Can’t Kraft make a statement either endorsing Franklin or putting him on notice? This is the same Franklin who made sure his name was on all the coaching lists and leaking information to get that huge contract off of Saquon Barkley’s back. Now we’re stuck with him. I want Kraft to let it be known the football program is under review. I don’t give a damn about worrying current recruits in the age of NIL…
Kraft needs to grow a sack and make a statement
- Thread starter FK3JM
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I have no interest in Kraft, or what he says.
Maybe Franklin turns it around.
Something stinks, but only hope.
Maybe Franklin turns it around.
Something stinks, but only hope.
He doesn’t need to let any of us know as long as he has laid down the law with Franklin.
Kraft doesn't owe us anything. Should your boss put out a press release to let us know that you need to get your crap together at work?
I think the silence is deafening, as is Kraft not extending or reworking Franklin’s contract after last season.
It gives me hope that Kraft is the adult in the room for a change.
It gives me hope that Kraft is the adult in the room for a change.
Sometimes saying nothing says a lot more than saying something. Besides, whatever Kraft has to say to Franklin is between those two.
Kraft has enough on his plate with the stadium rebuild and financing. He's not adding head coaching drama if he can avoid it.
As long as a head coach doesn't throw in the towel to force a buyout not much an AD can do.
Kraft will do what he has to do behind the scenes...but no reason to do anything but support your coaches publicly. Saying something like "I don’t give a damn about worrying current recruits" is extremely short sighted. And what would saying "I want Kraft to let it be known the football program is under review" mean exactly...he's the AD, and every one of his programs is always under his review.
Pretty common for AD’s to come out and give statements when the alumni network is clamoring for answers. Maybe he’s ok with paying “Big Game James” hard earned tuition and donor money to lose almost all games of significance? I expect more than silence after a certain point. Franklin sure didn’t make life easy on the university when he had some momentum in his court did he?
1. We've lost football games before and survived. We'll survive now too.
2. I would not expect any changes during the season, unless...
3. Keep an eye on a couple of key recruits. Start losing guys like Spell and things could get weird fast.
Meanwhile, it is football. The ball bounces the other way sometimes.
Shalom.
2. I would not expect any changes during the season, unless...
3. Keep an eye on a couple of key recruits. Start losing guys like Spell and things could get weird fast.
Meanwhile, it is football. The ball bounces the other way sometimes.
Shalom.
Except it hasn't. We had ONE lucky bounce against good teams, and that was 9 years ago.
I think most folks feel Spell is gone. It’s just a matter of when and to where. This season has been a debacle on multiple levels, but the two senior RBs and their usage is one of them.
I don't think Kraft is making a $50 mil plus decision on his own unless he already has the cash in hand from donors to make this happen. Even if he did, I think he'd need the green light from the University first.
I get the frustration from a fan standpoint. It does leave fans wondering if the athletic department is on the ball with the situation or continuing the head in the sand approach of Sandy Barbour.
That said, Kraft would address any issues internally. Anything he says publicly would go into overdrive in the media and start speculation. If he criticizes Franklin the stories of a rift in the department start up. If he releases a statement of support, it’s the dreaded “vote of confidence” which usually leads to a firing weeks later. Both of those are detrimental to the program in the long term.
Kraft really is in a bad spot. The program is in a bad situation thanks to an incompetent prior AD, (and reportedly prior BOT chair).
Nationally, Franklin and the program are held in very low regard with respect to winning any meaningful games. The narrative is either Franklin could be fired soon or PSU is stuck with Franklin for several more years for financial reasons….and then he’ll be fired. Neither are good for recruiting.
They said 1985 was the last time a top 10 team lost to a winless 0-4 team. UCLA lost to Utah, UNLV, and was dominated by lowly New Mexico, (currently in 8th place in the Mountain West). There’s just no sugarcoating the worst college football loss in 40 years.
That said, Kraft would address any issues internally. Anything he says publicly would go into overdrive in the media and start speculation. If he criticizes Franklin the stories of a rift in the department start up. If he releases a statement of support, it’s the dreaded “vote of confidence” which usually leads to a firing weeks later. Both of those are detrimental to the program in the long term.
Kraft really is in a bad spot. The program is in a bad situation thanks to an incompetent prior AD, (and reportedly prior BOT chair).
Nationally, Franklin and the program are held in very low regard with respect to winning any meaningful games. The narrative is either Franklin could be fired soon or PSU is stuck with Franklin for several more years for financial reasons….and then he’ll be fired. Neither are good for recruiting.
They said 1985 was the last time a top 10 team lost to a winless 0-4 team. UCLA lost to Utah, UNLV, and was dominated by lowly New Mexico, (currently in 8th place in the Mountain West). There’s just no sugarcoating the worst college football loss in 40 years.
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It's a bad look and loss, but anyone thinking they are pulling the trigger after that loss are out of their minds. It's emotional drivel not based in reality. His buyout alone is a showstopper currently and after reaching the semi's last year they aren't going to jerk the knees before the end of the year unless things keep getting worse. It doesn't mean he has a never ending leash either, but he will be given a chance to right the ship somewhat. I think the playoffs are out of the equation, but what does the team do from here on out will determine the bigger picture IMO. This team bought into their own hype and played flat, emotionless, and totally lacked discipline in all 3 phases of the game....but mostly on the defensive side where we paid a DC more than anyone else to lay an egg.
No he doesn't. Just like Cael didn't regarding Carter, even though he wanted to. There is no reason to make a statement.
Good post, it's always been a house of cards with Franklin. I think Kraft needs to take the power back somehow, someone has to defend this University for a change. Even Sandy had the balls to say publicly that Penn State should never be blown out after our huge loss to Michigan in 2016(?). To CJF's credit, he sure did turn that season around. I'd like for Kraft to publicly or privately suggest that the loss was simply unacceptable and can't happen. That the program has dedicated far too many resources to be losing the types of games we did this week. He doesn't need to give provide a vote of confidence or fire James this second, but CJF needs to be made aware that it is simple unacceptable.
Something else to consider....in this world of constantly soliciting money, seat licenses, donations, NIL etc. I wonder if the AD does indeed have a duty to make a statement to his shareholders(season ticket holders). I'm not saying he does, but if this is Pro ball now, you have to keep the donors pacified.
Yeah. You got 50 million to waste? Who's your candidate to replace Franklin, and it better be a great one to risk $50 million dollars on. Look how much Texas, USC, and A&M have wasted for nothing. They actually have real money.
I'm with ya. Fire everyone, and clean house. I so wanna be Nebraska and Michigan State. I still remember when folks here said Franklin needed to win before any money was spent while coming out of the sanctions. Lmao.
I agree and I would bet they have had that conversation privately.
I think what saves Franklin a little is that all the prior history with demanding upgrades to facilities, increasing assistant salaries, repeatedly threatening to leave if he doesn’t get a raise, etc was mostly under Sandy. If it was all under Kraft’s watch, there might be a more visceral reaction from him to Saturday.
Franklin is really at a crossroads now. How does the team play against Northwestern? Has he lost the team or do they rebound? This game will show a lot about the character of the team and the ability of the coaching staff to refocus them.
Yeah - cherry picking if I ever saw it. Is that you Sandy? CHANGE IS BAD
. How does Penn State not have “real money”? Largest alumni network, most Fortune 500 CEO’s at one point, Terry Pegula? We wouldn’t be in this situation if Franklin hadn’t threatened to leave when he struck gold and Saquon fell in his lap. You really want to just let him slither around state college for another decade?That green light should take all of 6 seconds to obtain. This is big business not amateur sports.
I do agree he's not making the decision alone.
I would seriously consider Hartline the WR/OC from OSU. Probably would not cost as much as a proven HC. That being said I will be stunned if PSU moved on from Franklin in the next 3 years short of a complete collapse by the football team and program. Frankline is a good yes man with the BOT. Doesn't challenge them much. By then Hartline will most likely not be available.
Sure he can. As things currently stand, Franklin returns next year. Learn to live with it.
Do you really think people want to throw money away? People don't become wealthy by throwing away good money.Yeah - cherry picking if I ever saw it. Is that you Sandy? CHANGE IS BAD
Unless there are pledges toward stadium reconstruction in that fire, Kraft doesn't care.
Holy Toledo! Strap yourselves in, boys!Kraft is on it . Hired an associate director of finance to work out the deets .
Jennifer Koebel.
I think we have seen what the character of this team is and how this coach refocuses his team. I have already seen enough to be able to answer both questions.
CJF has a history of teams beating his team twice, particularly after close losses to teams like Ohio State. Once again, James let a team like Oregon beat us for two weeks in a row. In addition, this 2025 Penn State team really showed what it is made of last week. In the absence of an effective, motivational coach, that was a game for team leaders to take over and get us over the top, and it never happened.
I agree. It’s been a recurring problem.
In the past Franklin never had much heat other than from fans. Many fans were still blindly supportive no matter what and under Barbour he had no internal pressure. There were no consequences.
For the first time now, he appears to have lost the majority of the fan base and the national media is much more critical and vocal about his failures. It’ll be interesting to see (for me at least) what he does in this situation.
I predict one of two scenarios:
1. Franklin coaches at least two more years at PSU and probably gets 8-10 wins a season. Recruiting will be fine for the most part I think - the money is there so players will follow. But he’ll also probably try to make a change at OC to show he’s serious about change (again). Then his buyout is manageable enough to pay him off since the streak of terrible big game losses continues.
2. He decides it’s time for a fresh start and opts for a decent vacancy somewhere in need of programmatic change and desperate for some wins at the end of this year (or if one of said decent schools come calling then sooner).
1. Franklin coaches at least two more years at PSU and probably gets 8-10 wins a season. Recruiting will be fine for the most part I think - the money is there so players will follow. But he’ll also probably try to make a change at OC to show he’s serious about change (again). Then his buyout is manageable enough to pay him off since the streak of terrible big game losses continues.
2. He decides it’s time for a fresh start and opts for a decent vacancy somewhere in need of programmatic change and desperate for some wins at the end of this year (or if one of said decent schools come calling then sooner).
Ah, the old “things can always get worse” argument. We all get it. But this is no longer working for Franklin or the fanbase (who are the real customers).
Nothing will change soon, but watch how the rest of this season plays out. I believe things already are a lot worse with deeper depths coming in 2026 and 2027 before the University will finally act.
Kraft does not need to do anything publicly but he has to address this privately with Franklin. One of your direct reports on the flagship money maker brand is epically failing; you address that. He needs to tell him to get his act together and he is losing confidence in him but probably needs to say he still supports him as to avoid a total toxic and dysfunctional relationship.
As far as firing/buyout, Franklin has all the leverage and the upper hand. We are not paying $50 million or $56 million, whatever it is. I do now believe though if this current trajectory continues and we lose 2 more which is a good prediction and land at 8-4 then there is the possibility Franklin opts to leave Penn State on his own accord. I think if we finish 8-4 and let's just say two competitive losses to Ohio State and Indiana. At that point Kraft needs to tell James that this season was unacceptable and cannot happen again. He needs to tell him some fundamental changes need to happen within the program and he needs to tell him he is NOT getting any more resources. In fact he may have to tell him that NIL may drop because of disappointed donors. He may go as far as telling James that he would support it if James wants to test the waters with other programs and even telling him that he and Penn State are open to working something out for James to get to another place. I would advocate he goes that far and just lays it out for Franklin.
I think that scenario is less than 50% but could be 25% maybe. When you assess that situation the critical question to ask is if Franklin would ever leave for a "lesser" program? Think Va Tech, Arkansas even UCLA. Or he would only leave for a comparable program such as Florida or even USC if that job happens to come open? Who knows the answer. I think Franklin's wife will play a pretty critical role in all of this. Do they like State College? How old are his daughters? Are they still in high school? Do they attend Penn State? There are personal and family matters to consider. Also, how much of this criticism can Franklin AND his family block out? They may just want a fresh start somewhere else.