Josh Pate Discusses Penn State Firing James Franklin, Coaching Search

The Penn State athletic administration made a move this past weekend that sent shockwaves through college football, firing longtime head coach James Franklin. Since then, it’s been a rollercoaster of a ride for the program and fans, who have not been in this position for over a decade. Today, Josh Pate joins the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel to discuss the move, reflect on the end of Franklin’s tenure at the program, and give his thoughts on what the next head coach in Happy Valley needs to bring to the job.

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Pate and Sean Fitz discuss the end of the Franklin era

Reporter and publisher Sean Fitz discusses how the end of the Franklin era came about and the human side of things for the Penn State leader. While Pate had a good relationship with Franklin, he debates both sides of the argument about why the team should move on from the 12-year leader of the program after a 3-3 start to the season and back-to-back bad losses to UCLA and Northwestern.

The duo then discusses the state of college football expectations when a slump like this is the end of a run for one of the winningest coaches in program history.

Is Penn State “that” program?

Of course, the expectation for athletic director Pat Kraft is that the team will hire the best candidate and meet or exceed expectations in short order. But how realistic is that? We discuss whether Penn State can be “that” program that springs from the hiring of a new coach into a more successful era of football. However, they could also be the top-eight team that falls far behind their original position and looks for the next great coach for several cycles.

It’s also a great time to get a big-picture perspective on the situation. Is Penn State a destination job the way fans think it is? Where does the program stack up nationally? We discuss that before Pate shares the qualities in a coach that fit the program, then his favorite names in the coaching search, who he thinks fit that description.