James Franklin addresses decision to fire Mike Yurcich
After Penn State‘s loss to Michigan, Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin made the decision to fire offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
Franklin explained on Monday that it was a difficult decision. However, it’s one that had to be made at this point for Penn State.
“Obviously, the first thing is appreciate the contributions that Coach Yurcich made here,” James Franklin said. “Obviously, we made a tough decision that we feel like was in the best interest of the program moving forward. I know there’s going to be some questions and I’ll answer some questions but obviously would like to spend as much time talking about our opponent this week as possible.”
This season, Penn State has the 15th-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 37.7 points per game. That’s excellent. However, the Nittany Lions only scored 12 and 15 points respectively in Penn State’s losses to Ohio State and Michigan. Worse, five-star recruit Drew Allar hasn’t developed as well as many wanted and has struggled to find throws downfield.
At this point, those struggles became too much to overcome and Franklin emphasized that he made the decision to move on.
“This was my decision but, obviously, I don’t do anything in a silo. I run things up the ladder and have conversations, but yeah, this was my decision.”
Penn State still has two games left this season. That starts with Rutgers this weekend. That timing, with season still to play, might seem odd for Franklin to fire Yurcich. However, it was a movie that Franklin felt he had to make right away.
“Very difficult. Very difficult from a personal perspective, very difficult from a professional perspective. In terms of the timing. I think for most people and most situations, if you’ve gotten to the point where you feel like that’s what you’re going to do, I’m not great at faking it. I want to be as transparent and as honest as upfront as I possibly can be,” Franklin said.
“So, when you get to the point that you feel that’s the right decision, then I think you make it and part of that, also, is the belief of the rest of the staff and the guys in the Lasch Building and the locker room. But, to me, when you feel that’s the decision, in my opinion, you don’t delay the decision as long as you feel like you have some internal options that can do it.”
With those two games coming up for Penn State, James Franklin also emphasized that he wanted to see both the creation of a gameplan and that plan’s implementation change moving forward.
“I felt like both of those things needed to change. How we came up with the plan. The implementation of the plan, all those things. The execution of the plan. Obviously, you don’t make the type of decision I made without feeling that way.”
Paul Finebaum says James Franklin will never be elite
Following the loss to Michigan, Paul Finebaum was highly critical of James Franklin, saying he’d never be an elite football coach.
“James Franklin, who parlayed every imaginable job into a nearly $100 million deal, is a good football coach. He’ll never be an elite football coach. He’ll never be great because he just, simply, can’t handle the moment,” Finebaum said.
“Instead of doing what Lane [Kiffin] did last night, said, ‘Screw it? We’re going for it on fourth down!’? James Franklin? His analytics always show ‘always be safe.’ That way we won’t lose by much, that way we’ll still finish 10-2, and I’ll keep my job.”