He was running backs coach then OC for Hal Mumme back in the Air Raid days at UK. His system is more-or-less based on the principles of that, as is the Texas Tech offense, though much more pass happy because Leach is calling the plays.
Franklin was out of coaching for a while--supposedly because he wrote a tell-all book about his time on the UK staff and about their NCAA violations. He then--I **** you not--sold DVDs out of his car at football camps and at coaching clinics to high school coaches telling them how to set up his version of the spread offense.
Personally, I think he's a bit of snake-oil salesman. He's definitely a self-promoter, and he parlayed his rep from the DVDs to get back into D1 coaching at Troy. Maybe he's the second coming of Homer Smith, but I'd say the early returns don't favor it. Best case, he's a really confident coach whose system can't work against big-time defenses. Worst case, he's full of **** and rode his hype to the breaking point.
If he's half the coach he thinks he is, he should be able to figure out what works and adjust to some basic level of competence. Time will tell, I guess.
