Penn State is in a tough position.
They have a head coach that has shown he can consistently get the team to double-digit wins, but has also shown an inability to beat top teams, which is a requirement to move beyond double-digit wins and up to national championships.
Until recently, the bottom was beating everyone beneath you, with no major upsets, but that changed this past weekend with the loss to UCLA.
Call me dramatic if you will, but I think Pat Kraft should be doing some investigating into ways
to encourage James Franklin to leave, and avoid the $56M buyout.
So, what are the best rooting interests from here on out? How do you balance wanting the team to succeed with wanting the coach to leave?
This is my own personal mindset at the moment by the way, you’re free to feel however you want about Franklin. I personally have had enough of his teams, and am ready for the next step.
On the one hand, what if Penn State turns it around this year, runs the table, and at least makes the playoff. Given that the goal prior to the year was at least making it to the national championship game, that doesn’t feel like enough to me. Not that PSU has the money to buy out Franklin if that were to be the case, but it’d still feel pretty disappointing.
But maybe that sort of turnaround opens the door for a Florida or Oklahoma State to open their pocketbooks and for James to seek warmer climes. Would that be a good result?
On the other hand, if the Lions absolutely tank from here on out, we’d all be pretty miserable as fans. And while PSU still wouldn’t buy him out, maybe Franklin pays his own way and decides to head out somewhere else. But does a 3-9 or 4-8 kind of season provide him with any “good” openings? Does a team like Virginia Tech or an Auburn even want Franklin if that’s the case?
So how do we all collectively strike a balance where we can enjoy the rest of the season (or seasons! Still possible Franklin just hangs around for another year or two), Franklin can get outta Dodge, and we can all move on amicably (and not bankrupt).
Nevermind who the next guy is, I’m not there yet.
Though I do really, really miss how much fun Franklin used to be. Remember him doing the Carlton? Or jumping up and down, punching Joe Moorhead on the sidelines of the Rose Bowl? The team felt fun back then, now it all just seems like business. Zero fun sir. I wouldn’t hate it if the next guy up brought back some sense of joy to the team. Happiness at succeeding, zeal (if not anger) at losing. Give me a championship or give me death sort of mentality.
Anyway. That’s where I’m at. Ready to move on, but recognizing that the $56M buyout means Penn State needs some sort of thread-the-needle sort of season to encourage Franklin to leave of his own volition. Ideally we can enjoy the rest of the season, and then enjoy a coaching search after James has headed out to his next stop.
