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FC: James Franklin's Live introductory VT Press Conference

Classof09

Classof09

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Oct 12, 2021
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Ludd said:
You ain’t seen bad yet, but it’s coming.
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I sincerely hope you’re wrong. But PSU sacrificed being a 6 to 12 team consistently for a 5% chance to become equal to Ohio State, Georgia and Bama. If it was easy, more than 3 teams would do it. But hey, apparently the idea is just fire everybody until ‘we’ are elite!
 
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Ludd

Ludd

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Classof09 said:
I sincerely hope you’re wrong. But PSU sacrificed being a 6 to 12 team consistently for a 5% chance to become equal to Ohio State, Georgia and Bama. If it was easy, more than 3 teams would do it. But hey, apparently the idea is just fire everybody until ‘we’ are elite!
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And it takes more than a coach to make a program elite.
 
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J

JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws

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Jun 26, 2025
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Classof09 said:
I sincerely hope you’re wrong. But PSU sacrificed being a 6 to 12 team consistently for a 5% chance to become equal to Ohio State, Georgia and Bama. If it was easy, more than 3 teams would do it. But hey, apparently the idea is just fire everybody until ‘we’ are elite!
Click to expand...

I think 5% is high... more like 1% chance that we're significantly better than finishing in Top 12 of Final BCS Rankings (i.e., making the National Playoffs) at a 70% rate - because that was Franklin's record over the last 10 years INCLUDING THIS YEAR (Franklin finished Top 12 in the Final CFP Rankings and went to FBS Controlled Bowls 7 of the last 10 years - PSU is one of only 2 b1g programs, and 6 total Nationally, to have accomplished this over the span.). The fact that PSU is in a group of only 6 teams Nationally to have succeeded in qualifying for BCS Controlled Games at this rate over the last decade tells you exactly how hard it is to win at the rate Franklin was winning.
 
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B

Bwifan

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
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Midnighter said:
He did a ton for Penn State but crashed and burned; maybe the expectations were too much? Dunno. Time to move on. That said, he's already brought up the airport and facilities at VT, so might be fun to keep an eye on that....

Flirty Flirting GIF by Olivia Holt
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Not sure why but my gut seems to be telling me more and more its going to be Hartline.
 
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G

Georgia Peach

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Oct 28, 2021
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There's no need to piss on his PSU grave. He represented the university honorably, had only a few minor controversies during a long tenure, and apparently had reached a point where program management philosophies clashed with those set by his boss. He was not successful enough against the top teams and thus he had little leeway when those philosophies differed.

All we can do is wish him well and hope we find a coach capable of improving the program, even in the slightest. Let's be real here. If we had just fired someone else and a James Franklin, with his record, had applied, he would be under serious consideration.
 
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WPB_lion

Junior
Jun 5, 2001
131
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JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws said:
I think 5% is high... more like 1% chance that we're significantly better than finishing in Top 12 of Final BCS Rankings (i.e., making the National Playoffs) at a 70% rate - because that was Franklin's record over the last 10 years INCLUDING THIS YEAR (Franklin finished Top 12 in the Final CFP Rankings and went to FBS Controlled Bowls 7 of the last 10 years - PSU is one of only 2 b1g programs, and 6 total Nationally, to have accomplished this over the span.). The fact that PSU is in a group of only 6 teams Nationally to have succeeded in qualifying for BCS Controlled Games at this rate over the last decade tells you exactly how hard it is to win at the rate Franklin was winning.
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Franklin had his strengths and he had his weaknesses. He is not as great as you represent in your posts and he is not as bad as others make him out to be. IMO, he is in between a top 10 to top 15 coach who was coaching a top 10 program.

I liked him and think he did a good job at PSU. He took over at a tough time and his strengths were perfect for what PSU needed at that time. However, his time had run at PSU.

He built this years team to the point where he had an opportunity to challenge for a NC. The administration gave him everything he needed to have a championship caliber season, including hiring what was supposed to be the best defensive coordinator in College Football and retention of what was supposed to be one of the top offensive coordinators in college football. A lot of money, effort and player loyalty was invested into this year and it appeared that the stars had aligned. A good coaching job has us in the playoffs challenging for the NC.

Franklin failed miserably this year and lost the team. His coaching job this year was historically bad. He appeared despondent, lost and without answers. This season's failure was definitely a fireable offense. IMO, the program would have remained in a tailspin if he stayed as head coach, not because he was a bad coach, but his time here had run its course. The "Big Game James" moniker was not going away while he remained as PSU. He definitely needed a new start at a new place to recharge his battery and PSU definitely needs a change as well.

I don't know that a new coach will have the same success that Franklin had looking back in his time at PSU. However, I do believe a new coach will do better than Franklin would have done moving forward at this point. Franklin was done at PSU and the administration made the right decision to fire him. Its time to move on.
 
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J

JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws

Senior
Jun 26, 2025
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WPB_lion said:
Franklin had his strengths and he had his weaknesses. He is not as great as you represent in your posts and he is not as bad as others make him out to be. IMO, he is in between a top 10 to top 15 coach who was coaching a top 10 program.

I liked him and think he did a good job at PSU. He took over at a tough time and his strengths were perfect for what PSU needed at that time. However, his time had run at PSU.

He built this years team to the point where he had an opportunity to challenge for a NC. The administration gave him everything he needed to have a championship caliber season, including hiring what was supposed to be the best defensive coordinator in College Football and retention of what was supposed to be one of the top offensive coordinators in college football. A lot of money, effort and player loyalty was invested into this year and it appeared that the stars had aligned. A good coaching job has us in the playoffs challenging for the NC.

Franklin failed miserably this year and lost the team. His coaching job this year was historically bad. He appeared despondent, lost and without answers. This season's failure was definitely a fireable offense. IMO, the program would have remained in a tailspin if he stayed as head coach, not because he was a bad coach, but his time here had run its course. The "Big Game James" moniker was not going away while he remained as PSU. He definitely needed a new start at a new place to recharge his battery and PSU definitely needs a change as well.

I don't know that a new coach will have the same success that Franklin had looking back in his time at PSU. However, I do believe a new coach will do better than Franklin would have done moving forward at this point. Franklin was done at PSU and the administration made the right decision to fire him. Its time to move on.
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If you've read my posts, I've said I have no problem with the decision to change regimes, but the way Krafty The Clown has gone about this demonstrates he had no plan as to how he was going to do it that put the new regime in the best possible position to succeed - Krafty's primary concern seems to have been an ego-driven "big dick contest" with Franklin.... the University's best interests be damned. No need to put PSU's entire roster in the wind at that point of the season - the only thing Krafty The Clown has done is get pay-raises and contract extensions for all of the top candidates as well as have Franklin land at his new home months before PSU will have a new coach on board who can even attempt to stabilize the 2026 roster - PSU's entire roster and 2026 recruits are going to be gone long before PSU has a new coach. The timing an actions of Krafty The Clown have been so arbitrary and unnecessary, it's ridiculous.
 
E

Erial_Lion

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
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I'll say it again...it shocks me that everyone is in such a panic that we don't have a coach inked by November 20th. Did people really think that we'd likely sign our next coach during the season (which of course takes all current coaches out of the running)? I certainly didn't.
 
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P

PaForest75

Sophomore
Oct 20, 2025
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WPB_lion said:
I don't know that a new coach will have the same success that Franklin had looking back in his time at PSU. However, I do believe a new coach will do better than Franklin would have done moving forward at this point. Franklin was done at PSU and the administration made the right decision to fire him. Its time to move on.
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This is it. The UCLA game was bad enough. He had one more chance against another mid pack team, and it was one of the worst football games ever. 3 hours of stupidity resulting in a 1 point loss to a team they were supposed to throttle. Too pitiful to allow it to go on after that.
 
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NewEra 2026

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Oct 12, 2021
669
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Georgia Peach said:
There's no need to piss on his PSU grave. He represented the university honorably, had only a few minor controversies during a long tenure, and apparently had reached a point where program management philosophies clashed with those set by his boss. He was not successful enough against the top teams and thus he had little leeway when those philosophies differed.

All we can do is wish him well and hope we find a coach capable of improving the program, even in the slightest. Let's be real here. If we had just fired someone else and a James Franklin, with his record, had applied, he would be under serious consideration.
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I don't disagree. But there is also a reason that BGJ was not under consideration from programs like LSU and Florida.
 
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WPB_lion

Junior
Jun 5, 2001
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JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws said:
If you've read my posts, I've said I have no problem with the decision to change regimes, but the way Krafty The Clown has gone about this demonstrates he had no plan as to how he was going to do it that put the new regime in the best possible position to succeed - Krafty's primary concern seems to have been an ego-driven "big dick contest" with Franklin.... the University's best interests be damned. No need to put PSU's entire roster in the wind at that point of the season - the only thing Krafty The Clown has done is get pay-raises and contract extensions for all of the top candidates as well as have Franklin land at his new home months before PSU will have a new coach on board who can even attempt to stabilize the 2026 roster - PSU's entire roster and 2026 recruits are going to be gone long before PSU has a new coach. The timing an actions of Krafty The Clown have been so arbitrary and unnecessary, it's ridiculous.
Click to expand...
I have read some of your posts. Invariably, your posts are derogatory with child-like name calling.

Although I was a 100% supporter of Franklin at the beginning of this season and I believe he did a good job at PSU, I agree with the decision to fire Franklin mid season because he lost the team, seemed disinterested, and did a historically bad job this year. IMO, there was no chance that he was not going to turn the team around this year. The exodus of recruits was going to happen even if James Franklin stayed as coach for the rest of the year. The firing mid-season allowed him to find another decent job while he his reputation remained somewhat intact and resulted in a $40 million savings to PSU. There was a real risk if the inevitable tailspin continued for the remainder of the season with Franklin at the helm, he could have become a pariah and unable to find another job, which would have left us with the full $49 million payout.

We are in a better position today sitting at 4 - 6 without Franklin and in the market for a new coach than we would be at 4 - 6 with Franklin as a lame duck head coach about the be fired at the end of the season. Even if Franklin were still the coach, the writing would be on the wall that his time is limited and recruits would be leaving anyways.
 
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Bvillebaron

All-Conference
Feb 4, 2004
2,657
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WPB_lion said:
Franklin had his strengths and he had his weaknesses. He is not as great as you represent in your posts and he is not as bad as others make him out to be. IMO, he is in between a top 10 to top 15 coach who was coaching a top 10 program.

I liked him and think he did a good job at PSU. He took over at a tough time and his strengths were perfect for what PSU needed at that time. However, his time had run at PSU.

He built this years team to the point where he had an opportunity to challenge for a NC. The administration gave him everything he needed to have a championship caliber season, including hiring what was supposed to be the best defensive coordinator in College Football and retention of what was supposed to be one of the top offensive coordinators in college football. A lot of money, effort and player loyalty was invested into this year and it appeared that the stars had aligned. A good coaching job has us in the playoffs challenging for the NC.

Franklin failed miserably this year and lost the team. His coaching job this year was historically bad. He appeared despondent, lost and without answers. This season's failure was definitely a fireable offense. IMO, the program would have remained in a tailspin if he stayed as head coach, not because he was a bad coach, but his time here had run its course. The "Big Game James" moniker was not going away while he remained as PSU. He definitely needed a new start at a new place to recharge his battery and PSU definitely needs a change as well.

I don't know that a new coach will have the same success that Franklin had looking back in his time at PSU. However, I do believe a new coach will do better than Franklin would have done moving forward at this point. Franklin was done at PSU and the administration made the right decision to fire him. Its time to move on.
Click to expand...
Oh come now. Krafty said he was fired for not winning Big Ten and National Championships because the fans deserve a Natty. Nothing less will do.
 
G

Georgia Peach

Senior
Oct 28, 2021
317
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Erial_Lion said:
I'll say it again...it shocks me that everyone is in such a panic that we don't have a coach inked by November 20th. Did people really think that we'd likely sign our next coach during the season (which of course takes all current coaches out of the running)? I certainly didn't.
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No, but I expected some movement on getting a GM type at the helm to maintain the roster a little better. Who is talking to these kids to ask for their patience before they cut deals or open up their recruitment? The new coach had better have a bus full of players coming along to have any hope of being competitive next year. I didn't expect a new coach by now but I expected a plan to keep the program viable for next year.
 
E

Erial_Lion

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
3,483
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Georgia Peach said:
No, but I expected some movement on getting a GM type at the helm to maintain the roster a little better. Who is talking to these kids to ask for their patience before they cut deals or open up their recruitment? The new coach had better have a bus full of players coming along to have any hope of being competitive next year. I didn't expect a new coach by now but I expected a plan to keep the program viable for next year.
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I wouldn't want a "GM type" making any promises to current players (or recruits for that matter) until we have a new coach hired. He's the one that needs to make those decisions. A new coach will almost certainly be in place before the transfer portal opens, and he'll then get to work on figure out who he wants from this current roster.
 
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WaffleShopper

WaffleShopper

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Sep 20, 2023
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Georgia Peach said:
No, but I expected some movement on getting a GM type at the helm to maintain the roster a little better. Who is talking to these kids to ask for their patience before they cut deals or open up their recruitment? The new coach had better have a bus full of players coming along to have any hope of being competitive next year. I didn't expect a new coach by now but I expected a plan to keep the program viable for next year.
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There is still a plan and there are tons of staff involved just as there has always been. It’s not like it’s radio silence with the recruits and they’re just wandering off to find a new home because they haven’t heard from Penn State in 6 weeks. There is constant contact with current recruits and new offers being sent.
 
W

WPB_lion

Junior
Jun 5, 2001
131
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Bvillebaron said:
Oh come now. Krafty said he was fired for not winning Big Ten and National Championships because the fans deserve a Natty. Nothing less will do.
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Franklin's coaching failure this season is an epic failure that no coach should survive. You can like Franklin and appreciate the job that he did at PSU, but you cannot defend his performance this season. This team was ranked #2 with a ton of returning, proven talent from a team that was one play away from making it to the championship game. The administration gave him everything he asked for this season, including the most expensive Defensive Coordinator in the Country. Yet the team was inexplicably terrible.

The fact that Franklin found another job that saved the University $40 million establishes that it was a good decision to fire him mid-season.
 
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JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws

Senior
Jun 26, 2025
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WPB_lion said:
I have read some of your posts. Invariably, your posts are derogatory with child-like name calling.

Although I was a 100% supporter of Franklin at the beginning of this season and I believe he did a good job at PSU, I agree with the decision to fire Franklin mid season because he lost the team, seemed disinterested, and did a historically bad job this year. IMO, there was no chance that he was not going to turn the team around this year. The exodus of recruits was going to happen even if James Franklin stayed as coach for the rest of the year. The firing mid-season allowed him to find another decent job while he his reputation remained somewhat intact and resulted in a $40 million savings to PSU. There was a real risk if the inevitable tailspin continued for the remainder of the season with Franklin at the helm, he could have become a pariah and unable to find another job, which would have left us with the full $49 million payout.

We are in a better position today sitting at 4 - 6 without Franklin and in the market for a new coach than we would be at 4 - 6 with Franklin as a lame duck head coach about the be fired at the end of the season. Even if Franklin were still the coach, the writing would be on the wall that his time is limited and recruits would be leaving anyways.
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Nope, the exiting team would not be gone by the time the new coach was named .... and you wouldn't have made Franklin one of the biggest competitors for their services. The new coach, depending on who it was, would have stood a much better shot at holding a good portion of the roster and his major competitor would not be James Franklin at a new home. You can say it makes no difference, but that's farcical and just because you say it doesn't make it so.
 
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Erial_Lion

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
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JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws said:
Nope, the exiting team would not be gone by the time the new coach was named .... and you wouldn't have made Franklin one of the biggest competitors for their services. The new coach, depending on who it was, would have stood a much better shot at holding a good portion of the roster and his major competitor would not be James Franklin at a new home. You can say it makes no difference, but that's farcical and just because you say it doesn't make it so.
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Are you completely missing the timing of when we'll likely hire a new coach vs the timing of the transfer portal opening (and the fact that firing Franklin at the end of November still gives Virginia Tech plenty of time to hire him, thus changing nothing)?
 
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Midnighter

Midnighter

Heisman
Jan 22, 2021
11,476
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Georgia Peach said:
No, but I expected some movement on getting a GM type at the helm to maintain the roster a little better. Who is talking to these kids to ask for their patience before they cut deals or open up their recruitment? The new coach had better have a bus full of players coming along to have any hope of being competitive next year. I didn't expect a new coach by now but I expected a plan to keep the program viable for next year.
Click to expand...

Were folks aware we had a GM? Andy Frank - and he just left to follow Franklin to VT.
 
K

KingLando

All-Conference
Nov 29, 2021
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Ludd said:
And they will twist themselves into a pretzel trying to make every minute detail a reason why he was bad. I’m afraid they will learn the hard way he wasn’t as bad as they think.
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Again...he wasn't able to get to the next level. Whether or not the next coach succeeds has nothing to do with Franklin's time was up.
 
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KingLando

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Nov 29, 2021
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Classof09 said:
Let’s define his 11 year career by 1 year, huh? You wanna be defined by everyone you know based on your worst experience in front of them???
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His career is defined as building a great program but being unable to win against elite teams.
This year just got him fired because you can overlook guaranteed losses against great teams unless you start losing to bad teams. Northwestern and UCLA weren't just subpar...they're bad.
 
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KingLando

All-Conference
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Erial_Lion said:
I'll say it again...it shocks me that everyone is in such a panic that we don't have a coach inked by November 20th. Did people really think that we'd likely sign our next coach during the season (which of course takes all current coaches out of the running)? I certainly didn't.
Click to expand...
Correct...it was never the plan to have one by now.
 
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