In a world lacking nuance, this is true about CJF

[NittanyChris]

We live in a world of 20 second sound bites and hot takes. You are either for or against something and there is a little space for nuance. In reality, the world is much more gray than black and white.

Penn State owes a huge debt of gratitude to Coach Franklin for what he did for the program. He rebuilt it to an annual top 10 team by his tireless work, excellent recruiting, creating a family atmosphere, and just being an outstanding face for the program. Never once did I doubt his integrity. He improved facilities and probably played a large role in getting a better AD at PSU. I also don't wanna hear about Bill O'Brien because though he did a fine job, he was a mercenary who was not interested in recruiting and left as soon as he had the opportunity to do so. Franklin devoted nearly 12 years of his life to the school and program. For that we owe him our sincere gratitude.

That said, he could not get us over the top. Some questionable in game coaching decisions along with perhaps sticking with veterans who are less talented than up-and-coming stars, and other factors contributed to his inability to beat the top teams. Therefore it was time to move on. I expect there will be some bumpy parts to the transition including shedding top recruits, but it was the right move.

In the end, I wish CJF all the best, and I suspect he will land on his feet. I'm all in for the bumpy road ahead as I am and always will be Penn State proud.

WE ARE!!!

 

[cjrugger]

Well said!

 

[Alphalion75]

Excellent initial post! Living here in Georgia, the firing of Coach Franklin reminds me so much of the firing of Mark Richt. Richt was a consistent winner and beloved by UGA fans. But he just couldn't get the Bulldogs over the top. Like Nittany Lion fans....UGA fans had mixed feelings about Richt's firing. But as we know, it turned out to be a good move for the Bulldogs.

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

So...........as an outsider, I am going to be 100% honest about this move. It is risky, because you could do worse. And the poster who said "I am tired of mediocrity" I am sorry PSU has the 4th best record in college football over the past 5 years. So there is a better chance of doing worse than better.

But................................I get it.

You all may not like this, but I think Kraft (and others) were wise to see through the absolutely garbage OOC schedules he put up. I mean you got Auburn at their lowest point in 3 decades (not Penn State's fault but...), you got a very down WVU program, and you got Pitt treading water where it could be 2-2 instead of 3-1. Since those, you completely doubled down with nothing but FCS garbage. In addition, until Oregon and SC joined, and IU got a resurgence, the Big 10 has been well, essentially the ACC, where PSU had more talent than every program not named Ohio State and Michigan. So it was smart of Kraft to see through hollow wins against Rutgers or Maryland or Northwe..(wait sorry)...over the years. So yes Franklin had a great record but.....also, the playoff draw was very favorable for Penn State until it wasn't.

But the losses. It should have been alarming this year that during those 3 cupcakes, PSU did not roll over them like they should have. There were some struggles. Looking at the RB talent and Allar, then watching PSU and looking at the box scores, and it is obvious something was amiss. The defense was getting beat also. But man....come Oregon, the decisions, the clock management and against UCLA it was doubling down on bad decisions and clock management then against NW these were repeated. It is like the old Mike Tyson line of "everyone has a plan until they were punched in the mouth".

College FB is about attacking, aggressive plays, especially when you have more talent, and Franklin constantly, year after year struggled with playing it safe rather than attacking. He killed Hackenburg's career. He killed Allar's. That is two 5 star QB's because Hackenburg looked alot better under BoB than Franklin. So I guess when you look at the whole package, not to mention Franklin's arrogance and abrasiveness well pride came before the fall or whatever the saying. So I am saying, "I get it". But there are no guarantees.

 

[84lion]

So...........as an outsider, I am going to be 100% honest about this move. It is risky, because you could do worse. And the poster who said "I am tired of mediocrity" I am sorry PSU has the 4th best record in college football over the past 5 years. So there is a better chance of doing worse than better.

But................................I get it.

You all may not like this, but I think Kraft (and others) were wise to see through the absolutely garbage OOC schedules he put up. I mean you got Auburn at their lowest point in 3 decades (not Penn State's fault but...), you got a very down WVU program, and you got Pitt treading water where it could be 2-2 instead of 3-1. Since those, you completely doubled down with nothing but FCS garbage. In addition, until Oregon and SC joined, and IU got a resurgence, the Big 10 has been well, essentially the ACC, where PSU had more talent than every program not named Ohio State and Michigan. So it was smart of Kraft to see through hollow wins against Rutgers or Maryland or Northwe..(wait sorry)...over the years. So yes Franklin had a great record but.....also, the playoff draw was very favorable for Penn State until it wasn't.

But the losses. It should have been alarming this year that during those 3 cupcakes, PSU did not roll over them like they should have. There were some struggles. Looking at the RB talent and Allar, then watching PSU and looking at the box scores, and it is obvious something was amiss. The defense was getting beat also. But man....come Oregon, the decisions, the clock management and against UCLA it was doubling down on bad decisions and clock management then against NW these were repeated. It is like the old Mike Tyson line of "everyone has a plan until they were punched in the mouth".

College FB is about attacking, aggressive plays, especially when you have more talent, and Franklin constantly, year after year struggled with playing it safe rather than attacking. He killed Hackenburg's career. He killed Allar's. That is two 5 star QB's because Hackenburg looked alot better under BoB than Franklin. So I guess when you look at the whole package, not to mention Franklin's arrogance and abrasiveness well pride came before the fall or whatever the saying. So I am saying, "I get it". But there are no guarantees.

Excellent post, especially the last two paragraphs. I agree, player "regression," especially QB, has been problematic, and difficult to understand, given that Franklin was a college QB.

Not said, but also there, was Franklin's propensity to talk big and make big promises. I always say, under-promise and over-deliver.

 

[PSUcup]

So...........as an outsider, I am going to be 100% honest about this move. It is risky, because you could do worse. And the poster who said "I am tired of mediocrity" I am sorry PSU has the 4th best record in college football over the past 5 years. So there is a better chance of doing worse than better.

But................................I get it.

You all may not like this, but I think Kraft (and others) were wise to see through the absolutely garbage OOC schedules he put up. I mean you got Auburn at their lowest point in 3 decades (not Penn State's fault but...), you got a very down WVU program, and you got Pitt treading water where it could be 2-2 instead of 3-1. Since those, you completely doubled down with nothing but FCS garbage. In addition, until Oregon and SC joined, and IU got a resurgence, the Big 10 has been well, essentially the ACC, where PSU had more talent than every program not named Ohio State and Michigan. So it was smart of Kraft to see through hollow wins against Rutgers or Maryland or Northwe..(wait sorry)...over the years. So yes Franklin had a great record but.....also, the playoff draw was very favorable for Penn State until it wasn't.

But the losses. It should have been alarming this year that during those 3 cupcakes, PSU did not roll over them like they should have. There were some struggles. Looking at the RB talent and Allar, then watching PSU and looking at the box scores, and it is obvious something was amiss. The defense was getting beat also. But man....come Oregon, the decisions, the clock management and against UCLA it was doubling down on bad decisions and clock management then against NW these were repeated. It is like the old Mike Tyson line of "everyone has a plan until they were punched in the mouth".

College FB is about attacking, aggressive plays, especially when you have more talent, and Franklin constantly, year after year struggled with playing it safe rather than attacking. He killed Hackenburg's career. He killed Allar's. That is two 5 star QB's because Hackenburg looked alot better under BoB than Franklin. So I guess when you look at the whole package, not to mention Franklin's arrogance and abrasiveness well pride came before the fall or whatever the saying. So I am saying, "I get it". But there are no guarantees.

I was officially done with him the moment he kicked the PAT to send the Oregon game to OT. That’s a move a real winner would never make

 

[Sharkies]

I also don't wanna hear about Bill O'Brien because though he did a fine job

FLO, you mean.

 

[CDLionFL]

So...........as an outsider, I am going to be 100% honest about this move. It is risky, because you could do worse. And the poster who said "I am tired of mediocrity" I am sorry PSU has the 4th best record in college football over the past 5 years. So there is a better chance of doing worse than better.

But................................I get it.

You all may not like this, but I think Kraft (and others) were wise to see through the absolutely garbage OOC schedules he put up. I mean you got Auburn at their lowest point in 3 decades (not Penn State's fault but...), you got a very down WVU program, and you got Pitt treading water where it could be 2-2 instead of 3-1. Since those, you completely doubled down with nothing but FCS garbage. In addition, until Oregon and SC joined, and IU got a resurgence, the Big 10 has been well, essentially the ACC, where PSU had more talent than every program not named Ohio State and Michigan. So it was smart of Kraft to see through hollow wins against Rutgers or Maryland or Northwe..(wait sorry)...over the years. So yes Franklin had a great record but.....also, the playoff draw was very favorable for Penn State until it wasn't.

But the losses. It should have been alarming this year that during those 3 cupcakes, PSU did not roll over them like they should have. There were some struggles. Looking at the RB talent and Allar, then watching PSU and looking at the box scores, and it is obvious something was amiss. The defense was getting beat also. But man....come Oregon, the decisions, the clock management and against UCLA it was doubling down on bad decisions and clock management then against NW these were repeated. It is like the old Mike Tyson line of "everyone has a plan until they were punched in the mouth".

College FB is about attacking, aggressive plays, especially when you have more talent, and Franklin constantly, year after year struggled with playing it safe rather than attacking. He killed Hackenburg's career. He killed Allar's. That is two 5 star QB's because Hackenburg looked alot better under BoB than Franklin. So I guess when you look at the whole package, not to mention Franklin's arrogance and abrasiveness well pride came before the fall or whatever the saying. So I am saying, "I get it". But there are no guarantees.

I agree with ya on the last 2 paragraphs. He played not to lose instead of played to win. That led to conservative gameplans in such games like Oregon this year and OSU/Michigan games of the past. But also look at some of the choke jobs in the big games -- USC Rose Bowl, OSU 2017, OSU 2018 -- leads in the 4th quarter and the offense all of a sudden goes conservative and allows the comebacks to happen. I've said it numerous times -- you can watch 10-20 college football games on a Saturday if you navigate correctly and in the majority of those games, you see wide open spaces with passes down the middle and WRs getting space on crossing patterns or deep balls. But then watch a PSU offense and it's like when you drive a golf cart in a restricted area and the GFS grinds it to a halt.

As far as the schedules are concerned, those non-con games are done so far out that it's really difficult to guess how good a team is going to be once you eventually play the game. The Auburn series was finalized in 2016. West Virginia was inked in 2013. It would be much better for all of college football now that most conferences are requiring a P4 non-con game if these games were scheduled 2 years out rather than who knows how far out.

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

I was officially done with him the moment he kicked the PAT to send the Oregon game to OT. That’s a move a real winner would never make

That's what I am saying, he plays in his fears, not to lose and you can't do that against great teams. In many ways, he is alot like Mike Tomlin.