Penn State’s past as a football powerhouse may be over, but a new era is coming. After the House that Paterno built crumbled in 2012, critics and fans alike made their own conclusions about whether or not the legendary football program would or even could ever claw its way back to its former glory.
The program found some stability in Bill O’Brien, but then he abruptly left at the end of 2013, just two years into his tenure, and sent the university, which was accustomed to one man holding the job for a lifetime, into a panic.
Along came James Franklin, who, in his own words, was “born and raised” in Pennsylvania and thought that he might like to take a stab at one of the most important positions in the Penn State, and even further, the central Pennsylvania, community.
The question of whether or not Franklin knew what he was getting himself into had to be asked. The challenges of the scandal and the sanctions seemed insurmountable to many, but Franklin has some experience in rebuilding college football teams. To him, Penn State was “fractured” in the last three years, but not unfixable; he’s spoken about the opportunities that Penn State will have over the next few years on many occasions. That doesn’t mean that he thinks he is the end all, be all for the Nittany Lions, though.
When asked point-blank if he thought that he would be the one to bring back Penn State football, his answer was short, sweet, and to the point.
“No.”
He later gave an explanation for his refusal to accept the title of savior.
“It has very little to do with James Franklin. It has to do with the fans, it has to do with the alumni, all the former players, the current players, the assistant coaches, the trainers, the doctors, the video, the fans that show up and sell out every single game; we’re all a part of this.”
Franklin is all about fixing things. He was hired at Vanderbilt to fix a struggling team in one of the nation’s strongest football conferences and in his three years at the university, got the Commodores to three bowls and a 24-15 overall record, averaging eight wins a year. He then left, buying out his contract and accepting the head coaching position at Penn State.
At Penn State, he started out with a bang, managing to keep nearly all of O’Brien’s recruits, bring some of his own, commit a few high school stars, and revamp the coaching staff. He gave Penn State its first 4-0 start since 2008 and his upcoming recruiting classes are highly ranked. He oversaw Penn State’s first bowl win since 2010. Even when he lost games, his mantra was “fix, fix, fix.”
Now comes the most challenging part for Franklin: sticking around long enough to see the fruits of his labor. He has a detailed development plan in place for the Nittany Lions, but his restlessness in the past has fans waiting on bated breath to see if he follows through on his promise of coaching Penn State through the long-term changes it needs to make.
So now the question becomes whether or not Franklin can deliver results. He is a natural salesman; quick fixes and grand promises comes easily to him, but is maintaining a consistently good team within his power?
After the 4-0 start, Penn State dropped four straight games and Franklin promised to “get it fixed.” He eventually did, but only after harsh criticism that attacked his system for being too progressive for the traditional Penn State football program.
Bowl eligibility and an eventual postseason win calmed most of the critics, and Franklin doesn’t appear to have his eyes on any other coaching positions for the immediate future, but that does not mean that his job is done.
Penn State is far from being whole. Franklin and company will have to put in a lot of work over the next few years if they hope to regain the national relevance of Penn State’s storied football program.
Franklin understands the importance of staying on top of his team and the work that goes into getting better. “We’re going to do a lot of off-season studies. We’re going to evaluate everything, starting with myself.”
Franklin maintains that he is not the not the answer to Penn State’s future, but rather just a cog in the machine that runs Penn State football.
“Everybody has a part in that. I believe that when Penn State is together and we’re all pulling the rope in the same direction and doing what’s best for the students and the players and doing what’s best for the community as a whole, then the sky is very high for Penn State.”
However, there are many out there, such as Penn State President Eric Barron that believe that Franklin is the future of Penn State football. When the same question was posed to Dr. Barron, he also answered with just one word:
“Absolutely.”
Photo Credit: GoPSUSports.com
