Rivals Analysts react to the news of James Franklin staying at Penn State
On Tuesday morning, the Penn State Board of Trustees met virtually to discuss and agree upon a massive contract extension for head football coach James Franklin.
This was significant news as there are already some pretty big coaching vacancies this offseason (Florida, LSU, USC, etc.), so keeping Franklin, who's name has been rumored for some of them, is huge for the Nittany Lions.
Now to see just how big of a deal this was, Nittany Nation reached out to some of the Rival Network's top analysts to get their thoughts on Franklin staying put in Happy Valley.
RIVALS NATIONAL COLUMNIST MIKE FARRELL: "Very important to do so. Even if Penn State fans don’t appreciate him as much as perhaps they should, so many programs want a coach like Franklin who can recruit and coach and he would light a fire wherever he went. They need to keep him at PSU.”
RIVALS DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS JOSH HELMHOLDT: "I have said this before, but James Franklin has the best "living room" personality of any coach I have met over the last 19 years in this business. It is easy to see why he is a great recruiter - he has the ability to connect on a personal level as well as any coach in the country. I will let others opine on his other coaching traits, but I believe Franklin is among the most elite recruiting head coaches in the college game today."
NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR ADAM GORNEY: "In a year where the coaching carousel has been kicked into high gear and there are significant changes being made across the country, stability at Penn State could be really important for recruiting and keeping a coaching staff together. That was not always certain with Franklin, who was rumored for many openings and possible openings and when he switched to a new agent there were definitely a lot of rumors flying. There have been some critics of Franklin, some of it justified, some of it not and he does need to do better against highly-rated teams. But stability is important as high-profile jobs become open and it will only help recruiting which has always been a strong suit of Franklin during his tenure in Happy Valley."
MID-ATLANTIC RECRUITING ANALYST ADAM FRIEDMAN: "They are obviously building something at Penn State and trying to find the right combination of pieces to take the program to the next level, but keeping Franklin is a big start to that. He's already brought in a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and keeping the staff helps to secure the highly rated recruiting class that they have coming in. The quarterback situation will only improve here with Allar coming in and the offensive live will continue to grow under Phil Trautwein, who's only in his second year. That offensive line unit will continue to grow under this staff and with more cohesion you will see some noticeable differences on the offensive side of the ball. Overall good job by Penn State to keep him on board."
MIDWEST RECRUITING ANALYST CLINT COSGROVE: "Really smart move by the Penn State administration. They are getting ahead of the curve during a year that could see as many as 40 head coach openings. The competition for the top coaches will be fierce and Franklin would likely have been a candidate for multiple high profile jobs. The extension will help solidify this years recruiting class at a time when a number of other school’s commitments are left wondering who their coach will be. All of that being said, It will be important to look at the language of the contract, because it is all about the buy out at the end of the day."
SOUTH CENTRAL RECRUITING ANALYST SAM SPIEGELMAN: "With his name mentioned for jobs annually and for big time jobs at USC and LSU this season, Franklin remaining at Penn State should allow them to continue to recruit at a high level. He’s considered one of the best coaches in America for a reason, so staying put should solidify Penn State as a Big Ten contender. Injuries hampered the Nittany Lions season, but they stood tall in big games when healthy. It’s a great fit with an excellent coach at a historic program, which should continue into the future."
SOUTHEAST RECRUITING ANALYST RYAN WRIGHT: "Three 11-win seasons in eight years, three games in 2021 lost by four points or less... Franklin is close. A top-five 2022 recruiting class coming in helps speak for the future. With all the coaching vacancies happening at the top of the college football ranks, this is not the year to try to find the next Joe Paterno."
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