POLL: Your Choice for Next PSU Head Coach?

[BCS PSU]

Technically, 2011 doesn’t count. Tom Bradley was the interim coach for that game. He beat a 6-7 Ohio St team with Luke Fickell as a fill in after Tressel was fired. The best thing Bradley did for that game was to tell Jay to stop playing Rob Bolden. So, let’s look at Paterno vs Ohio State from 1993 when they began B1G play. Paterno beat OSU 6 times in 18 years. That’s a winning pct of 33%. Better than Franklin? Yes. Worth claiming we were beating OSU consistently? No. Occasionally? Yes.

I know Bradley coached the 2011 game, but it still was a Paterno team IMO.

Also, I really don’t care what OSU’s records were when Paterno beat them. One of the reasons why OSU had those records is because they lost to PSU. I don’t ever hear people mitigate Ryan Day’s wins against PSU because he beat two and three loss and sometimes worse PSU teams.

The fact is that from 1994 to 2011, PSU was 7-11 against OSU, which isn’t great but wasn’t a disaster compared to the 1-10 under Franklin.

 

[LB99]

I know Bradley coached the 2011 game, but still was a Paterno team IMO.

Also, I really don’t care what OSU’s records were when Pattern beat them. One of the reasons why OSU had those records is because they lost to PSU. I don’t ever hear people mitigate Ryan Day’s wins against PSU because he beat two and three loss and sometimes worse PSU teams.

The fact is that from 1994 to 2011, PSU was 7-11 against OSU, which isn’t great but wasn’t a disaster compared to the 1-10 under Franklin.

1993-2010. 6 wins. Part of the reason they won in 2011 is because Bradley had the balls to tell Jay that Bolden wasn’t playing. Regardless, we weren’t beating OSU consistently.

 

[Itraindogs]

Why would 2027 be gutted as a recruiting class? The new coach is going to have a year to fill that class and, if he’s an existing head coach who will bring his staff with him, he’s probably going to be able to switch the verbal commitments of several of his recruits.

Also, pardon me for being skeptical, but we’re watching a lot of Franklin’s recruits right now and they don’t look so good. I don’t care how highly the 2027 verbals were ranked, my guess is that those players just would’ve played on teams that would’ve continued to lose to OSU, Oregon and ND.

Let me start with your second point. Franklin has 45 of his previous players currently on NFL rosters and there are several players on this team that will play in the NFL, whether they are performing in this system or not. The issue here is less about blue chip talent and more about scheme fit. Franklin made two massive miscalculations that cost him his job. 1. Andy Kotelnicki's offense was not a fit for the players that were on the roster, but there are excellent players on this roster that are not being used to their potential and skill set; 2. Knowles. He came in with an entirely new scheme and the players he had a} needed time to adjust and b} needed different players. They went into the season with 2 competent LBs and one went down. The results are obvious as they cannot stop the run. He swung big and missed. But as a recruiter, James is excellent. 2. 27. All the top end QBs are committed, so either they flip one, the coach brings someone with him or they will have to pay several millions in the portal. Bottom line the top end talent will likely be committed elsewhere by the time the new coach is hired and starts recruiting.

What are you expecting to happen?

 

[KingLando]

Dramatic? You need to put down the blue colored glasses. If you are looking for an immediate improvement you are not paying attention. The portal may mitigate things a bit but it will not fix the recruiting and roster losses. Unless the next coach brings their entire staff and players with them (Cignetti at Indiana) you will likely be looking at something comparable to what is going on at FSU for the immediate future (which is surrounded by MUCH better talent than PSU).

No, If I were Kiffin I would not leave a stable program where I am paid well and am successful to rebuild a dumpster fire. Kiffin is not going to put up with any of the ******** that surrounds Penn State football,

Franklin is a good not great coach. He will be successful elsewhere, but given the toxicity of everything surrounding the program he did need to move on.

Point is this: Penn State can do a lot worse than Franklin and if you think the next coach thinking about a move is not weighing the fact that Penn State fired the coach that made the final four the year before you are thinking like a PSU homer.

We will see how this plays out.

But let me ask this question. Given that 26 and 27 are gutted in terms of recruiting and the current roster will likely be depleted, what are your realistic expectations for the next 3 years

What blue colored glasses? Like 30% of this board think I'm a Michigan or an Ohio State fan lol

We're now a dumpster fire after making the playoff a year ago? Get real. See what Elko did at A&M so far.

We can do worse or better...no one has said otherwise. You acknowledge he had to leave. He's gone. That's a win.

You care way too much about recruiting for classes that aren't finalized. None of those guys were guaranteed to sign here anyways.

I don't have any expectations for the next 3 years. We need to see who is hired and then see their plan.

Again, this is fear based. We're 3-4 right now and winless in Big Ten play. It's not going to be much worse.

 

[BCS PSU]

Let me start with your second point. Franklin has 45 of his previous players currently on NFL rosters and there are several players on this team that will play in the NFL, whether they are performing in this system or not. The issue here is less about blue chip talent and more about scheme fit. Franklin made two massive miscalculations that cost him his job. 1. Andy Kotelnicki's offense was not a fit for the players that were on the roster, but there are excellent players on this roster that are not being used to their potential and skill set; 2. Knowles. He came in with an entirely new scheme and the players he had a} needed time to adjust and b} needed different players. They went into the season with 2 competent LBs and one went down. The results are obvious as they cannot stop the run. He swung big and missed. But as a recruiter, James is excellent. 2. 27. All the top end QBs are committed, so either they flip one, the coach brings someone with him or they will have to pay several millions in the portal. Bottom line the top end talent will likely be committed elsewhere by the time the new coach is hired and starts recruiting.

What are you expecting to happen?

The 2027 class won’t sign until December 2026, and the new coach presumably will be hired sometime in early to mid December 2025. Until December 2026, verbals can flip like Spell was going to do even before Franklin was fired. Like I said, if PSU hires an existing head coach, that coach is going to have in-roads to the players whom he was recruiting to his current school, and my guess is that several of his recruits will switch to PSU.

Regarding Franklin as a recruiter, to me it’s been too much style over substance. You mentioned about the lack of Big 10 caliber linebackers on this roster, and whose fault is that? And just look at the lack of Big 10 caliber d-linemen who were PSU recruits on this roster. Again, whose fault is that? When you take a deep dive at Franklin’s latest recruiting classes, and I don’t care about rankings but only on-field production, it really doesn’t look that great.

 

[BobPSU92]

I’m writing myself in for coach. I can’t possibly be more inept

I could be more inept, but I’d like a shot. Kraft can have me for $2 MM.

 

[Classof09]

I could be more inept, but I’d like a shot. Kraft can have me for $2 MM.

But what is the scone budget? Can Kraft afford that??

 

[PSUSignore]

Under Paterno between 94 and 11, PSU beat OSU 7 times (94, 97, 99, 01, 05, 08 and 11).

Now do Iowa and Michigan. OSU in that era wasn't at the level they are now. They are in the midst of one of the most successful runs in CFB history.

 

[Pa$ky859]

Honestly, I haven’t heard one realistic coaching option who has wowed me yet.

I am not worried about being able to get someone. Coaches will crawl to Happy Valley. I’m just worried about getting the right one.

 

[PSUwolf]

You don’t think that is possibly coach speak?

Exactly what I was thinking when I read that......he has to say something like that

 

[PSUwolf]

After this season Indiana will likely have twice as many playoff appearances as Penn State. Think about that.

That is pretty sad

 

[PSUSignore]

Honestly, I haven’t heard one realistic coaching option who has wowed me yet.

I am not worried about being able to get someone. Coaches will crawl to Happy Valley. I’m just worried about getting the right one.

There aren't any "wow" coaches that are realistic. The big "wow" guys would be Saban, Urban, Day, Smart, Lanning. That's about it and none of them are coming. That's why one of the counterpoints to firing Franklin has always been, who are your going to get that's better? By losing to UCLA and NW and not looking very good in every other game Franklin left us little choice, but now we are faced with the reality that anyone we hire will not a be a sure thing and is likely to have some issues on paper that could make firing Franklin look like a mistake. But we reached the point where we didn't have an option anymore and have to take the risk.

 

[Ram20]

The 2027 class won’t sign until December 2026, and the new coach presumably will be hired sometime in early to mid December 2025. Until December 2026, verbals can flip like Spell was going to do even before Franklin was fired. Like I said, if PSU hires an existing head coach, that coach is going to have in-roads to the players whom he was recruiting to his current school, and my guess is that several of his recruits will switch to PSU.

Regarding Franklin as a recruiter, to me it’s been too much style over substance. You mentioned about the lack of Big 10 caliber linebackers on this roster, and whose fault is that? And just look at the lack of Big 10 caliber d-linemen who were PSU recruits on this roster. Again, whose fault is that? When you take a deep dive at Franklin’s latest recruiting classes, and I don’t care about rankings but only on-field production, it really doesn’t look that great.

Hackenberg said on a podcast that Franklin recruited a lot of "freakish" guys but they weren't football players. Something that has been said on this board time to time.

 

[Knickslions69]

Hackenberg said on a podcast that Franklin recruited a lot of "freakish" guys but they weren't football players. Something that has been said on this board time to time.

He put a lot of those freaks in nfl

 

[Ram20]

He put a lot of those freaks in nfl

100% his high end recruits have been unbelievable in the NFL. I won't disagree.

 

[SRURock24]

He put a lot of those freaks in nfl

I was at one of his camps with my son awhile back and he had two receivers who eventually signed one of whom played very little and another who transferred out dunking the ball over the crossbar.

 

[NoSoup4U]

He put a lot of those freaks in nfl

Um those freaks put themselves in the NFL. You re talking 22 year old kids that have yet to hit their athletic peak in 5 years (age 27) that means NFL teams will have more years of clay to work with than colleges do in terms of fit and polish before a male athlete hits his athletic prime

all NFL teams salivate at the numbers (why the combine exists) sure they like to see what production you accumulated and against whom, in but 4 years or even less of development, It in many ways is a formula that they ALSO try to figure out how much to undo from those years. to whihc maybe JF had little impact on their development (lack thereof) and therefore the NFL has less to undo with these athletes

 

[Auxgym]

I chose Hartline, but with the caveat that Urban Meyer is HC and Hartline is asst. HC/OC.

Looking forward to when the new coach is named,so I don’t have to hear the idiotic Urban Meyer references anymore.

 

[LMTLION]

Looking forward to when the new coach is named,so I don’t have to hear the idiotic Urban Meyer references anymore.

Yeah, there is 0% chance that Urban would even be contacted. After Sandusky, PSU is not going to even entertain a candidate that has the allegation of the cover-up or mishandling of domestic violence on their résumé.

 

[84lion]

Looking forward to when the new coach is named,so I don’t have to hear the idiotic Urban Meyer references anymore.

You’d better hope that Meyer does want to “come to Penn Shtaaate” because I daresay his is the only name out there that would put Penn State in a competitive position right off the bat, a “wow” hire. The other names I’m seeing are assuming that Penn State’s resources could push them to becoming the next Ryan Day or Kirby Smart. Even if that wishin’ and hopin’ comes true, it’s going to take time to get that done – and every lean year will be a momentum killer. And Meyer has done a superb job in past of training good coaches. OK, Luke Fickell - but he did have success at Cincinnati.

We’re all just spitballing here – tell me why hiring Meyer is “idiotic.”

Yeah, there is 0% chance that Urban would even be contacted. After Sandusky, PSU is not going to even entertain a candidate that has the allegation of the cover-up or mishandling of domestic violence on their résumé.

If Kraft is really serious about making Penn State a title contender, ignoring Meyer because of past allegations would be an idiotic move indeed. Besides, I thought that the Sandusky scandal was supposed to be a "distant memory" by now...

All that said, I am expecting Kraft to do something idiotic with this hire, so I think you both are going to get your wish!

 

[BobPSU92]

Come on, guys. meyer is a scumbag. For f*ck’s sake.

 

[LB99]

Come on, guys. meyer is a scumbag. For f*ck’s sake.

This is what we are up against.

 

[Fred8811]

Come on, guys. meyer is a scumbag. For f*ck’s sake.

Come on, guys. meyer is a scumbag. For f*ck’s sake.

Explain.

 

[Bkmtnittany1]

Anyone mentioning the GT coach?

 

[Nitt1300]

Explain.

seriously?

 

[LMTLION]

You’d better hope that Meyer does want to “come to Penn Shtaaate” because I daresay his is the only name out there that would put Penn State in a competitive position right off the bat, a “wow” hire. The other names I’m seeing are assuming that Penn State’s resources could push them to becoming the next Ryan Day or Kirby Smart. Even if that wishin’ and hopin’ comes true, it’s going to take time to get that done – and every lean year will be a momentum killer. And Meyer has done a superb job in past of training good coaches. OK, Luke Fickell - but he did have success at Cincinnati.

We’re all just spitballing here – tell me why hiring Meyer is “idiotic.”


If Kraft is really serious about making Penn State a title contender, ignoring Meyer because of past allegations would be an idiotic move indeed. Besides, I thought that the Sandusky scandal was supposed to be a "distant memory" by now...

All that said, I am expecting Kraft to do something idiotic with this hire, so I think you both are going to get your wish!

It’s not about getting my wish. It’s recognizing the reality of the situation that Urban Meyer was punished for essentially covering up domestic violence perpetrated by one of his coaches. There is no chance that post Sandusky Penn State would ever entertain his candidacy. Kraft wouldn’t, and even if he did, there is no chance in this universe or any other alternative universe that exists that the Penn State Board of trustees would approve his candidacy for head coach. It ain’t happening. It would rekindle the national narrative that Penn State prioritizes football above the reporting of abuse of any kind. It would damage the reputation of the university. The narrative would be awful and take on many different forms.

 

[NoSoup4U]

So in the post 2016-2018 world of contract negotiations and huge buyouts agreed upon...do we now see buyouts as being a thing of the past and salaries front loaded???

After all if coaching changes are going to be really every 4-6 years now at end of that term that coach will ask for extension anyway right? who will negotiate buyouts long term? I suspect no one will as the 'at time of end of contract' will be the price based on performance no?

 

[cjrugger]

‘The most toxic environment I’ve ever been a part of’: Inside Urban Meyer’s disastrous year with Jaguars

According to coaches, players and staff, Meyer crossed the line from tough and demanding to belittling, demeaning and leading by fear.

www.nytimes.com

As society has evolved, Urban Meyer hasn't

If this is it for Urban Meyer at Ohio State, his downfall will be traced back to his time at Florida, when a different set of rules applied to title-winning coaches.

www.espn.com

Dancing with Urban Meyer is ‘ruining’ woman’s life

The mother of a woman seen dancing on Urban Meyer last weekend is very concerned about her daughter.

nypost.com

 

[PhillyBillyReprise]

Let’s see. do I want to coach at at a school that just fired a coach with @ .700 record? The $$$ better be right.

 

[WaffleShopper]

It’s not about getting my wish. It’s recognizing the reality of the situation that Urban Meyer was punished for essentially covering up domestic violence perpetrated by one of his coaches. There is no chance that post Sandusky Penn State would ever entertain his candidacy. Kraft wouldn’t, and even if he did, there is no chance in this universe or any other alternative universe that exists that the Penn State Board of trustees would approve his candidacy for head coach. It ain’t happening. It would rekindle the national narrative that Penn State prioritizes football above the reporting of abuse of any kind. It would damage the reputation of the university. The narrative would be awful and take on many different forms.

Would be interesting to hear Fox Sports report on how horrible it was for Penn State to hire Urban after they employed him for 7 years. Funny thing is that’s probably what would happen.

 

[LMTLION]

‘The most toxic environment I’ve ever been a part of’: Inside Urban Meyer’s disastrous year with Jaguars

According to coaches, players and staff, Meyer crossed the line from tough and demanding to belittling, demeaning and leading by fear.

www.nytimes.com

As society has evolved, Urban Meyer hasn't

If this is it for Urban Meyer at Ohio State, his downfall will be traced back to his time at Florida, when a different set of rules applied to title-winning coaches.

www.espn.com

Dancing with Urban Meyer is ‘ruining’ woman’s life

The mother of a woman seen dancing on Urban Meyer last weekend is very concerned about her daughter.

nypost.com

Thank you, some of posters need to be exposed to reality. A number of our folks believed Saban was also a viable candidate, until he trashed us on Saturday. Another contingent still believes we can outbid Tx AM or Mizzou for their current likely playoff-bound coaches. None of this fantasy is happening. It was always Cambell , Rhule, Diaz, or an up and coming comer P4 or G5 coach.

 

[cjrugger]

Thank you, some of posters need to be exposed to reality. A number of our folks believed Saban was also a viable candidate, until he trashed us on Saturday. Another contingent still believes we can outbid Tx AM or Mizzou for their current likely playoff-bound coaches. None of this fantasy is happening. It was always Cambell , Rhule, Diaz, or an up and coming comer P4 or G5 coach.

I’d say discussions about Meyer and Saban are a waste of time.

By all accounts, we have the ability and willingness to pay Kiffin, Drinkwitz and Elko more than they’re making right now. Then the question becomes how interested they are and how far are their current employers and Florida willing to go. I don’t think they’re likely but I don’t think they’re fantasy

 

[LMTLION]

I’d say discussions about Meyer and Saban are a waste of time.

By all accounts, we have the ability and willingness to pay Kiffin, Drinkwitz and Elko more than they’re making right now. Then the question becomes how interested they are and how far are their current employers and Florida willing to go. I don’t think they’re likely but I don’t think they’re fantasy

Hope you are right about Elko in particular. I need to have it explained to me by an insider where the dollars and BOT support exist to pull it off, though. Perhaps donors who were unhappy with Franklin would pick up the tab? I cannot see the university doing it alone, although I was wrong about the ability to fire Franklin. I would be happy with Matt Campbell and he would be had at a relative discount.

 

[cjrugger]

Hope you are right about Elko in particular. I need to have it explained to me by an insider where the dollars and BOT support exist to pull it off, though. Perhaps donors who were unhappy with Franklin would pick up the tab? I cannot see the university doing it alone, although I was wrong about the ability to fire Franklin. I would be happy with Matt Campbell and he would be had at a relative discount.

I don’t think the BOT matters. Kraft and athletics have a huge and growing amount of money. They wouldn’t have fired James if money was an issue

 

[Hotshoe]

Yeah, there is 0% chance that Urban would even be contacted. After Sandusky, PSU is not going to even entertain a candidate that has the allegation of the cover-up or mishandling of domestic violence on their résumé.

He's already talked to Penn State and Pat Kraft.

 

[Hotshoe]

This is what we are up against.

Bob is right and it's why even Michigan State wouldn't hire Meyer. Nor, anyone else

 

[MacNit]

There aren't any "wow" coaches that are realistic. The big "wow" guys would be Saban, Urban, Day, Smart, Lanning. That's about it and none of them are coming. That's why one of the counterpoints to firing Franklin has always been, who are your going to get that's better? By losing to UCLA and NW and not looking very good in every other game Franklin left us little choice, but now we are faced with the reality that anyone we hire will not a be a sure thing and is likely to have some issues on paper that could make firing Franklin look like a mistake. But we reached the point where we didn't have an option anymore and have to take the risk.

None of those guys you listed were “sure things” - some were never HCs before getting huge success.

 

[MtNittany]

Eye bleach to combat the Coach Prime picture...

 

[JoeLion]

Can lightning strike twice? The HC at Vandy?

 

[PSU4U]

What blue colored glasses? Like 30% of this board think I'm a Michigan or an Ohio State fan lol

We're now a dumpster fire after making the playoff a year ago? Get real. See what Elko did at A&M so far.

We can do worse or better...no one has said otherwise. You acknowledge he had to leave. He's gone. That's a win.

You care way too much about recruiting for classes that aren't finalized. None of those guys were guaranteed to sign here anyways.

I don't have any expectations for the next 3 years. We need to see who is hired and then see their plan.

Again, this is fear based. We're 3-4 right now and winless in Big Ten play. It's not going to be much worse.

And sadly, We Are not getting Elko.