When I met newly hired Penn State football coach James Franklin back in 2008, he was the recruiting coordinator at Maryland, and I, a Track and Field coach at Seneca Valley High School. I was preparing some of my athletes for the PIAA State Championships and Franklin was there to recruit Raiders QB, CJ Brown. As he watched me working with one of my relays at practice, he approached to talk. The interaction we had, all of 10 minutes, made an impression on me. He asked insightful questions, he listened intently, he gave me the feeling that everything discussed in that brief encounter was worth his time. His engaging personality made you feel important, and I took notice.
I became an instant fan of Franklin and it was then I decided to keep an eye on him…
In that time, Franklin became nothing short of a miracle worker, taking arguably as difficult a job in college football at Vanderbilt and building them into a relevant Top 25 ranked program the past two seasons. This was after not finishing the year in the final polls since 1948. For perspective, Joe Paterno was PLAYING, not coaching, at Brown University in 1948. Furthermore, Franklin did this in the SEC, the best conference in football, along with having to deal with a myriad of other obstacles; rigorous academic standards, the immense shadow of in-state rival Tennessee, along with facing the stigma of well, being Vanderbilt Football.
Certainly all of this would give you the impression that hiring Franklin is a home run. Not just a home run, a Pedro Alvarez river shot home run. Hard to argue really, recruiting is going to be a major strength of the Franklin regime, and obviously recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. We also would conclude that if Franklin can win at Vandy, then what might be on the horizon in Happy Valley?
Money, tradition, top flight facilities; With Franklin to lead the program, it’s all in place. It seems like everything is set for kind of success Nittany Lions fans grew accustomed to. The idea that PSU football can move on from the nightmare that has been the past three years, seems to be a realistic goal and one that is destined to happen under the leadership of one of college football’s hottest coaches, right? Or is it that simple?
During Franklin’s tenure at Vanderbilt last June, four players were accused of rape and were formerly charged in August. Each player was suspended and banned from campus, actions that clearly made sense considering the gravity of the charges. Sadly, on top of the heinous charges of rape, alarming claims of a potential cover up that may have involved members of the Vanderbilt coaching staff left more questions. One of these accusations claimed that Franklin himself assisted in the cover up, done by instructing one of the accused to delete a tape of the incident.
To be clear, no evidence, none, has been found to legally implicate Franklin in any way. He has not been charged, he has not been disciplined, not by the NCAA, not by Vanderbilt. This is a distinction the powers that be at Penn State or many avid Nittany Lion fans would be certain to remind us all. Why would they not? They have been on the defense since the gravity of the Sandusky scandal ripped Penn State apart at the seams. The last thing they would ever want is another scandal, another question of whether morality or decency took the back seat to business of winning football.
That begs the essential question — Considering such grievous actions happening under the watch of Franklin, does hiring him to lead a program that has dealt with so much turmoil seem like an unnecessary risk? Who is to say that newly discovered evidence might not directly implicate Franklin? This would be an unmitigated disaster, obviously. At the very least, does one not have the right to ask considering the fragile state of PSU football, that hiring a coach that had such disturbing behavior happen under his watch might raise some serious concerns and questions?
Like I said, I was blown away by Franklin personally, and under normal circumstances, he’s the perfect hire. These are not normal circumstances, and with PSU under so much scrutiny, one might wonder if its going to be worth it. Al Golden, a coach seemingly void of potential baggage, would have made perfect sense. He too resurrected an awful program at Temple, not to mention ably leading the University of Miami, a high profile program currently dealing with NCAA sanctions themselves. As a PSU alum, Golden would have taken the job in a heartbeat, and would have considered it a destination job.
This could be another issue with Franklin. Does he see State College as long-term landing place? Or, was he simply tired of running up hill trying to keep Vanderbilt playing at a high level? One might also wonder, how long until the NFL comes calling? Especially if Franklin is able to build upon the momentum gained under recent NFL defector, Bill O’Brien. These are all significant questions, and they may not all be fair. However, PSU in 2014 is not just another job, and the program will continue to be under the microscope in the wake of the worst scandal in the history of college sports. With this in mind, this writer ask quite honestly, was James Franklin a wise choice?
