Penn State has a decison to make
Head coach James Franklin's failures in big games is making his job status tenuous
Most people, even diehard Penn State fans, were not surprised by Saturday’s 20-12 loss to Ohio State in Columbus.
That’s because losing big games is what has come to define head coach James Franklin’s tenure at Penn State.
Any Penn Stater could have told you on August 1st that the only game that mattered this season was Saturday’s showdown with the Buckeyes. With a win, then you can look forward to the showdown a few weeks later against Michigan in Happy Valley. But first things first.
A week prior, the Nittany Lions scored 63 points against UMass.
However, come Saturday, the Lions struggled, as they seemingly always do, when it really counts. Franklin, once again, proved he is maybe the worst in-game coach of any Power 5 program that I can recall, and maybe only because the long list of evidence he leaves behind is overwhelming.
The 2017 Rose Bowl. With a 42-27 lead in the third quarter, Franklin saw the lead evaporate before falling 52-49, after being outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter.
The year prior, in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl, Franklin lost to an interim head coach, Bryan McClendon, who was leading a Georgia Bulldogs football team that was in disarray. Since then, the Bulldogs have only won two national championships and are currently undefeated and ranked No. 1.
Against the Big Ten’s Big Two (Ohio State and Michigan), Franklin’s record now stands at 4-15. He hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2016.
After 10 years, it’s become apparent that Penn State’s administration and power players have a real decision to make for the future of a program that will spend $700 million on Beaver Stadium renovations in hopes of holding future college football playoff games.
Do they stand pat with 10-2 seasons, possible outside chances at college football playoff appearances, and packed stadiums on fall Saturdays while reaping the financial benefits of parking, beer sales, and the college football industrial complex that is Penn State?
What’s the alternative? Ask Nebraska.
Following coach Tom Osborne’s retirement in 1997, the program is now on its sixth head coach, with Matt Rhule, and has lost 59 games since just the 2015 season. Under Osborne, the team lost a total of 49 games in 25 years.
The Cornhuskers are meddling in the Big Ten West division, a college football afterthought, and a far cry from its dominance on the college football landscape of the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
Penn State has already replaced a legendary head coach in Joe Paterno.
Bill O’Brien did one of the greatest coaching jobs ever, in keeping the program afloat during a period that saw the program face draconian sanctions from the NCAA before leaving for the NFL and the Houston Texans head coaching job.
That opened the door for Franklin, who was coming off three straight bowl appearances at Vanderbilt (!), including back-to-back 9-4 seasons in the rough and tumble world of SEC football.
Franklin has done nothing off the field to embarass Penn State. He is a model citizen. He’s a helluva recruiter!
However, there is a used-car salesman aspect to Franklin that seems more interested in scheming for the next lucrative payday than about, I don’t know, offensive schemes to beat Ohio State.
Following the last few seasons, Franklin always seems to be flirting, either directly or indirectly, with the next biggest coaching vacancy, whether it’s Texas or USC. It feels like he holds the guillotine over the heads of the Board of Trustees, threating to severe ties, and they have reacted in kind, delivering him a 10-year contract extension in 2021 worth $70 million.
There’s also the matter of buyout clauses. For instance, if Penn State were to fire Franklin this year, he would receive a $64 million buyout. Conversely, if he were to leave for another job after this season, something many Penn Staters are now wishing for, he would only owe Penn State $2 million.
This leaves Penn State in a pickle. Fire a coach that can almost guarantee 10-2 or 9-3 seasons (at worst), or roll the dice and bring in a new coach who might be able to get the Nittany Lions over the hump that is Ohio State and Michigan?
And at what cost? Not only dollars and cents, but to the institution’s reputation.
History is loaded with stories of programs that are shredded by decisions made or not made by the heads of their program. Recruiting violations, sexual assault cases, murder. It’s a scary world out there.
So does Penn State simply hope for future appearances (and the financial rewards) in the expanded college football playoff, or cut ties with Franklin and try to bring in the next big coaching name?
So Penn State has a decision to make. It won’t be easy.
It might not be popular either.