Josh Pate reacts to Penn State firing James Franklin

Penn State fired James Franklin on Sunday halfway through his dozenth season in University Park. And, for that massive decision this afternoon, Josh Pate doesn’t know if the Nittany Lions realize what they might have just done and risked with their program.

He, on ‘Josh Pate’s College Football Show’ this evening, reacted to Franklin’s firing. He was as surprised as anyone in how this turned on him the last two weeks, with the Nittany Lions seemingly quitting on him over three consecutive losses to No. 6 Oregon first, sure, but then the past two at UCLA and to Northwestern to fall to 3-3, which ended any hopes of them achieving anything they previously hoped to in the Big Ten or the College Football Playoff.

“15 days ago, James Franklin was the head coach of a top-five team up seven in overtime against Oregon. Today, he is out of a job. He is unemployed as of today,” said Pate.

“I told you, at the conclusion of that game the following night, that that Oregon loss was more than one game. And, I know the glass-half-full approach to that was, ‘Oh, it’s just one conference loss’. Well, it wasn’t. It wasn’t. If you know Penn State Football, you know that was a lot more than one loss,” Pate said. “The reason it was a lot more than one loss is because that team was on the brink. It was built in such a way, they hoped that it could compete for the richest prize that this sport has to offer. The problem with that in the modern age is, if that’s how you’re geared, that’s how your team is engineered and then they realize, uh oh, we’re going to fall short of that? They really could just take the foot off the gas permanently, and that’s what happened to Penn State Football this year – long story short.”

Franklin finished his tenure at Penn State with a record of 104-45 (.698), including six double-digit win records, two appearances with one win in the Big Ten Championship, and ten postseason appearances with one of those being last season in finally making, and reaching the semifinals of, the CFP. We all know the shortcomings in big-time games against ranked opponents but, all in all, it was a successful era in the history of the Nittany Lions.

However, with where this season was headed after yesterday’s loss, Penn State clearly didn’t feel that way anymore, or at least didn’t about their future under Franklin. So, the Nittany Lions will pay him roughly around $50 million to no longer be their head coach. However, while this decision may have been necessary or worth it to them, or may work out in the end pending how their next coach does, Pate isn’t sure if anyone associated with their program has thought this all the way through, especially if they don’t get it right with Franklin’s replacement.

“James Franklin, in his 12th season as the head coach at Penn State? Double-digit win seasons the last three years, 34-8 the last three years? Two College Football Playoff wins last year, one play away from the national title game last year? He’s no longer good enough to be the head coach at Penn State. That’s the short version of that. In fact, James Franklin was so out of place, was so ill-qualified to be the head coach at Penn State, now and moving forward, that they were willing to pay him somewhere along the lines of $50 million not to coach their anymore. That’s how certain they are that they think they can do better than James Franklin. I think they’re insane, but that’s how much better they think they can do than James Franklin,” said Pate. “Now, I’m old enough to have remembered when Florida was ignorant enough to feel the same way and got rid of Dan Mullen. I’m old enough to remember when Auburn was ignorant enough to think the same way and they got rid of Guz Malzahn…I have since realized that it is not ten or trash in college football. It’s not the top rung of the ladder or the bottom rung of the ladder. There happen to be several rungs on the ladder – that’s the nature of a ladder. And, in the coaching profession? You’ve got the best, you’ve got the worst and most guys are somewhere in between. And James Franklin, by my estimation, was way closer to the top than the bottom. But Penn State is sure that they can do better, so they’re going to pay, in this economy, $50 million or so to prove it to themselves. That’s not to mention what they’re going to have to pay the new staff, and we don’t even know who that’s going to be.”

“What I’m saying is, you can admit all that and also admit this guy has been really good in his twelve-year run here. Mind you, that twelve-year run is coming not too far on the heels of some of the most scandal-plagued eras in college football history, and this guy didn’t have a whiff of it…What I’m saying is, I thought he had a lot more equity built up than this,” continued Pate. “So, just – I know where fan sentiment was…But, see, you know what no one wanted? No one wanted to be reminded that they asked for this…You asked for the previous guy, who was doing a better job, to be fired, and, at that point, a million variables are in play. That goes for Penn State. You don’t know who you can hire. You know you got a lot of money up there, and you think your job is among the best in the country. But, are you really going to do definitively better than that? You were the eighth rung on a ten-rung ladder. I’d love to be rung ten as well…How many of them are there out there? You’d better have one. That’s the only thing that makes this kind of decision worth it.”

This remained Pate’s point throughout his reaction to Franklin’s dismissal. He is unsure if anyone realizes that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the coaching fence, and that’s where the Nittany Lions are now venturing to, to finish this season and going into the future with this choice.

“I don’t think people have recalibrated their college football world view to account for the modern age of college football, is what I’m saying. You’re still living in a world, and you’re not the only ones, where nine wins is the floor…It’s not worst-case. That ain’t worst-case anywhere anymore, and that even includes Ohio State or Georgia or Alabama. Not necessarily this year, but I’m saying, when the worst happens…nine wins is no longer the floor. The rosters are thinner. The motivations are different for a million different reasons. The dynamics have changed in college football, and you have got to bake in the possibility of a dead season,” said Pate. “The best of the best have to bake in that possibility, and I don’t think they have. I don’t think fanbases have. I don’t think donors have. In some cases, I don’t think administrative types have. And, they have a dead season on their hands at Penn State.”

In the end, Pate put it as plainly as possible. He can understand why Penn State thought they had to do it, but he himself thinks this, considering all things about his career there as well as what this is going to cost them, both monetarily now and potentially on the field in the future, was absurd when it came to Franklin.

“Listen, I need to be very respectful here…I know Penn State fans were tired of it. I know what your standard is for your program. I get it. I’d feel the same way. I’m up there a lot. I love Penn State. I get it. You think you should be competing for national championships because you invest every bit emotionally and financially to the same degree that Ohio State does…I get that logic. Completely understand it. I’m also respectful that this is your program. This is not my program, so, really, your opinion matters more than mine…(But) I think firing him is insane,” said Pate. “I think Penn State firing him right now, off of 34-8 the past three years, one play away from a national championship appearance last year, is insane. And, thinking you can do better, to the tune of paying $50 million in buyout money to prove it, is insane – to me.”