Grading Krafty

[Chumboshifko1]

The Stoolers could use Kraft. About a decade ago.

 

[Bvillebaron]

Kraft intentionally leaked a deal with Sitake? Do we know that as accurate? Also, even though Kraft may have not had the best contact info for Campbell, if Campbell does not talk to other teams until the season is over, does it really matter? I was in the Fire Kraft group for most of this week, however, with a lot of other things coming out recently, I am more willing to give him some slack on the process and the timing. I could care less about the video. Whatever. It’s a nothing burger. He didn’t say anything that we don’t already say here most days. That video was released by many with an agenda to make him look bad, but I don’t think it had the effect some thought it would.

What is the source for claiming Campbell does not talk to other teams until after the season is over? If true, then why did Kraft attempt (and screw up royally) shortly after he fired Franklin. I agree with the F for the manner that he handled the coaching search and call him lucky rather than good in getting a good one in Campbell.

 

[Bvillebaron]

Do you have inside information? Do you and Pat Kraft sit down and discuss over coffee or beers? Or is this grade just based on what was being spun by media and msg board chatter guessing what was going on?

Thinking about this in hindsight, we are all on the outside looking in and making guesses on how it was handled. Unless you are on the inside how can any of us determine how the search process was handled? In hindsight, we have no insight into how the process really factually went down.

Well we do know that it took him almost 2 months to hire a coach which resulted in the loss of almost an entire recruiting class; thought he had a deal with Sitake and made a lot of coaches a lot of money in contract extensions. We also know that he said in the press release that Franklin was fired for not living up to Penn State’s “standard” of winning Big Ten and National Championships (despite the fact that the last Big Ten Championship was in 2016 when Franklin was the coach and the last National Championships was 40 years ago under Paterno) and followed that up by saying in a press conference the day after the firing that the fans deserved a National Championship. I like Campbell and hope he achieves those aspirational goals but whenever I think of Kraft I keep thinking of my law partner who came back to the office after a day of trial and when I asked him about the other lawyer said Amateur Bleeping Amateur.

 

[Bvillebaron]

Lost an entire recruiting class that could have been salvaged if he hired the right guy earlier.

Or if he did a better job of making sure someone was in charge of keeping in contact with recruits and reassuring them himself he would get a good coach instead of over estimating where Penn State stood in the hierarchy of head coaching jobs and thinking Penn State recruits itself.

 

[Bvillebaron]

Means dick at this point!

Of my it’s not a joke; you really are that mistaken.

 

[Bvillebaron]

you are entitled to your opinion- I don't share it

I don’t either.

Kraft fired James Franklin, after (1) Franklin acted like an a** by asking for yet another raise/extension this summer, and (2) Franklin acted like a snake by quitting on his team after the Oregon loss.

Kraft didn't give in to the "409ers" and hire Terry Smith.

Kraft also wasn't cowed by whatever "409ers" decided to leak that audio of him.

Kraft hired a viable new HC in Matt Campbell.

For all of that, I give Kraft a grade of an A.

Shall I buy my tickets for next year’s Big Ten and National Championships games now or wait?

 

[Bvillebaron]

February compared to December 5th? Great insightful question

Well if he waited until February then he could have you know what away an entire portal class instead of just an almost entire high school class genius.

 

[Bvillebaron]

estimates on how long till the first BWICAC cry of fire Campbell?

First 3 and out in the first game.

 

[Gitzit]

His report card is yet to be determined. So far it is all d's for not Making Terry the head coach IMO. Matt better be able to retain all of the current players on the roster, as Terry would have. If Grunk leaves and kills it somewhere else Kraft will fail. Campbell better win every game next year or Terry chants will rain down, fail !

 

[Wilbury]

Campbell was never going to be available until after the season. And the recruiting class was gone either way. They were coming for Franklin. That's how it works.

 

[BUFFALO LION]

Moving on from Franklin - A
It had to be done. Franklin clearly was distracted the entire season and the team modeled his lack of effort. Per insiders Franklin attempted to get a raise over the summer and unsuccessfully went over Krafty's head after he was denied and told to win the big games first. I think he resented this and it impacted his coaching performance during the season. Also of importance is that Franklin was mismanaging NIL by rewarding tenure rather than performance. There was reportedly descension in the locker room over NIL compensation. Franklin deserves more credit than he has received for his entire tenure, earning early success that was shocking to the cfb world and then maintained that consistency, but he simply had to go at the end. It was too toxic.
Choosing an Interim coach - A
Terry was widely respected in the lockeroom. It was important to quickly place him in the role of interim. Even in losses, the team played with a lot more juice. Terry recognized the lack of passing game and the difficulty the d had with Knowles very difficult scheme and made improvements. The pin was unfortunate and perhaps others influenced him to do that.
Coaching search process - F
Spent too much time going for the homerun in Elko, who was extremely low probability as a likely playoff coach. Krafty loved that Elko is from the northeast, but then inexplicably was enamored with Sitake, a great coach, but from a different region with zero ties to the northeast. Krafty did not anticipate the importance Sitake has in the Mormon community and was ultimately defeated by the cookie guy. Krafty also intentionally leaked the hire thinking a handshake was enough and never got a signature. In the end, it was for the best as Campbell is a better fit here. The other insane report is that Krafty did not have the right contact info for Campbell and missed an opportunity to hire him earlier and save at least a portion of the recruiting class.
Final Hire - A
Not to rehash all of the commentary already on the board, but Campbell is the right coach for this job. Kraft deserves credit for galvanizing the donors to make that NIL commitment to Campbell as well. I think Campbell has the ability to reach a higher ceiling than Franklin, but it will take time. We all see the amount of rot in the program. 2026 is a total rebuild year from the ground up.
Miscellaneous
The leaked audio of his locker room speech did contain a lot of truths and shows Krafty, while more meathead than brains, does understand the college football world and wants PSU to be successful.

1.) Moving On = F-
2.) Interim Coach = A+
3.) Search Process = F-
4.) Final Hire = C+ (Good reputation at less prestigious school that fell in Kraft’s incompetent lap, but has a LOOONG way to go to match Franklin’s results).

 

[retsio]

1.) Moving On = F-
2.) Interim Coach = A+
3.) Search Process = F-
4.) Final Hire = C+ (Good reputation at less prestigious school that fell in Kraft’s incompetent lap, but has a LOOONG way to go to match Franklin’s results).

This response is really Trash, from a poster who does not know how to be successful. One must evaluate performance and not be emotionally involved.
As reported previously, Franklin attempted an extension with many years remaining with a substantial increase in pay - actually seeking this not from his reporting supervisor, but from a C-level position - that is professional suicide. That is coaching jealously indicating he wanted OUT.

 

[barry j fenchak]

4.) Final Hire = C+ (Good reputation at less prestigious school that fell in Kraft’s incompetent lap, but has a LOOONG way to go to match Franklin’s results).

We agree on #4, he has a very long way to go to match Franklin's results. Gonna take some time and I am not sure he will have 12 years:

- Worst start in PSU history
- Horrible record against top competition
- Losing back-to-back games favored by 20+
- Taking a #2 team to a stellar 3/3 record

Those are going to be difficult to exceed, right? It takes a special talent to perform that poorly. Don't know if Campbell will be up to the task.

 

[84lion]

call him lucky rather than good

Also an old pilot's adage

 

[Chumboshifko1]

We agree on #4, he has a very long way to go to match Franklin's results. Gonna take some time and I am not sure he will have 12 years:

- Worst start in PSU history
- Horrible record against top competition
- Losing back-to-back games favored by 20+
- Taking a #2 team to a stellar 3/3 record

Those are going to be difficult to exceed, right? It takes a special talent to perform that poorly. Don't know if Campbell will be up to the task.

Sranje!

 

[LMTLION]

It is funny to see this thread in active status. I thought we all had forgiven lucky Pat Kraft! We are even building a recruiting class of sorts, so the broken search process will not have any lasting impact. There was even more rot in that locker room than we had imagined, and as such, I am even more grateful that Kraft had the stones to do what was necessary mid-season.

 

[BobPSU92]

It is funny to see this thread in active status. I thought we all had forgiven lucky Pat Kraft! We are even building a recruiting class of sorts, so the broken search process will not have any lasting impact. There was even more rot in that locker room than we had imagined, and as such, I am even more grateful that Kraft had the stones to do what was necessary mid-season.

The horse isn‘t dead until we say it is.

 

[94LionsFan]

Kraft was smart enough to end the experiment.

Franklin’s tenure as Penn State head coach was an experiment? How so?

 

[Phils rug]

Franklin’s tenure as Penn State head coach was an experiment? How so?

chumbo isn't a fan of people of color

 

[Chumboshifko1]

Franklin’s tenure as Penn State head coach was an experiment? How so?

The BoT thought a minor league coach could handle a big time program.

 

[Binder74]

1.) Moving On = F-
2.) Interim Coach = A+
3.) Search Process = F-
4.) Final Hire = C+ (Good reputation at less prestigious school that fell in Kraft’s incompetent lap, but has a LOOONG way to go to match Franklin’s results).

Not that long. Campbell is only one BIG championship behind Franklin.

 

[CowbellMan]

Kraft fired James Franklin, after (1) Franklin acted like an a** by asking for yet another raise/extension this summer, and (2) Franklin acted like a snake by quitting on his team after the Oregon loss.

Kraft didn't give in to the "409ers" and hire Terry Smith.

Kraft also wasn't cowed by whatever "409ers" decided to leak that audio of him.

Kraft hired a viable new HC in Matt Campbell.

For all of that, I give Kraft a grade of an A.

Not that anyone is paying attention but the Men’s Soccer coach hire is pretty much at A+ grab.

 

[94LionsFan]

The BoT thought a minor league coach could handle a big time program.

Franklin made a perennial doormat competitive in what was generally considered the best conference in CFB before PSU hired him. Campbell has a similar resume. Is Campbell also an experiment?

 

[Chumboshifko1]

Franklin made a perennial doormat competitive in what was generally considered the best conference in CFB before PSU hired him. Campbell has a similar resume. Is Campbell also an experiment?

Campbell didn't come from Vandy .