Anything is possible
Franklin wanted these coordinators...we know AK loves gimmicks and we know Knowles played off ball in a complicated defense.
I'm pissed Kraft fired Franklin when he did
- Thread starter Sharkies
- Start date
Franklin wanted these coordinators...we know AK loves gimmicks and we know Knowles played off ball in a complicated defense.
I was more referring to personnel issues. Franklin said they need to get Kaytron more involved many times before it actually happened. We've now heard from Smith 2-3x about getting Howard and Denmark and the downfield passing game going. I don't understand why these changes aren't happening immediately if the head coach is asking for it. Only 2 things can be true, either the head coach is saying it publicly but in staff meetings he's not saying it, or the coordinators aren't doing what they're told. Given that known truth-teller Smith is now calling for changes that aren't happening I'm starting to think it's the latter, though under Franklin I'd have said it's the former.
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Fair...ultimately if the head coach wants something it should happen. If it doesn't thats poor leadership
I’m pissed that your pissed. We should all be pissed. Not sure why, but we should be pissed.
Yeah, I wasn’t saying that’s more important than play on the field. It was just a comment on the general approach to game day in the stadium.
Coming into this season PSU was either #1 or #2 (LSU) as far as worldwide CFB bucket list destinations as well as where you don't want to play on the road.
I really don't understand how in the midst of the worst losing streak in ANY OF OUR MF'ng LIVES, someone would point the finger at at some existential kumbaya disruption from the Mic Man or the freaking music playlist. SMFH.
Some people can walk and chew gum at the same time.
One discussion doesn’t exclude or diminish the other.
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Yeah. Worn out and tired analogy. Nice try though.Some people can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Agree, the fan behavior is embarrassing and the “game day experience” has turned into a drunken carnival.
I thought I read read that an up and coming podcaster implicated that NIL payments were made in full to players. This may possibly affect attitude/effort when playing. We are in the professional level of college sports now where some players make more than their coaches.
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As my Grandpa Beck passed down to my father and now to me…
- it’s better to be pissed off then pissed on.
The mere notion that you can blame anything that's happening since Franklin was fired on Terry Smith is crazy. Terry is everything that's right about Penn State and seeing and hearing him on the sidelines and in press conferences is pretty much the only good thing that's happened this season.
It's not just about Franklin. The timing might have made sense if we already had another coach lined up. That doesn't seem to be the case so now we have to watch our recruits leave while we wait.
Reminder: PSU's all time record vs OSU was 13-15 before Franklin was hired. Now it's 14-26.
The press conferences reminded me of Lt. Dike from Band Of Brothers, on the attack
on Foy, with his repetitive responses.
Since the Oregon game at least , questions were, why isn't Katron getting more carries, and
the responses have been , yeah we got to get Katron more carries.
As a fan how many times do you have to hear this?
The coaching search has been underway for a few weeks now, most likely with some initial
interviews. Kraft will hire the best fit that he thinks is right for PS, whether will like the hire
or not, because right now you have about 5 real good positions open in FBS, and more likely
a few more to come. Timing is everything.
on Foy, with his repetitive responses.
Since the Oregon game at least , questions were, why isn't Katron getting more carries, and
the responses have been , yeah we got to get Katron more carries.
As a fan how many times do you have to hear this?
The coaching search has been underway for a few weeks now, most likely with some initial
interviews. Kraft will hire the best fit that he thinks is right for PS, whether will like the hire
or not, because right now you have about 5 real good positions open in FBS, and more likely
a few more to come. Timing is everything.
You really think Kraft would have been able to hold multiple interviews, make offers and get a contract signed without anyone ever knowing, and then we fire Franklin afterwards? There is zero chance that happens. And when the world finds out Kraft tried to do that behind the back of an active coach without firing him first, your coaching hiring pool shrinks dramatically as no future coach wants to work for someone like that.
James knew what he was doing. He knew he was done at PSU as soon as the Oregon game was over. Look at his emotions the next two weeks and his non answer after the NW Game. He wanted to get fired and get fired that early. That allowed him to fix his image while destroying the PSU recruiting class. I think the only thing he miscalculated was his landing spot as was evident with his "winning national championship" speech on Game Day.
Two different things (as has been discussed):
1. The state of the program under Franklin and Franklin’s relationship with Kraft: Franklin could not be retained after the northwestern debacle (on the heels of the ucla debacle). Franklin had no answers. It was a mess on the field and off the field.
2. The program going forward: Smith took care of things for the remainder of the season and did a great job all things considered. He got us to a bowl. He provided stability. Meanwhile, Kraft is working on the future of the program, meaning the next coach. Nothing tangible has come out, so we can’t say that he has botched the search.
On 1 - fine, why not just "hang him out to dry" .... the season was a lost cause anyway, what purpose was served by re-grouping just to get to 6-6?
On 2 - stay tuned I guess.
We can’t definitively say Kraft has botched the search yet. But if he is actually interviewing Huepel today and doesn’t actually have somebody lined up for the job, I think we can say he’s botched the search.
The lack of an announcement doesn't mean someone isn't hired
Also, why wait? Why would you mislead everyone? If we fired Franklin yesterday then the class still falls apart.
I dont see any logic in keeping a coach once you know he needs to go
Firing him when they did allowed them to at least have two respectable home games and ended up saving 41 million since he went to Virginia Tech.
Keeping him after the Northwestern game would have meant two more home games of booing, mutiny and maybe not even showing up at all. The people who go to the games had seen enough. Walking around it was nothing but how it costs so much to fire this guy, we're screwed, he sucks, get him out, boo the intro video if he's on it, etc. Could not go on with that.
And then what if he just now got fired and Virginia Tech already found someone else? Then Franklin may have not found anywhere at all and PSU would be on the hook for the whole 50 mil.
Keeping him after the Northwestern game would have meant two more home games of booing, mutiny and maybe not even showing up at all. The people who go to the games had seen enough. Walking around it was nothing but how it costs so much to fire this guy, we're screwed, he sucks, get him out, boo the intro video if he's on it, etc. Could not go on with that.
And then what if he just now got fired and Virginia Tech already found someone else? Then Franklin may have not found anywhere at all and PSU would be on the hook for the whole 50 mil.
How many other Power 5 Div 1 coaching openings are still open? Is Penn State the only one?
If so, it looks like Kraft screwed up the situation horribly. Unless he comes up with an incredible hire in the next couple of days, the football program is on life support. It could be a MAC level or lesser conference roster when all is said and done.
If so, it looks like Kraft screwed up the situation horribly. Unless he comes up with an incredible hire in the next couple of days, the football program is on life support. It could be a MAC level or lesser conference roster when all is said and done.
And O’Brien was a highly paid employee who should be aware that it wouldn’t be easy replacing a legend and that some fans will not view him favorably. I don’t recall Ray Perkins whining and lecturing Alabama fans about some of them comparing him unfavorably with Bear Bryant when he was fired after being the first coach to replace that legend.
Just an aside, Michigan State and Kentucky both just fired their coaches and are paying $30M plus buyouts.....the MSU guy just finished his 2nd year. Anyone hear any cackling from the media about these embarrassing buyouts? How these guys were good coaches who didn't get a fair shake? I know the answer. As we criticize Kraft and the delay in this coaching search, I do think to be fair we have to give him some flowers for keeping Franklin's image intact enough to attract a good high paying position and negotiating a $9M buyout. I see another thread about the timing of Kraft's firing of James.....I think it was shrewd, he didn't want Franklin to do that dumb look after continued losses getting hung around his neck. You don't know, but VT might have found someone else waiting for Franklin as he continued to accumulate losses, think Rhule....they may have become "not interested" over the balance of the season.
Claiming that Franklin defenders are still blaming the Sandusky scandal for his alleged shortcomings is easily the most asinine comment you have posted yet and that covers a WHOLE lot of territory.
Almost as hilarious as Krafty saying the standard is to win Big Ten and National Championships despite the fact that the last Big Ten Championship was in 2016 when Franklin was coach and the last Natty was 1986. Tell me where the Big and National Championships are being held after the 2027 season so I can order my tickets now and beat the rush.
To me it would have been a bad look for the PSU program and recruits to see the entire stadium booing JF and the players on tv and in person. JF had no answers and the ship was rudderless with no leader. JF had checked out. To see the fan base cannabalizing it's coaches would turn many recruits off. Terry Smith took control of the ship and got PSU to a bowl game. IMHO a much better look than leaving JF there to see his family and the coaching staff being boo'd.
jimmy frank should NOT have been fired so early,but left on the hook until all games were played. He could then suffer with the rest of us and receive his just booing ,then go shopping for a new job!!! He got off the hook soo easy.
You’re not wrong. I’m not fan of Franklin but Krafts unrealistic standards, the fact his job most likely relies on the immediate success of the new coach, James being outed after a CFP quarterfinal appearance, the entire future recruiting class being gutted probably doesn’t instill the most confidence in the next guy through the door.
Agreed but I do think with Sexton's connections in the SEC he would have had multiple shots at openings like Ole Miss, Auburn and Kentucky had he not taken the VT job
A very high level overview here, but the summary is that Kraft's most important hires were Men's BB coaches at BC and at PSU (Rhoades) - and the three (kind of) Football hires at Temple.
He also oversaw the (unsuccessful) transition from Fran Dunphy to Aaron McKie as coach of Temple Men's BB.
None have led to any meaningful level of success.
A Rundown Of Pat Kraft's Other Big Hires Over His Career
I believe it is fair to summarize that the next positively impactful hire by Pat Kraft will be his first one.
"Hiring Coaches" is, obviously, just one of the responsibilities of the job - which include management of the organization, fiscal responsibilities, competitiveness, operational efficiency etc.
Its laughable to be told that the last conference championship occurred 9 years ago under the only coach who could mathematically have won it in the last dozen years.
The timing of the firing is debatable for multiple reasons ($$$, deserved bad look, etc.). Seeing the swelling of support that occurred for Coach Smith from the Nebraska game, I can only imagine how intensified it would have been if Smith hadn’t started his interim position until the Indiana game, or worse yet, Michigan State.
1 O'Brien wasn't fired so not sure that makes sense
2 O'Brien wasn't complaining about a comparison
3 who said he wasn't aware it wouldn't be easy?