doubt Diaz can do it. Despite his hair.
Actually, her one basketball hire was very good (bringing in former Stanford coach Montgomery from Cal's big time rival)Would much rather have Sandy Barbour leading the search.![]()
I just threw up in my mouth.Would much rather have Sandy Barbour leading the search.![]()
I’d take Diaz over Rhule.I would take Manny Diaz over Rhule anyday. At least Manny brings a great defensive aptitude, idk what Rhule brings other than he’s a psu guy
I just threw up in my mouth.
You do recall that Diaz was fired as DC in Texas?I would take Manny Diaz over Rhule anyday. At least Manny brings a great defensive aptitude, idk what Rhule brings other than he’s a psu guy
Together Barbour and Montgomery cratered Cal's basketball grad rates. Believe they were in the teens during their combined tenure.Actually, her one basketball hire was very good (bringing in former Stanford coach Montgomery from Cal's big time rival)
For football - not so much, Tedford had to go, but her hire of Sonny Dykes was no good.
So I guess she has a SLIGHTLY better track record than Kraft, but not much
If your supposition is correct, then it is a no-brainer If the narrative is true that there is crazy money (e.g.,Knight, Cody Campbell, Ellison, Wexner, Cuban, etc.) waiting to fund the program contingent on removing Franklin then Kraft had to make the move. We will see how this shakes out. If the choice is ultimately someone like Rhule, this move will turn out to be an unmitigated disaster. Franklin is in the mix for every job except Penn State and Florida (according to a national analyst), while the top of the list for Penn State appears to be Rhule, which leads me to want to throw up in my mouth.I really believe that certain mega donors basically forced Kraft's hand to make this decision when he did. As Kraft has a lot of bills to pay, he had to pull the trigger. This makes me think that these mega donors, as well as a lot of other donors, are going to be willing to spend a lot of money on bringing players into this program, which they definitely would not have done if Franklin had been retained.
I've used the example of Texas Tech. Last season, they were decent but nothing special. However, in one off-season because of all of the money that they spent on players, they became a top 10 team until last weekend. Texas Tech is in the Western wasteland of Texas, whereas State College is mere hours away from NYC and Philly and DC and Pittsburgh, among other urban areas. If players are going to go to a place like Lubbock for a price, they certainly will go to State College for a price.
I agree with your take on coordinators. They should be considered. Golden had success because Temple dropped to the MAC.Think Golden and Rhule were first time HCs at Temple and Golden especially had his work cut out for him; O’Brien at PSU too. Need to stop with this gatekeeping on coordinators. Plenty are qualified.
Really? Did you see any of their performance against Minnesota? Starting a five star QB their offense was less productive than ours against Iowa. And the defense got pushed around! No thanks. Would have rather kept Big Game JamesHuge amount of success at Temple based on their historical norm. Enough success at Baylor to land an NFL head coaching job. Jury is still out at Nebraska, but certainly has raised their level of play from the prior regime. Don't think it's wrong to say he's now found success to this point at all 3 college stops.
So your point is we should have just stuck with Big Game James. Got it.
Oh well…he had 11.5 years to “prove PSU was right”…what makes you think proving PSU wrong will be easy?!I think you are spot on. This will be a complete rebuild and will require more than the skill-set of a position coach, and frankly of a coordinator. What some folks do not understand is the loyalty Franklin shows to his staff and players. It was one of his defining characteristics, for better or worse. This means that he will be looking to find a landing spot soon, not only because he wants to prove PSU wrong but also because he wants to make sure that he takes care of all the people that have come to rely on him. Much of the staff will go with him, and I would be shocked if some of the top players in the program do not follow him. This job is not for a rookie and will require significant patience on the part of the fan base.
As compared to the Garden State?Your comment is ridiculous.
All of Texas is a wastland. Not just the eastern part of it.
Plus Rutgers would pay us. It’s called a reverse buyout!Well when you put it like that.
I don’t have a strong feeling on Rhule, but this is a misleading factoid, imo. So here’s another factoid: Temple’s record in each of his last 2 years (10-4) was better than any of the 4 years preceding him, and the best anyone had done at Temple in 35 years.Temple had a better record the 4 years preceding Rhule than they did with Rhule.
Mixed results. Thanks for the breakdown.Data would suggest there is no "cookie-cutter" to success.
The Right Guy - or Wrong Guy - can be found with any background. More than anything, depends on the competency of the folk(s) doing the search.
But any argument that a "Head Coaching Track Record" significantly increases potential future success is just not supported by facts and history.
Current SEC Coaches:
FIRST TIMERS:
Clark Lea - First time head coach, doing very well at Vanderbilt
Brett Venables - First time head coach. Rough first year, seems to have turned the corner in year 2 at Oklahoma
Kirby Smart - First time head coach at Georgia. Seems to be doing OK
Mark Stoops - First time head coach at Kentucky. Relatively successful tenure (for Kentucky) for about a decade, but dropping of as of late
Jeff Lebby - First time head coach, doing about what one would expect at Miss State (not much)
Shane Beaner - First time head coach, so-so results (about what one might expect for USCe)
Charlie Pittman - First time head coach at Arkansas (FAI&P) stumbled around, fired this year
FORMER HEAD COACHES:
Eli Drinkwitz - Had one year at Appy State, then to Missouri. Doing very well
Mike Elko - Two successful years at Duke, then to Texas A&M
Brian Kelly - Long track record of success at multiple programs, things going downhill at LSU
Billy Napier - Very successful at Louisiana, could never get things going at Florida
Kelen DeBoer - Two short stints (both successful, Fresno and Washington), then to Alabama
Steve Sarkisian - First at Washington (so-so results), then USC (bad outcome), then to Texas
Jush Huepel - Short stint at UCF (successful), then to Tennessee
Lane Kiffin - Dumpster fires at Oakland (NFL) Tennessee, and USCw, Successful stint at FAU, then to Ole Miss
Hugh Freeze - Quick success at Arky State, mixed results at Ole Miss, relative success at Liberty, seems to be stuck in mud at Auburn
Current Big Ten Coaches:
FIRST TIMERS:
Kirk Ferentz - First Time head coach. Now an institution at Iowa
David Braun - First time head coach. Early indications are solid (given the program)
Sherrone Moore - First Time head coach. Future is cloudy
Ryan Day - First Time head coach. Seems to be doing OK
Dan Lanning - First Time head coach. Seems to be doing OK
DeShaun Foster - First Time head coach. Unsuccessful at UCLA, and got the axe (had a pretty short leash)
FORMER HEAD COACHES:
Brett Bielema - Mixed record at multiple stops, then to Illinois
Curt Cignetti - First Big Boy job at IU (after success at lower levels) Doing OK
PJ Fleck - Lower level success, mixed results (but generally at or above expectations) at Minnesota
Matt Rhule - Multiple prior jobs - mixed results. Seems to be sinking at Nebraska
Mike Locksley - Brief (unsuccessful) stop at lower level, then to Maryland
Jonathon Smith - Successful tenure at Oregon State, then to MSU - where he may already be packing his bags
Luke Fickell - Very successful stint at Cincinnati, so far a dumpster fire at Wisconsin
Jedd Fisch - Short but successful stint at Arizona. Early returns are mixed at Washington
Lincoln Riley - Very successful stint at Oklahoma. Tenuous spot at USC?
Greg Schiano - Successful earlier stint at Rutgers. Schiano Part 2? Up and down?
Barry Odom - Hit and miss tenures at two other programs. Too early to tell after taking over at Purdue.
James Franklin - Successful tenure at Vanderbilt, then off to PSU. Many successful years at PSU, before dropping off sharply. Obviously, got the axe.
There are - maybe - 5 guys with a lengthy track record of sustained success at major programs: who you could feel comfortable hiring, based on that track record, and feel confident in future success. And 5 is actually probably a high number (truth be told, if you had to have a list of 5, you would probably have to include (former)HCJF).
And none of those guys are available (and Urby and Saban ain't coming back).
Of the guys currently employed at Big Boy programs, if one had to pick the two most "can't miss" candidates based on their resumes (at the time they were hired) they would be Brian Kelly and Lincoln RIley. Both of those guys have had limited success / very disappointing tenures at their current programs, and - depending on who you listen too - are on very "hot" seats.
What does that mean? Your chances of success rely on the "searcher" doing a good job of identifying the "next" Dabo / Day / Lanning / Smart / Kiffin etc - from a mixed pool of all sorts of suspects.
He had those years. No doubt. Even won Top 25 games.I don’t have a strong feeling on Rhule, but this is a misleading factoid, imo. So here’s another factoid: Temple’s record in each of his last 2 years (10-4) was better than any of the 4 years preceding him, and the best anyone had done at Temple in 35 years.
Looking to clarify your last paragraph-They would have gotten personal phone calls from Kraft as well. You always personally talk to the Big Hitters if they will take your call and none of those would outright snub someone offering you perhaps millions over your current contract. That would be stupid and possibly come back around some day and bite you on the butt.
They have gone to work and still have a great top 4-5 coaches on their list they (inhouse comity) are working on.
Over the last couple days or so they have this whole search info thing rapped up tighter than an airport sandwich. But most can deduct who most if not all those 4-5 coaches are at this point barring any Darkhorse who might be heavily in the mix.
However, I can tell you that the 4 football influencers who have their favorites as in two PS alums one previous PS assistant and an unknown at this point have Kraft's ear. Not to say he will choose any of those and two he most likely won't.
Someone who would at least be worth a call to gauge interest would be Chris Peterson.
Franklin had PSU recruiting at the same level as Michigan for quite a long time. He never had it at the level of OSU or Oregon, however.This will mean beating OSU, Oregon, and Michigan with a much lesser blue chip ratio (or he is a recruiting ace and has the compensation backing to bring the blue chip ratio to the level in Columbus, Ann Arbor and Eugene).