If it isn't April Fool's - WOW!

On3

Penn State fires head coach James Franklin

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I mean good lord, there’s getting fired at UCLA or OSU which were/are complete dumpster fires going into the season. But man, to go from top-5 to canned in half a season is just wild.

It will be scary if PSU becomes suddenly more competitive with Franklin's exit.

Another one bites the Dust...

With the kind of buy out in his contract he'll never have to work again (his kids either).

Sixteen days ago he was leading a team ranked in the top four. Heck this was meant to be his get well time before he got his second chance this year to be at a top ten team, potentially two.

Times are changing friends. Ten years ago there is no way this many September/October firings. Mike Gundy and James Franklin were longstanding institutions with high levels of success. But investors are now involved in everyday activities now. They see a bad stock and they sell it right away, they'll take the initial big loss because they feel like a bad stock could ruin the rest of their portfolio. There's no sentiment involved.

I thought Penn State being compared to last years Ohio State or that Michigan squad two years ago was inaccurate. Who did they beat? What did they prove last year? They still would've been shut out of the playoffs if it hadn't expanded. They played the two lowest rated participants. When they finally faced a fellow big boy, they came close but lost. Same old story.

James Franklin has a 55 million dollar payout. Will he take a year off or will he coach again? Who is Penn State going to go after?

I can see Oklahoma State or Arkansas looking at Franklin. I don't think Franklin would take either of those gigs. He's going to wait for a program on the level of Penn State.

Penn State will likely look at the usual big names to see if they're interested. Guys like Curt Cignetti,Bob Stoops, Jon Gruden, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Matt Campbell, Matt Rhule ,maybe Chip Kelly. They may look at Vanderbilt again. It's going to be interesting, they are the biggest shark out there looking.

I think Penn State is actually going to be more dangerous now. They are super talented and have great coaches still on staff. I wouldn't be shocked if they put a scare into Indiana or Ohio State.

It's time for Franklin to become a college football commentator.

It is extreme to fire this winning of a coach (heck, he's still .500 for the season!), with such a large buyout without having a plan in place.

Tinfoil hat says they got a handshake from Cignetti's agent in a dark alley Sunday night, and I'm only half joking.

Franklin Fallout.

ESPN.com

Penn State fires James Franklin: Top candidates, transfer...

After two shocking losses, Penn State is looking for a new coach. The job quickly becomes the best in this cycle.

I sure hope that coach Cig stays at Indy. Not because of the possible PSU improvement, but because Indiana deserves it. Does PSU take a look at Fisch or Dilly?

Penn State also lost their QB Drew Aller for the rest of the year.

1 hour ago, JabbaNoBargain said:

I mean good lord, there’s getting fired at UCLA or OSU which were/are complete dumpster fires going into the season. But man, to go from top-5 to canned in half a season is just wild.

He outright lost the lockeroom after the Oregon game.

The team has absolutely given up on him and he on his team.

They were basically at the point of giving up on the season and looking to next year. And they are doing that now but with an added coaching search.

But who are they going to get that's better than Franklin? Seriously, he had a top 10 problem but until Oregon broke him he did beat all the non ranked teams and even the ranked ones he was supposed to.

Yikes... barely two weeks ago Franklin had the #2 team in the nation.

And now, Franklin's former team thinks he stinks so badly that they were willing to drop about $60 million just to get rid of him.

It tells me how massive the amount of money is that comes through college football, and what a wonderful merit-based system sports are.

56 minutes ago, Santa Rosa Duck said:

Penn State also lost their QB Drew Aller for the rest of the year.

Not sure how much of a loss that is.

Franklin to Oregon State?

Hummmm, we might have a scheduling problem in the future . . . more teams that have lost to Oregon have fired their HC (3) than have keep them (2).

Too bad we hadn't played ucla or we'd be batting 800.

As to Franklin turning down potential jobs, most coaching contracts with a buy-out clause require that the coach continue to look for work and payment received during the contract term go to the former employer to offset the buy-out.

2 minutes ago, Steven A said:

Hummmm, we might have a scheduling problem in the future . . . more teams that have lost to Oregon have fired their HC (3) than have keep them (2).

Too bad we hadn't played ucla or we'd be batting 800.

Something tells me UCLA is going to surprise some teams. USC is one that comes to mind.

3 minutes ago, Grandpa Duck said:

As to Franklin turning down potential jobs, most coaching contracts with a buy-out clause require that the coach continue to look for work and payment received during the contract term go to the former employer to offset the buy-out.

According to CBS Sports, the buyout on PSUs side is $58 million.

The buyout on Franklin's side is $1.00. As in, one-dollar.

If I was a coach, I would be looking to hire Franklin's agent right now.

50 minutes ago, Desert Duck said:

According to CBS Sports, the buyout on PSUs side is $58 million.

The buyout on Franklin's side is $1.00. As in, one-dollar.

If I was a coach, I would be looking to hire Franklin's agent right now.

Agents vs ADs is a one-way negotiation.

Why don't the contracts have a Right of First Refusal instead of these absurd buyouts? If a coach wants out, wants to go to another program, do you want him hanging around?

On occasion, like when Cristobal went MIA, the left behind team will bag some bucks. But for the most part, it's the school firing the coach that is on the hook.

Glass half full here, we've played a role in getting 3 head coaches fired in 6 games.

There are fans of teams around the country that wished they could play Oregon this year. Florida is one of them I'm sure.

LOL. This is so freakin’ good.

I hope Oregon doesn’t do that to Dan Lanning if he ever gets 3 losses in a row!

That would just about be too much for me to handle. This win at all costs attitude is absolutely ruining the sport.

I keep coming back to: IT IS A GAME! Played by kids. Every game has a winner and every game has a loser. ALWAYS! To think your team will win every game all the time is just ludicrous.

1 hour ago, PittDuck said:

I hope Oregon doesn’t do that to Dan Lanning if he ever gets 3 losses in a row!

That would just about be too much for me to handle. This win at all costs attitude is absolutely ruining the sport.

I keep coming back to: IT IS A GAME! Played by kids. Every game has a winner and every game has a loser. ALWAYS! To think your team will win every game all the time is just ludicrous.

Highly agree. But fans and donors get impatient and expect the impossible these days The changing financial landscape of college football has insured hat their will never be another Alabama dynasty. Saban saw that and got out early. At Georgia, there are people beginning to wonder if Kirby Smart has lost his edge and even speculating about who would be the best fit if and when the time comes to part ways with the best coach Georgia has ever had. This is nuts, but I now believe that Kirby will tire of the sniping and be gone in another 5-6 years at most.

17 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

Franklin Fallout.

ESPN.com

Penn State fires James Franklin: Top candidates, transfer...

After two shocking losses, Penn State is looking for a new coach. The job quickly becomes the best in this cycle.

Every single one of these articles have the same five or six names and they are all underwhelming except for Cignetti. It’s funny how nobody mentions any young coordinators as a possible replacement. Some of the better coaches in the nation came from coordinated jobs. Day, Kirby, Lanning, Freeman, Dilly et al.

I think that Penn State will hire a head coach from another P4 school because that’s what Penn State does. However, there are some good coordinators out there that will end up being great head coaches. Stein comes to mind, but there are many more. I would expect Hartline, Patricia, Neuheisel and Schumann to be P4 head coaches at some point.

28 minutes ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Every single one of these articles have the same five or six names and they are all underwhelming except for Cignetti. It’s funny how nobody mentions any young coordinators as a possible replacement. Some of the better coaches in the nation came from coordinated jobs. Day, Kirby, Lanning, Freeman, Dilly et al.

I think that Penn State will hire a head coach from another P4 school because that’s what Penn State does. However, there are some good coordinators out there that will end up being great head coaches. Stein comes to mind, but there are many more. I would expect Hartline, Patricia, Neuheisel and Schumann to be P4 head coaches at some point.

Hiring a hot coordinator is high-risk. How many fail for every one of those names you mentioned. Oregon struck gold with Coach Lanning.

8 hours ago, Nevada Dawg said:

Highly agree. But fans and donors get impatient and expect the impossible these days The changing financial landscape of college football has insured hat their will never be another Alabama dynasty. Saban saw that and got out early. At Georgia, there are people beginning to wonder if Kirby Smart has lost his edge and even speculating about who would be the best fit if and when the time comes to part ways with the best coach Georgia has ever had. This is nuts, but I now believe that Kirby will tire of the sniping and be gone in another 5-6 years at most.

That’s crazy but I guess it’s the price you pay for earning $10M+ a year.

Think the new Penn State coach and his agent doesn’t negotiate a huge buyout after seeing what happened with Coach Franklin?

I read an article that had some decent logic as to why ADs should stop giving such big buyouts, especially when they are already making top of the food chain salaries.