REPORT: James Franklin to Become Head Football Coach at Vanderbilt - ESPN Reporting as Well
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 3:17 PM EST
in Vanderbilt Commodores Football
Email
PrintThe Washington Post is reporting that Maryland Offensive Coordinator James Franklin is currently negotiating terms of a contract to become the next head coach at Vanderbilt. Franklin was part of the driving force that led Maryland to an 8-4 record after finishing 2-10 in 2009. He had been considered a finalist for the Vanderbilt position since late last week after interviewing with the university's administration.
Keep in mind that the Post has burned us before on this one, so nothing is set until an official announcement comes down from the Vanderbilt powers that be. Franklin would be a nice addition to the staff, but not the impact hire that Gus Malzahn or Mike Leach would have been. While a Franklin and Herb Hand run offense would certainly improve some of Vandy's fortunes, its unclear how the potential new hire would fit in just yet.
We'll have updates as we receive them for you here at AoG.
UPDATE (sort of): James Franklin as Maryland OC - 18 wins, 19 losses (8-5, 2-10, 8-4). Five wins over ranked teams (four of which were ACC teams, all ranked between 16-24). Two losses to non-BCS teams (both, somehow, Middle Tennessee State). One bowl win (vs. Nevada in 2008), another bowl game pending (vs. East Carolina). Franklin finished 3rd, 6th, and 2nd in the ACC Atlantic Division in his three years and never made it to an ACC Championship Game.
UPDATE 2: ESPN now reporting that Franklin will accept the offer as well.
114 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I could follow The Washington Post strategy...
just run with a story without fact checking it.
I’m hearing from my sources that Mike Shanahan will be the next coach at Vanderbilt.
Do you want me to cry? DO YOU WANT TO SEE ME CRY???
As a supporter of Vanderbilt and the Redskins, and married to a Cal alum, I can only assume I must have been responsible for some sort of barbarian slaughter in a past life. Or maybe Pontius Pilate. Or Caiaphas (who was a co-Pilate). Gah, this whole process has reduced me to bad Southern Baptist Laugh-in shtick. Get the bourbon.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
by VandyImport on Dec 14, 2010 11:39 AM EST up reply actions
The comments at Washington Post...
…are very interesting. There are some who wanted Franklin out, and some who think the program is now doomed because he’s leaving.
Really, when you read the tea leaves, this is where Williams was going all along. He interviewed the guy twice, met him in 2007, etc. Malzahn was “the white whale” (no racial intent there) for Vanderbilt….the big, hot name who would have garnered major headlines right ahead of the National Championship game. Instead, we get Williams’ first choice…a lesser name who will come much cheaper and probably not demand additional investment in the field/team, etc.
Franklin may turn out to be the next Urban Meyer, for all I know…but, frankly, Herb Hand has more credibility as an offensive mind.
Retaining Herb Hand HAS to be top priority now
A Hand/Franklin offensive collaboration makes sense. Defensively we’re a bit of a mess BUT we do have a lot of returning talent and that should be a nice selling point for prospective hires at DC.
But yeah, Malzahn fit this puzzle much more neatly. While I do like Franklin, what we saved in $$$ is made up for by staffing concerns.
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 11:00 AM EST up reply actions
I just don't think money should be a consideration
It’s not like Vandy’s starving for cash – hire a coach who can make a difference and you’ll see an improvement at the ticket counter every time. I’m so, so disappointed with this move.
Anything but Gatorade - yet another SEC sports blog
by Anything but Gatorade on Dec 14, 2010 11:03 AM EST up reply actions
This is total shit.
Why this guy? Whose radar was he on? This is terrible.
Anything but Gatorade - yet another SEC sports blog
by Anything but Gatorade on Dec 14, 2010 10:51 AM EST reply actions
He was on nobody's radar...
..the only reason he got any headlines was because of a pretty irresponsible “coach in waiting” agreement that he had at Maryland after the administration decided they wanted Friedgen out following some bad seasons.
Franklin was the skipper of an offense that was a big part of a 2-10 season last year, only to rebound somewhat this year to 8-4 and a “Military Bowl” berth out of a weak-assed ACC.
As assistants go, Roman at Stanford was a much better hire, but as I stated above, Williams was enamored with Franklin from day 1.
I'm sure you're right
And that’s why this is so disappointing. If you’re not playing to win, Williams, then don’t even play. Cut football altogether if all you’re gonna do is find some no-name to coach for cheap and produce the same shit record Vandy’s had over the past two years.
Roman would’ve been a much better hire, regardless of whether he had any recruiting footprint in this part of the country.
Anything but Gatorade - yet another SEC sports blog
by Anything but Gatorade on Dec 14, 2010 10:58 AM EST up reply actions
Well, his scoring output is trending positively...
Maryland’s scoring ranks in the ACC under Franklin:
2008 – T-10th (20.1ppg),
2009 – 11th (21.3ppg),
2010 – 4th (30.7ppg).
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 11:23 AM EST reply actions
He's also got a solid record of developing talent and recruiting
Molded Josh Freeman at Kansas State. Was named one of the country’s Top 25 Recruiters in 2009 by Rivals.com.
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 11:30 AM EST up reply actions
yeah, but...
He’s got much more talent and a more captive recruiting base at UM than he’ll have at Vandy.
True. But the guys he's molded haven't been five star recruits.
He’s done a solid job with less. Danny O’Brien was a 3 star recruit – this year he’s the ACC Rookie of the Year.
Franklin did a good job of pulling 4 star recruits to College Park without a great history at the school. It’s not unrealistic to assume that he could attract 1-2 4-star guys in his first couple years in Nashville if he comes to Vandy.
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 11:37 AM EST up reply actions
If he starts raiding DeMatha and Good Counsel and the like...
…I won’t look askance at all.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
by VandyImport on Dec 14, 2010 11:40 AM EST up reply actions
Well, he's apparently the man now...
…so despite some of our opinions as to his weakness as a candidate, we should try to support him as best as we can…at least for a few years, LOL!
Not excited, not disappointed
Franklin was Maryland’s coach in waiting. I think any Vandy fan would gladly take the “success” Maryland has had over the past decade. Unfortunately for Maryland, they had to hire Franklin as head coach by the end of the year or pay him $1 million. Right now, Maryland football does not generate $1 million in football ticket sales. They make Vandy football look like a hard ticket. Since Fat Ralph, somehow managed not to eat himself get fired by now, they are worried that their program will go bankrupt if they have to pay Franklin.
If Maryland fans are excited about losing the guy who just developed Danny O’Brien into the ACC freshman of the year, then they are idiots. I would rather have Malzahn and am not ecstatic about a guy one year removed from calling the plays for a 2-10 team, but this hiring has potential.
I highly doubt...
That he can get a Danny O’ Brien or Josh Freeman to come to Vandy…and even if he does will he be able to recruit enough talent around him to make him look good?
I’m just skeptical of his offensive credentials…not his recruiting or developmental abilities.
Danny O'Brien was a 3-star recruit
Nobody thought Danny O’Brien was going to be the best freshman QB in the ACC. He was hardly a highly touted recruit.
Similarly, nobody thought Maryland was going to win 8-games this year. Granted, they do not play in the SEC, but they had less talent than most ACC teams. Yet, they finished 8-4 and almost won their division. I don’t like that they went 2-10 last year because we’re so familiar with 2-10, but this year’s Maryland team was an impressive coaching accomplishment.
but they had less talent than most ACC teams.
So the great recruiter (which is touted as his best quality) put together a team that didn’t even have good talent in the ACC? Yikes.
That’s unfair, but it doesn’t mean it bothers me less.
Maryland...
had less talent than Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State, North Carolina (even post-suspensions), and Clemson. They finished higher in the conference than all but two of those teams. Their “talent” was also disproportionately young and Maryland could be a real threat in the ACC for the next two years. Franklin only had two recruiting classes under his belt and both were viewed as pretty good. Still, when you’re going up against Christian Ponder, Jacory Harris, and Tyrod Taylor, it’s impressive when you can turn Danny O’Brien into their equal.
He does seem to do a good job with QBs
That’s about the only actual coaching talent that he’s really shown, and that would be an improvement over the last few years.
He did make Chris Turnover a legit QB...
…not that it stuck, but he does have a certain measure of coach-em-up going for him…
(trying to find silver linings here…)
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
by VandyImport on Dec 14, 2010 12:49 PM EST up reply actions
But...
…how much of that turnaround should be credited to Franklin and how much to Jabba the Coach? I’m just saying.
I really hope that Franklin can develop whatever QB we have….but with a crap line, and weak receivers, what kind of hope would even Danny O’Brien have at Vandy?
That's the question...
Still, Friedgen thought highly enough of Franklin to bring him back to Maryland in a bigger role.
Also, O’Brien played behind his own crap line, decimated by injuries. Their line featured a fifth-year walk-on starting at tackle.
If CBJ could get Jordan Rodgers (rated a 5.7 to O'Brien's 5.5 by Rivals), I think Franklin can get similar talent.
I am excited to see what he could do developing Aaron’s little brother for two years. That could be a HUGE win for Vandy if he can coax Rodgers’s talent out.
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 11:52 AM EST up reply actions
Your blog to God's ears
I had Cal tickets in 2004, and if we get 1/3 of Jordan’s brother out of Jordan himself, I will feel a lot better…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
by VandyImport on Dec 14, 2010 12:50 PM EST up reply actions
Look at the talent pool that Maryland picks from…he has done a good job with the offense. Last year’s 2-10 was a dissaster but so was Chris Turner. Maryland did not have a competent QB on their roster for 4 or 5 years. Jordan Steffy, Turner, Josh Portis, Jamar Robinson…these guys were not good. The fact that they beat anybody was amazing. Has anybody seen Darius Heyward-Bey play? The guy sucks. He was drafted based on striaght line speed…that’s it.
This year, with Danny O’Brien, he proved how he can call a game with tools. Not the best tools but something. I’m not saying that he will be great at Vandy because that is the SEC but don’t think that UMD is just dumping a guy. Whe he left for K-State for 2 years and Fridge called the plays, it was simply awful.
Franklin's stock might be at a nadir.
He’d be foolish not to strike when the iron is hot. To his credit the team’s offense has consistently improved under him, even during last year’s debacle. However, Maryland vs. the ACC is almost apples to oranges compared to Vandy vs. the SEC.
Lots of risk here. But we got a young guy with a solid background/pedigree. We could have done worse. Franklin has some high level experience (though not the kind we wanted), and can recruit. I don’t mind it. I don’t hate it. But I’m not terribly excited about it. Mostly I just want the report to be true so we’ll have some closure on the situation.
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 11:49 AM EST up reply actions
Congrats on completely reading the Maryland fan base wrong
We’re excited about not having to worry about dealing with a messy coaching situation next year. Since our old AD Debbie Yow gave Franklin a HCIW deal and then decided to jump ship, we would’ve had to decide against a Maryland Alum who has brought Terrapin football back to some relevance in the area (had nothing going for us since the 50s), or an unproven coach who can do some recruiting but has a weird bubble screen fetish (yeah hope you enjoy that in the SEC). 2-10 season is a result of bad bounces and a defense learning a new system. Franklin can get you a DOB-esque quarterback, and if Hand is as good as you guys say he is with the O-Line, then offensively you should be fine. And Franklin didn’t develop Danny O’Brien, he recruited him yes, but DOB studies game film like its his job and that is what makes him as good a quarterback as he is.
Once again, hope you enjoy the bubble screen.
Bubble screen beats a QB draw...
Every school hates their play calling unless they are undefeated. Even then, the fans know better than the coach (see Texas 2005). Maryland fans might all be experts, but Ted Cain, Jimmy Kiser, and Des Kitchings were not. I’ll take Franklin as long as he does not call the QB draw every other play.
To be fair, I always liked the bubble screens
A lot of people said he called too many of them, but I liked them. They made sense given Maryland’s personnel.
That said, it’s funny that you specifically mention QB draws, because he called a ton of them with Chris Turner last year, who was pretty much the world’s slowest, most unathletic QB ever and also happened to have a bum shoulder (good idea to let him take a few more shots). That was always fun.
The thing that bothers me
Is that it seems like VCDW had him picked out from day 1. When you see his quotes about him meeting Franklin while he was at Kansas St. it just seems like a guy like Roman never stood a chance.
Now, obviously I wasn’t at the interview, so maybe if I had been there, I’d see exactly what they are excited about.
In any case, this is all on DW (as opposed to the Malzahn debacle which I’d only give him like 10% of the blame for). If Franklin does a great job, we all owe DW a debt of gratitude. If he sucks, we can all tell DW, “We told you so,” (which will probably take the form of us not showing up to watch a 2-7 team finish out the season).
My full thoughts on Franklin are from last night:
We have a guy who seems likely to be able to run the team, but we have no reason to believe he can run an offense. The idea of a who can probably manage a team well, but can’t scheme the team to be in the game was too Bobby Johnson-y.
I just always had the idea that we needed to get better on the field before we were ever going to recruit well. We aren’t going to turn the corner by having a new guy show up and say [to recruits], see I’m different, even if he says it really convincingly. We need a guy who can get the most out of what we have by actually giving us an offensive identity, and then can build up the team by getting the players that fit best into his system.
To me that’s Roman.
Yeah, I just block-quoted myself.
I also said last night, that I can see how Franklin could work, but he’d better be a better staff hirer than CBJ, otherwise this will be ugly.
In any case, if the administration gives him the same resources they were willing to offer Malzahn, then we’ll certainly be better than we have been, but if Franklin doesn’t work out, it won’t be much better.
Why does this bother you?
If anything, this is one of the things making me feel better about Franklin. For some reason, people love to dump on David Williams when all he has done since arriving is help make Vanderbilt athletics better. Our teams (basketball and baseball especially) and our facilities have improved greatly under Gee/Zeppos/Williams. After what appears to have been years of neglect, Williams has made athletics a priority for the administration.
If Williams has been a fan of Franklin for years, I don’t see how this is a bad thing. It’s not like Franklin is Williams’s buddy from way back. It sounds like Williams was impressed with the young coach and has been impressed with his rise since K-State. Maryland was impressed enough with him to give him a $1 million guarantee as coach in waiting – even if fans are upset with that now that Friedgen is not going to get canned.
Franklin is not my first choice, but I view it as a good thing that Williams seems to feel differently.
I’m not dumping on Williams at all. Like I said before, if I had been in the interviews maybe I’d totally agree with him.
My concern is that Williams seems to feel differently from basically everyone else. I mean the fact that Maryland thought it was a good idea is not something that really encourages me. Most fans are either angry with this, or accepting, but really unexcited (and I’m talking real fans who will stick with the team through whatever, not the people who decided they were going to like Vandy if we got Malzahn, and now will be against anyone we get). It’s not like anyone else was lining up to pick up Franklin.
I’m concerned that he is taking his previous infatuation with Franklin overshadow Franklin’s pretty mediocre record, or possibly better candidates. That would be a bad thing, no doubt about it. We have no way of knowing if that’s the case, so the only way we can judge is results.
I said I can see how it might work, I’m just not excited about it. Whether or works or not it’s all on DW. That’s not positive or negative, just the truth. If it does work, I’ll be the first to say he was right. I hope he is.
Lack of information
The only thing that appears clear is that Williams likes Franklin. I have no knowledge whether he contacted/interviewed other coaches or about how any interviews went. It appears that Malzahn turned us down, but I don’t know anything about contacts with any other coaches. I am not excited for Franklin, but I view the fact that Williams likes him – with no apparent reason for bias – as a good thing.
Franklin is a solid coordinator in a BCS conference. His offense played well this year, especially when you compare the talent they had and the injuries they sustained on the O-line against the talent they faced. If nothing else, they hung 62 on Wake Forest, which is a nice comparison to what we saw in the final game of the year.
What is the link between him and Malzahn? They are both guys who can coach up quarterbacks. Would I rather have Malzahn? Of course, but that does not mean that Franklin is not a guy who can dramatically improve our quarterback situation.
Finally, Maryland fans are not angry with Franklin – or even the decision to make him coach in waiting – they are angry with the decision to box the school into a $1 million payment at the end of this season. It would be the equivalent of us having done the same thing with Robbie Caldwell.
If the admin doesn't give Franklin resources
I can say that he will end up just like Bobby, and Woody, and Rod, and Gerry, and Watson, etc.
Say what you will about how good a job Franklin did with Danny O’Brien, and I’ll go right along with you…but the team in Maryland had a deeper talent base than Vandy has. Plus, he was coaching in the ACC. The best team over there this year was VA tech, with a decent Miami and FSU….but top to bottom, the ACC isn’t as talented as the SEC. If he comes in and established some semblance of a coherent offense, I will consider him a success. Offensive coherence is not something I associate with Bobby Johnson and certainly not with Woody-ball.
ACC vs. SEC
We love to point out how tough it is to win in the SEC, but we have not done too well against ACC opponents in recent years. Maryland hung 62 on the same Wake team that drubbed us in Nashville.
I agree that we need to give him resources, but I also like this hire a lot more than Bobby or Woody. We hired a promising young black coach who is known for developing QBs and (apparently) recruiting. He does not appear to be the best candidate out there, but he is somewhat of an unknown commodity. That is more than can be said for our most recent head coaching hires – old white dudes who were who we thought they were.
Sigh.
Could have had Charlie Strong in 2002…
then again, I don’t think I knew anything about Franklin’s race until yesterday, which I can only think is a good thing with regard to coach-hiring and coverage of same in this conference.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
If anything, feel good that Franklin didn’t go Jason Garrett on the program and tank the season so he could get a job.
I think that you guys are getting a good football coach but to be fair, it seemed clear that new AD Kevin Franklin wasn’t all that thrilled about the whole coach-in-waiting idea. That was Debbie Yow’s plan to get Fridge out and all he did was have a 6 game improvement and win ACC coach of the year.
This is what makes no sense to me.
what list, on earth, for anything goes like this:
1. Gus Malzahn
2. James Franklin
i mean seriously? how are there no guys in between Malzahn and James Franklin on your must-call list?
"I'd like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee. And specifically, not a Buffalo Bill."
-Joe Dimaggio
Gus Malzahn!
There were other names. However, many of them were fictional.
1. Gus Malzahn (Auburn)
2. Jack Bauer (CTU)
3. Ron Swanson (Pawnee)
4. Bud Kilmer (West Canaan)
5. Grover (Sesame Street)
6. James Franklin (Maryland)
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 12:53 PM EST up reply actions
Has there been any thought given to exhuming Dan McGugin and walking him around like Weekend at Bernie’s? I mean, he’d need to get up to speed on things like passing, but…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
Of course we'd need sunglasses.
Without the sunglasses Weekend at Bernie’s would have been a very dark, strange tale.
by Christian D'Andrea on Dec 14, 2010 1:08 PM EST up reply actions
I've been praying for #5 to be VU's head coach for all of my 24 years as a Vandy fan.
I’m offended he didn’t even get an interview. The WaPo said Big Bird was going to raise his salary to stay on the Street.
Are you sure? I'm certainly not.
The Post reported last week that the our coaching list was:
1. Roman
2. Franklin
Then, they reported that we hired Malzahn. Nobody seems to know much of anything.
The only thing I know is that we apparently missed on Malzahn, interviewed Roman, and like Franklin. No idea whether other coaches were contacted or interviewed. I heard from a friend w/ Va. Tech ties that Bud Foster said no thanks to our overtures, but no idea whether that is true.
Word
is that search committee really pushed the BOT hard for approval for facilities upgrades in order to get Malzahn. Without that whole process, I’m not sure how easy it would have been with any other hire.
So it sounds like with Franklin we are getting a tireless, high energy guy that is an outstanding recruiter.
He will surely hire an OC, so I wouldn’t worry too much about how good or bad Maryland’s offense was this season. Depending on what other coaches he brings in, it could still be a great hire. Plus, the facilities need to be upgraded, so it sounds like that will still move forward, which might be the most important thing.
Finally, the expectations aren’t ridiculously insane like they would have been with Malzahn.
I think this hits on the thing that bothers people (probably unfairly)
Depending on what other coaches he brings in, it could still be a great hire.
We all wanted a one stop shop. Malzahn or Leach would have solved so many problems at once. The lack of enthusiasm, the lack of offensive identity, the lack of resources (which they would have clearly commanded as part of their agreement to come here), and they would have been huge for recruiting.
I think the reason that I, and several others, have convinced ourselves that Roman is better than Franklin, is that we could see how Roman could grow into that one man to fix all of our problems. He seemed exciting, everyone loved the Stanford connection, he has an offense, and he has actually succeeded in his current position. We convinced ourselves that he could be the kind of superstar coach that we build the program around because he had everything that the fans wanted.
Now, no one was ever going to be that excited about a guy coming from a mediocre team in a mediocre conference. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be a head coach. It just means that he’ll need good coordinators.
The biggest (and most unfair) reason I think so many people don’t like Franklin is that we still have almost as many questions as we started with. We don’t know what the offense will look like (which is the one thing most Vandy fans most wanted to know). We expected to need a DC and all, but we all hoped that when we got our coach that biggest question, the offense, would be answered.
We wanted an offensive coordinator, not a head coach. But what we really needed was a head coach, and hopefully we got one. If also need an OC, but if we keep Herb, we’ve probably got that covered too.
So on that note, I think I’ll start studying for the Criminal Procedure exam tomorrow morning that I haven’t looked at yet.
I vote Goche for Coach
I wind up agreeing with 99% of what you say. I love your enthusiasm and the fact you are blogging instead of studying for finals. Initially, I was sad that Vanderbilt got turned down by What’s His Face. Mainly because I want Vanderbilt to be a relevant football school (for my daughter’s time there). But I am not so sad anymore and here is why:
I can only hope that since a major donor to the University was part of the search team, it indicates that there will be a financial commitment to the football program in addition to the coach
When you make an offer, or a supposed offer or whatever Vanderbilt did to What’s His Face and he does not JUMP at the chance to be one of the highest paid head coaches in the nation, you have to wonder if he is the right guy. To back down from a challenge makes me think he is a puss*. At least Franklin was excited at the possibility of getting the job.
Franklin, while may not be a big name, always seemed to have a decent offense, with decent production. There were some wtf moments, but even Jimbo Fisher had some of those this year (there is a learning curve). But for the most part he calls a good game and is known to be a solid recruiter.
If he keeps Herb as his OC, we have What’s His Face lite. He was co-coordinator at Tulsa and before that he was at WVU. I think he understands the spread and hurry up no huddle offenses and if let loose, Vanderbilt may work more towards using them or some variation in the future.
Even though I could never and I repeat NEVER have gotten accepted to Vanderbilt as a student, my offspring did (Thank you very much), so I now have a vested interest. I have the utmost respect for all that Vanderbilt stands for, including its commitment to improving the quality of its sports teams. Let’s give it a chance and see what happens.
Here is hoping for the best.
When do we get to play Whats His Face again?
Love this name cause I will never use his real one. Anybody know what year we play Auburn again? Of course, he probably wont be there by then. I want to pencil it into my calendar and begin preparations now. Chris Low just did a write up on how Whats His Face is best buddies with Jesus and can cure cancer and stop wars. What a guy! But I think we are know him a little better than Chris now don’t we.
As for the new coach, well I was hoping for Roman, but Franklin seems young and positive and a hard worker. I live up in the md,dc,northern Va. Area and the high school players are amazing. If he can get some to Nashville then that is great. Hope he keeps Herb Hand and Des Kitchings (did good play calling) we should be ok. I do think our players may really like him. Who knows Franklin could be a star, don’t we want him to make us stars too? I want to be ready when we next face Whats His Name.
The hell with it, hire Kevin Federline
You think Larry’s bad? K-Fed made a career out of zero-star talent. Give him a PlayStation and let him press the Ask Corso button to call offensive plays. The ensuing media circus will somehow make it worth it, I promise.
I just want Vandy to hire someone so I can get back to work, before my F5 button sues me for assault.
Ed Orgeron
Is it just me or does the James Franklin hire not remind you a lot of Ed Orgeron at Ole Miss. Orgeron was a guy who was a phenomenal recruiter but he was a horrible Xs and Os guy and we saw what happened. Ole Miss had Top 25 recruiting classes but was losing to teams like us.
Easy to laugh now...
but we would have been thrilled to hire a guy like Orgeron back when Ole Miss got him. He was not a “good recruiter,” he was arguably the “best recruiter.”
Coach O probably is more comparable to Malzahn than to Franklin.
Maryland Fans' opinion of Franklin...
..is very similar. He’s a good recruiter and will be missed, but he’s not a great play caller. I’d say about 90% of the comments over on the Terps insider site are wishing James Franklin good luck in Nashville, but won’t miss his play calling.
Let's be honest....
If he wasn’t black he wouldn’t even be on the candidate list. I’m sure he did an excellent job in the interview now and the last time we had a vacancy, but look at the results. Total Offense: 2010 9th out of 12, 2009 11th out of 12, 2008 3rd out of 12. So basically he regressed every year in the ACC. This guy is chum in the water in the SEC no matter what system he installs and who he brings in. His strength is that he’s a “great recruiter”, his team is ranked 38th in the country this year. Granted that’s better then us, but Maryland is an easier draw. Can you imagine the level of hit a guy like this takes when he doesn’t have sole access to the DC recruiting space and is competing against the big dogs? Ouch man. If they’re so hellbent on getting someone with no coaching experience, poach a lower level great recruiter from a great school. Alabama’s or LSU’s defensive line coach, Florida’s recievers coach, you get the idea. That way you have someone who knows how to get it done in this league on the recruiting level and already has a brand associated with him. He’s not like Malzahn who’s actually giving up something to come here, for a guy like that there’s little to no risk. Further, they know the south and should know a bit about the league already.
I get (I guess) not going after Leach or another big name hire, all I’m saying is just go after a lesser known that’s been a part of something great. Get someone who’s won a national championship, who knows how to win. I don’t care if that guy was a graduate assistant under Jim Tressel’s national championship team, at least that guy’s had a taste and understands what it takes. It’ll also create a buzz.
by Commodorable on Dec 14, 2010 2:14 PM EST up reply actions
I think this hits on what is frustrating most Vandy fans...
Franklin appears to be a pretty solid coach for the reasons described above; yet, he has never really won anything as a top assistant. I’m not sure that Roman was a better choice, but it was easier to get excited about a guy who was coaching on a team headed for a BCS bowl than a guy coaching for a team headed to the Military Bowl. Same thing for Malzahn for obvious reasons.
The other appealing thing about Roman...
…is that Stanford is a program that labors under similar circumstances as far as academic restraints and competing as the only private school in the conference (U$C may be private but their football situation is in no way comparable to a Duke-Northwestern-Tulane-Vandy type situation). Getting a guy who has succeeded under those conditions would instill more confidence than a guy from a public school (and conference) where football is a secondary interest.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
I hate this argument though. If Vandy won, you’d quietly see those stories disappear and winning would beget more winning, more money into the football program, academic standards quitely being lowered, etc. etc.. Its a chicken and egg thing. I don’t think there’s any coach out there that hasn’t had some adversity. Just because he’s familiar with the nature of our problems doesn’t equal success. I’d rather have someone who doesn’t give a fuck and must win for his own sanity, then someone who’s familiar with our tired old excuse.
by Commodorable on Dec 14, 2010 2:28 PM EST up reply actions
"I’d rather have someone who doesn’t give a fuck and must win for his own sanity"
Huh. While I want to see success, that’s exactly what I don’t want…along with academic standards quietly being lowered…
I agree with the argument VandyImport outlined. But my priorities are obviously quite different from yours.
We’ll agree to disagree then. What makes a great football coach is not someone who can accept failure, it’s someone who can’t. Further, your knight in shining armor who goes 8-4 every year with kids who all have 4.0s doesn’t exist. He’s never existed, and he won’t.
Even Vandy now has kids who aren’t as smart as the student population. Look up John Jenkins on Deadspin and check out his essay on music. He wasn’t admitted because he has the grades to succeed in engineering, and if you believe he was you’re kidding yourself. We’re not an ivy league school.
by Commodorable on Dec 15, 2010 9:22 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, I think we're at an impasse.
fwiw, though, it’s not that I want someone who is happy with failure, I just really don’t want someone who doesn’t give a fuck….
I am all for throwing money at football and trying to get a great coach. But I’m proud of the integrity Vanderbilt has historically shown in its sports programs and I don’t want to lose that because of a “win at any cost” coach.
And I think it’s fine that admittance criteria are fluid and stellar extracurriculars can give an applicant the effective bump of a few GPA points. But there is no point in admitting someone who can’t hack it academically. Vanderbilt’s graduation rates are another thing of which I’m proud.
And I think it’s fine that admittance criteria are fluid and stellar extracurriculars can give an applicant the effective bump of a few GPA points.
Isn’t that just lowering academic standards in more flowery language? Except instead of lower you said bump, so we’re artificially inflating the applicant instead of deflating our admittance criterea.
Our graduation rate also reflects that no one goes pro. I’m proud of it too, but there are other schools that have both better graduation rates AND better athletic programs.
by Commodorable on Dec 15, 2010 11:53 AM EST up reply actions
Essentially, what I meant is that I'm happy with the way it is set up for admitting atheletes now.
I don’t want to see academic standards lowered or applicants on athletetic scholarships inflated further, such that athletes won’t be able to compete academically.
The point about no one going pro is a good one.
Not to mention that Maryland’s recruiting class this year would have ranked 12th in the SEC (behind UK and ahead of only us)
Recruiting
Maryland:
2009-26th
2010- 36th
2011-38th
Vanderbilt:
2009-Not in Top 50
2010-Not in Top 50
2011-Not in Top 50
Like I said, better then us, but that’s with a far better recruiting base, more money, and better facilities.
by Commodorable on Dec 14, 2010 4:34 PM EST up reply actions
Not better than the SEC recruiting base...
Outside of Texas and California, which have a number of schools in each state competing for talent, the South is the most fertile recruiting region in the country. The point is not that Franklin is going to steal kids from the top school in the country, but that he has experience luring those kids in the next tier. Those are the type of guys we will need him to lure to Vanderbilt – and it is much more likely that he can successfully grab those guys than the 5-star guys that are committing to Florida or Alabama. Until rather recently (under Friedgen and Franklin), Maryland was hardly competitive for talent with Virginia Tech, Penn State, and other school in their region who they now compete with for talent.
Also, Maryland is hardly the great football school that you are making it out to be. They finished 3rd in the ACC, yet are stuck in the 8th place bowl game. Why? Because their fan support sucks. They built a new stadium with smoke and mirrors, and now they cannot fill that stadium, even though they were competing for an ACC championship this year.
I’m not saying Maryland is a great football school. Never made that point. See where you wrote NEW STADIUM? We haven’t had one of those since the 60s. Doesn’t matter if its filled on Saturday or not, its there when the recruits visit campus. Our fan support is worse then theirs, and even if its not, the perception is Maryland is a bigger name then Vanderbilt. Gotta face facts. Our facilities are worse because we are not a state school and do not have an alumni base a million deep. Look you might be right in terms of recruiting ground we’ll see and I like your point about stealing guys you’re not supposed to get. But let’s see if he can even get kids to transfer or change commitments before we start annointing him the recruiter of the year.
by Commodorable on Dec 14, 2010 4:59 PM EST up reply actions
You're missing the point
My only point w/r/t spending is that it is silly to argue that Maryland does not draw the same level of talent as SEC programs that are spending millions more on their programs than Maryland spends. Maryland is not on par with SEC schools other than Vanderbilt when it comes to anything other than basketball. Within their own conference, despite having inferior facilities to several schools, they are right in the middle of the pack when it comes to recruiting. Further, in the national picture, they are much closer to the rest of the SEC than they are to Vanderbilt.
If Franklin can bring the same type of kids that he brought to Maryland to Vanderbilt, we will be in better shape. I think that is more likely than Malzahn bringing the same type of kids he brought to Auburn. Again, not saying I wouldn’t rather have Malzahn, but your critique of Maryland recruiting just seemed a bit off.
Maryland's fan support sucked because they went 2-10 last year
In a good year, fan support would be 10x better than what there was this year. 2-10 + Ralph returning made most of the casual fans stop caring. Like I said, the fan support next year will likely be very good, especially if they start strong.
Also, you’re underselling Maryland’s recruiting base: Maryland-DC is usually loaded and they’re within driving distance of Richmond and the 757, as well as Philly and western PA. The south may have more talent than the mid-Atlantic, but it’s more spread out and you’re competing with way more teams than Maryland is. For a guy that wants to stay in the mid-Atlantic, they pick between Maryland, UVA (which was a joke until London came), and VT. Between Baltimore, DC publics, the WCAC, Richmond, and the 757, there’s a lot of talent for just three schools.
For the record, Franklin didn’t do a lot of stealing from bigger programs. Most of his big-time (next tier, as you said) recruits had no other offers and committed early, with the exception of Javarie Johnson, who couldn’t get into the U early so he came back to MD.
Why did it suck at the end of the year when they were playing for a title?
Season ticket sales at UMD have declined for five consecutive seasons. Did they know about the 2-10 season four years in advance?
Maryland-DC is fine, but it is nothing like the Southeast. Maryland was as much of a joke as UVA before Friedgen and Franklin (a year earlier as WR coach) got there.
It sucked because Maryland didn’t prove anything until the last game they played. Look at the schedule. This was tailor-made for eight wins out of a decent team. Most fans that were soured by last season didn’t get excited when Maryland beat up on Wake and beat Duke by a punt return. Fans needed more than beating ACC bottom-feeders and getting blown out by real opponents to get them excited from the slumber that 2-10 caused.
Season ticket sales have declined because Maryland had just come off three straight ten win seasons and followed that up with a load of mediocrity. Unless Maryland just kept winning at a record pace (which that was), there was nowhere to go but down.
I agree that Maryland’s recruiting base doesn’t have the depth of the SE. But the mid-Atlantic talent is much more concentrated with much less regional competition. The SE as a whole might be better, but don’t act like he’s working with nothing here. DeMatha and Good Counsel are in his backyard and he’s done nothing with those programs.
As far as Maryland being a recruiting joke, that might’ve been the national perception, but it wasn’t quite true in recruiting. Vanderlinden was a great recruiter that brought in almost everyone for Friedgen’s first three ultra-successful years. And Franklin wasn’t even the best recruiter on the staff: it was Mike Locksley that brought in most of Maryland’s great players early on in Friedgen’s term. Franklin had little impact on Maryland’s great run early on or in making them respectable again.
I’m not trying to downplay Franklin here, because he has potential, but you’re underselling Maryland as a program and exaggerating how difficult a job it was.
How many bowl appearances did Maryland make in the ten years prior to Friedgen's arrival?
Zero. They made exactly one bowl game under their three previous coaches. Since Friedgen arrived, they have gone to 7 bowl games in ten years. Franklin has been there for much of that span. That is the exact kind of turnaround we need at Vanderbilt.
Locksley is a great recruiter, but he appears to be the Coach O of that staff. He probably had more success recruiting local (to MD) players at Illinois than at Maryland. I hope Franklin can work similar magic at Vandy when it comes to recruiting, but proves to be a better coach than Locksley.
Again, Franklin didn't turn around the program
What Maryland did in the 90s is irrelevant. Franklin served for three years as a WR coach, during which Friedgen turned the program around with Vanderlinden and (more accurately) Locksley’s players. By the time he was in an actual position of power within the team, Maryland had enjoyed three straight ten-win years and was a bowl contender again.
As an indicator of Maryland’s success, the year before Franklin arrived they landed Kenny Tate, their most celebrated, high-profile recruit in probably the past decade (he was once seen as a top 25 guy, though fell later in the process).
If you’re trying to sell me on Fridge, you’re doing a decent job. Don’t confuse Friedgen’s success with Franklin’s just because they were on the same coaching staff for a couple of years.
To clarify one more time, I’m not saying that Franklin’s a bad hire, will fail, etc. In fact, I still think he has a lot of potential. He just doesn’t have that track record.
Read more closely
Nobody said Franklin turned around the program, just that he was coming up as a coach as the program was turning around. Maryland was a terrible program when he got there (Vanderlinden’s last year) and turned into a solid program while he was there. He has seen it done and hopefully learned from that experience. Did people at Maryland confuse Friedgen and Bobby Ross? No, they hoped that Friedgen learned what it took to succeed under Ross.
To clarify, Maryland was terrible before Franklin got there and is pretty solid today. He was there for that transformation, helped the program significantly in recent years, and hopefully brings that knowledge to Vanderbilt. One bowl game in 15 years sure sounds pretty familiar.
Franklin now a candidate at Pitt!
Rivals.com is reporting that since Holgorsen accepted the OC/future head coach position at WVU, Pitt has turned its sights to James Franklin. He’d be crazy not to look at Pitt before accepting Vandy’s offer…just a fact.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't...
if you’re David Williams. I don’t envy anyone having to hire a coach at a school like Vandy.
You guys see the maryland fan’s quote above? Good riddance!
Maryland Fan’s opinon of Frankling very similar. He’s a good recruiter and will be missed, but he’s not a great play caller. I’d say about 90% of the comments over on the Terps insider site are wishing James Franklin good luck in Nashville, but won’t miss his play calling.
by Commodorable on Dec 14, 2010 2:32 PM EST up reply actions
Decimated OL Last Season
Prisbell (of the WaPo) was interviewed on 104.5. Said their OL was decimated by injuries and defections (to the NFL). Said their two best OL were walk-ons and not to put too much stock in stats and how poor their offense was this past season. He said a lot of fans were going to be upset that he was leaving.
I think general fans are probably upset. Hardcore fans are harder to please and probably won’t mind him being gone.
Of course, he won’t be play calling as Head Coach…that’s what an OC is for.
It's got to be tough.
I feel for Williams despite his awkward handling of the Malzahn situation. The stars just seem to be mis-aligned for Vandy on this one.
It could very well be that Franklin has committed to Vandy, but if he hasn’t and Pitt comes calling with their lesser academic standards, cake conference (Big East) and a good recruiting base around Pittsburgh (close to his Maryland contacts)…he’s got to listen to them….just like Gus had to listen to Auburn when they “sweetened the pot”.
In a perverse way, having Pitt jump in makes me feel better about Franklin as a desirable commodity...
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
espn.com is reporting the deal is done now
Which I guess means it’s official now b/c they don’t report anything until it really is a done deal
Pitt's a smoke screen
Probably just a negotiating ploy because he wasn’t being offered as much money as Malzahn. Especially that it happened so 11th hour during negotiations? He’s just trying to create a market that’s not there.
by Commodorable on Dec 14, 2010 2:58 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe DW is leaking the Pitt stuff
Just to convince everyone that he’s not the only person in the world that likes him. Just kidding (I think).
Please say it isn't so...
Are we really about to hire an ACC OC who lost to MTSU? Has this whole week been for naught? It’s like a bad dream. Football has ruined Thanksgiving for years (the UT losses are especially difficult here in Knoxville), now Christmas too? (Ok, a tad dramatic, but seriously? Is this the best we can come up with?)
If it's Thanksgiving you're worried about...
Maryland beat Wake 62-14.
You should still worry about MTSU, but you might be able to enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend a bit more next year.
A few positives:
He’s 39, so he doesn’t have any long lasting realtionships with his staff. I hope he might take a flyer on a young bright minded coordinator whom he might know from his travels, including someone he might have met in the NFL. Furthermore, because he is so young, this will NOT be his last stop of his coaching career. You can bet your ass that he plans on coming in here, turning this program around and becoming the next Harbaugh of Stanford. He’s not going to accept any failure simply because if he screws up, he can kiss his career goodbye. In his mind, he has to win here. This is the exact opposite of what Malzahn would bring to the table. Malzahn would bring a fear of losing his aura, while Franklin will bring a drive to prove himself and elevate himself to an elite level. I’m only 24, so I don’t know how old those other coaches were whom you all refer to as having come in and failed, but I see his age and place in his career as a huge plus.
Lastly, I hope to high heavens that he has yet to accumulate any cronies whom he will bring with him to Nashville. This is how we got stuck with CBJ and Ted Cain fiasco. Here’s hoping he can come in with a blank slate and make things happen the way they need to be done.
A couple of things.
I disagree, he’ll never be Harbaugh because he didn’t play big time college football or play in the pros. Part of Harbaugh’s allure is that he played and succeeded at a high level and knows what it takes.
But either way the silver lining is that he’s not a chrony promoter and he’s going to want to win. I’m glad that’s the criterea we’re going on now.
by Commodorable on Dec 14, 2010 4:41 PM EST up reply actions
He did coach in the pros...
and might have aspirations to get back to that level, albeit in a more influential position.
Thanks
You brought up some positives I hadn’t considered. Hopefully there are a lot more to come. Much of my disappointment stems from the fact that we finally offered up some serious cash and were still turned down. This isn’t the big hire I was hoping for, but just maybe it turns out to be the one we need. Only time will tell.
by KnoxDore on Dec 14, 2010 5:24 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I actually agree with a lot of what Dore09 had to say
I was never much of a Bobby Johnson fan. I was not when we hired him and I was not when he retired. The problem with Johnson was that he basically had all of his old Furman buddies come to Nashville with him and pretend to be big time college coaches and I think we all saw that they were in way over their head. The one thing I do like about Franklin is the fact that he’s young and as a result I agree with Dore09 that he’s not looking to make Vandy his last stop. He will want to prove that you can win here and as a result parlay that into a more lucrative deal somewhere else (either pros or college), whereas as we’ve now seen with Bobby Johnson this was his last stop on the coaching tour and so I don’t think he brought the same kind of drive and work ethic that I hope we’ll see from Franklin. Maybe I’m way wrong, but I’m trying to be optimistic
Look I’ll agree worst case scenario we’re in the same spot we’re in now in four of five years because he managed to eek out a 5-7 season that got us all fired up. Excuse the pessimism though, comes with the territory.
There’s plenty of reasons to be pessimistic and upset right now, so I don’t blame ya Commodorable. Nice name by the way!
If possible, I’d like to put my expectations into perspective. May I ask what y’alls expectations are here for the coach? For me personally, I just would like to see a competetive team in the next year or two. Going into a game knowing there might be a chance to win is all I ask for. What do you guys realistically expect? Also, where is the threshold where you see Franklin going from a disappointment to a success? 5 wins? 7? I’m just curious to see where I stand in perspective to the average AOG reader.
I think Maryland is a good goal actually...
They made exactly one bowl game in the fifteen years before Friedgen got there – none in the ten years prior to his arrival. Since his arrival – and putting aside the miracle run to the Orange Bowl – they have turned into a pretty solid, but not spectacular ACC program. They are not mentioned along with Virginia Tech, Florida State, or Miami, but they have now been to a bowl game 7 out of the last ten years. I’m not sure that level of success is reasonable at Vanderbilt, but it is a good goal.
My realistic expectations are a bowl game within four years and then semi-regular bowl appearances after that. If we can get to a point where bowl appearances become more than a once in a generation type of thing, we can start to aim higher. Fow now, I’ll still only expect to see Vanderbilt in Atlanta if we schedule Georgia Tech.
Maybe this is realistic, maybe not, but here's what I want to see:
Season one: more than two wins.
Season two: not less than 5 wins (including, by definition, at least one conference win)
Season three: not less than 6 wins (which would assume a bowl since they hand those out like candy now)
Season four: not less than 7 wins AND a bowl bid outside the 615 area code.
Season five: all of season four PLUS at least one big-ticket win over the Penitentiary of Tennessee, or some big-ticket foe like Florida or Alabama that we haven’t beaten in years.
I don’t think this is unreasonable at all – in fact I would consider this the bare minimum necessary to keep your job, things being how they are. If you have to throttle down the non-conf schedule to help out, fine, but steady progress is mandatory and backsliding unacceptable.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
Just a chance
to be competitive, week in and week out. Much of that will depend on recruiting. By the end of October we are so beat up there’s not much left to put on the field. If the depth and the facilities improve, then that would be success for me.
by KnoxDore on Dec 14, 2010 7:02 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
My expectations
We don’t have to win every game, but I want to go into at least half the games on our schedule knowing we have a really good shot at winning it. If we don’t win those games, I’d like it to be a good game. 24 years of Vandy football fandom has reduced me to simple expectations.
That being said, I would love to see us not get shut out (still stings), to have an offense that gets a reasonable amount of points on the board, and to get bowl bids. With any luck (not that I actually believe in luck and Vandy football), if we begin to get these things, the rest (dreams of grandeur) will come in time.
facepalm
this had better not be here-we-go-again…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
I doubt it's a big deal
This is just what the administration should have done about 24 hours sooner with Gus. Probably wouldn’t have changed anything, but would have been smart PR wise at least.
I still see us getting Franklin, but I wish I was more concerned. I doubt we’ll lose him, and if we do, I doubt I’ll be disappointed.
Not excited
Maybe it’s just the disappointment of missing on a big name (Malzahn) and not going after a big name (Leach), but I can’t get excited about Franklin. It sounds like the same old, same old. I want someone who will win. Not a good recruiter from a mediocre program in a mediocre league. I am going back to basketball until they show us they are serious about football.
by Smoke n Mirrors on Dec 14, 2010 11:29 PM EST reply actions
The real reason hiring a nobody sucks
No reporters outside of Nashville or College Park care enough to actually find out what is happening, and no reporters in Nashville or College Park are actually good enough to find out if they try.
What are we really getting with Franklin?
Here’s what I’ve been able to discern from all these comments and visiting various Maryland blogs (Ben Broman’s comments here and the Testudo Times site).
1. Franklin is young, enthusiastic, and will hopefully display more life on the sidelines than Bobby did his last year.
2. Franklin is a decent enough recruiter. He is more than capable of bringing in some 3 and 4 star talent. No doubt his energy and enthusiasm help here in being able to sell a program that is inherently a tough sell.
3. He is supposedly good with quarterbacks having mentored Freeman at K-State and now O’Brien at Maryland. However, before O’Brien, why haven’t we heard of Maryland’s QB’s? If he’s that good, shouldn’t he have “coached up” some lesser talent? Just asking.
4. Maryland fans’ questions about his playcalling and lack of creativity worry me to a certain extent. I know he won’t be calling plays (hopefully) if he’s the coach, but there’s still room for concern there, which leads me to my final point:
5. He brings no concrete offensive philosophy to Vandy. Maryland runs what I have heard described as a “pro style” offense…not a spread, not an option, but a “pro style” offense. The last time we had a guy at Vandy who ran a “pro style” offense, it was Rod Dowhower (and to an extent, Woody)…and we all know how that worked out. Here’s hoping that Franklin will allow Herb Hand to take the offensive coordinator position….but I don’t know. I’m one of those guys who believes we need a “scheme” at Vandy to be successful. We’re not going to have the talent to overpower defenses in the SEC, but we can use a creative scheme to level that playing field somewhat. Doesn’t seem that Franklin comes in with any sort of credentials in a particular offensive scheme.
To be fair on #3, he's only been QB coach since 2008
So there’s only been one other QB during in his tenure, a guy named Chris Turner.
I don’t know a thing about Terps football. All I can tell you is that Rivals had him as a 5.6 3-star QB out of high school, and his stat lines. Again, 2007 is pre-Franklin.
2007: 11 games (8 starts), 153 of 241, 178 YPG, 7 TD, 7 INT, 135.51 QB rating.
2008: 13 games (12 starts), 214 of 374, 193.5 YPG, 13 TD, 11 INT, 119.3 QB rating.
2009: 10 games (10 starts), 180 of 303, 206.9 YPG, 10 TD, 10 INT, 121.1 QB rating.
Maryland’s passing offense ranged from 77th up to 64th those three years.
What does this tell us? Honestly, not much without some additional details. I don’t know how good or bad the Terrapin receivers and offensive line were those three years. But it’s a starting point.
Franklin Information
Obviously biased given the source, but still plenty of good factual information about the guy who may or may not be our next head coach:
http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/franklin_james01.html
Franklin at K-State
I corresponded with the publisher of Pewter Report, a Bucs website, and asked him about Franklin. He’s a former SID at K-State and still keeps close tabs on the program.
He said that Franklin’s a bright offensive coach, good recruiter, and very personable (he’s met him a few times). Franklin is close friends with Raheem Morris, the current Bucs’ head coach (he was DC one year at K-State when Prince was the HC). There were rumors in 2009 that Franklin might join the Bucs in some capacity in fact (probably because the Bucs drafted Freeman).
He thought that Franklin worked wonders with Freeman and the offense, noting that it wasn’t very talented outside of Freeman – Jordy Nelson was there just one year, and the other skill guy was Brandon Banks, a 5-6 WR who was just a freshman when Franklin was there (Banks is the Redskins KR now). He did think that Franklin has “underwhelmed” at MD, but wasn’t sure how much of that was due to Friedgen’s influence.
It’s worth noting that that Ron Prince was a disaster at K-State – the assistants hated him and several jumped ship or were tossed overboard during his tenure. So just surviving that experience might be a mild positive.
by Booker Reese on Dec 15, 2010 10:52 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Anchor Of Gold
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
National Commodore Club
