How exactly is Smith solely responsible for losing most of the verbals? He’s an interim coach who can’t give them any assurances that he will be promoted or any information on who the next coach will be. As I said before, I saw where Jackson Ford who has not de-committed yet said he met with Kraft during a recruiting visit. An equally good, if not better, argument could be made that the vast majority of de-commits is because Kraft isn’t convincing them that he will be making a good hire and that the program will be fine and overestimated how well Penn State “recruits itself”.
I am going to say it.....
- Thread starter MontereyLion
- Start date
Would that be the Diaz who was 21-15 during his 3 years at Miami which is located in the hot bed of high school football talent? THAT Manny Diaz?
I’m not saying Smith is solely responsible. I’m asking has Smith put forth any effort, as the lead recruiter now, interim/aspiring HC, and employee of Penn State Athletics to maintain the recruiting class? Have we heard of anyone reaching out to these recruits to refute what the turncoat Franklin staffers told them about their scholarships and NIL no longer being valid and that they should decommit? I feel as though it’s fair to ask Smith to attempt to do that in his current role for the last 50 days. Maybe he did? I don’t know. All I know is the only thing we have heard is that Kraft met with one of the 2026 recruits. Just one? Something just doesn’t sound right about that.
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I think Brohm is still the best option. He is one of only 3 coaches to have a winning record at Purdue in the last 55 years. Knows the Big Ten and has shown the ability to upset higher ranked team
You can’t seriously being comparing the conferences DeBoer and Sitake coached in when comparing their coaching records can you?
Chesney seems to me to like being a splash. He will certainly be that at UCLA, oh imo I should say. He likes the camara and camara's seem to like him. He comes off very well in those settings. He will not suffer from a low-density place for recruits as Cali has them in abundance and he is a very good salesman I think.
I thought that's where Franklin should have gone but they know a cheap used car salesman when they see one and said no thanks to Sexton a cheap sales hack himself. Show me the money, PS should say absolute no to any coach at any level with Sexton as their rep.
I assume you never would have hired Belichick in New England or Saban at Alabama then...doesn't matter since it doesn't sound like we're looking at him anyways.
Im not, I have no agenda, was just asking what the group saw as differences between the two, ill put you down for conference coached
Honestly, I have thought the criticism of Kraft has been over the top over the past weeks and really didn't get what people expected. He always seemed competent to me and so I figured this would work the way it does everywhere as it is so standardized - you fire the coach during the season when it is evident they aren't coming back, have time to do a solid search and vet candidates, then you get someone locked in by the end of November and announce the day after the last football games of the season. There's a reason why every single school does it that way because the vulgarities of the calendar call for it.
I just don't get it. Especially with the recruiting class having fallen apart, it was absolutely critical to have someone signed and delivered 2 days ago. Any even slightly competent AD understands this. It doesn't even matter who the guy is - you identify and sign the best candidate you could that can be in place in the timetable needed.
This is unbelievably incompetent. Especially if Chesney was in play and you let him go without having a deal finalized with someone else.
I just don't get it. Especially with the recruiting class having fallen apart, it was absolutely critical to have someone signed and delivered 2 days ago. Any even slightly competent AD understands this. It doesn't even matter who the guy is - you identify and sign the best candidate you could that can be in place in the timetable needed.
This is unbelievably incompetent. Especially if Chesney was in play and you let him go without having a deal finalized with someone else.
Counterpoint: players that have already spent a couple of years away from home on missions may be more willing to spend a couple of more years away for football, as they are already somewhat used to it and comfortable with it. The mission thing is a non starter, the real issue here is just the distance from home and that PSU doesn't have ties to their church like BYU. Some players may not want to deal with the separation from the church, but some might see it as an opportunity to build more of an LDS community in State College with their coach and maybe with Cael.
I am a Michigan fan suffering from PTSD -- your coaching search is SO EEEERILY familiar to Michigan's search when Lloyd Carr retired.
Our AD f'ed that one up 19 ways to Sunday and we ended up with Rich Rod who was a total mismatch for Michigan.
I wish you all well, but as I just posted on the Michigan board, I think you are going to have to back up the armored truck to Brian Hartline's front door and see if that would persuade him to leave Columbus. Or, hold your nose, and start talking to Brian Kelly. Given Kraft's mismanagement of this search, there is no way in hell that DeBoer is going to come to Penn State, no way that Brohm is leaving Louisville. Maybe Daboll???? I don't know, but my sympathies are with you all -- Kraft's f'up here is going to be studied at B Schools for years.
I agree but we have to admit getting to signing day without a head coach and a 2026 recruiting class is a unique way to build for a national championship
Maybe that truck has already been backed up? People seem to be discounting the notion that they already have their guy. Why they’re waiting to announce could be a stipulation of said guy. Not saying this is absolute, but….
Impossible. None of the idiots ("insiders" or bloggers or media) have mentioned it as being possible.
I think those of you sticking up for Kraft are just in denial about what a Charlie Foxtrot this is right now, especially perception wise. Maybe he manages to pull a magic rabbit out of his butt.
I’m not sticking up for him. Just withholding my judgement until I see the end result.
