ALTOONA, Pa. -- There's a feeling, a general consensus if you will, among the incredibly passionate Penn State fan base that James Franklin's coaching is one of the things holding the program back.
Whether that's reality or not, it is 100 percent accurate to point out that a huge portion of the fan base perceives things that way with regards to Franklin's coaching ability.
And so, we all know what they say about perception being reality.
I did my game-by-game predictions for the season over the weekend, and came up with 7-5. Penn State is talented enough to win pretty much every game, except for Ohio State, and I see the Nittany Lions playing a bunch of close games.
But as I explained in our latest We Are podcast, one of the big reasons I have trouble picking the Lions to win a bunch of those close games is because Franklin often finds a way to mess something up with a call, a decision or a philosophy.
Believe me, I realize I am FAR from being the only one who feels that way.
I hear and read comments from a whole bunch of Penn State fans, both here and in other public forums. When trying to predict how the football team will fare this season, the three main areas of concern that fans bring up the most are 1) Offensive line; 2) Sean Clifford and 3) Franklin's game day coaching.
We talk ad nauseum about the O-line. Every year.
Clifford has been an average QB during his career, so he either will or won't improve this season.
When those two subjects come up, there is always a lot of detail about how the line or Clifford can get better. Even pessimistic fans will try to find a ray of hope, noting that Clifford was playing well before he got hurt last year, or that the line should be better in year two under offensive coordiator Mike Yurcich.
See, that's how fans think -- they always look for positives, for things to be optimistic about.
But have you ever noticed that, when discussions about Penn State's potential comes up, there is very seldom any mention of anything positive about Franklin as a coach? I mean, you'd think the guy would get cut some slack from fans after what he accomplished from 2016-19, but in reality, most fans seem to think that if the Lions are to be really good, that it would be in spite of Franklin.
Is that fair? At all?
Probably not. But again, we're talking perception here, and the fact of the matter is that Franklin's game day coaching has always been questioned. That still is a huge concern for even optimistic fans after going 11-11 the past two seasons.
Franklin is a fantastic recruiter. He's a really good modern-day college football CEO. He represents the university well. There is a whole lot to like about him for six days and 21 hours a week.
But, for three hours on game day, it seems like most Penn State fans just don't have a lot of faith in the guy.
So, here's your chance to help him out. To give him some advice on how he can get better as a coach.
Do you want him to go for it on fourth down more often? Less often?
Do you want more trick plays? Or less?
Do you want the team to look better prepared and be more aggressive to start games, instead of waiting until halftime to make adjustments? (That's by far my biggest beef.)
Do you want him to give his coordinators full control to do what they want during games? Or to step in more often and make more key decisions himself?
What specifically would you like to see Franklin do differently in order to, in your mind, become a better game day coach?
Post your thoughts in the comments here, or you can click on my tweet below and comment there.
I'll come back over the next few days and add some of the better comments to this story.
I'm personally looking forward to seeing what people have to say, and again, give some specifics. It's one thing to complain about a problem over and over, but quite another to actually come up with a quality solution.
I know, I know, none of us are getting paid $8.5 million a year for the next decade to solve Penn State's problems. Franklin has the responsibility do that on his own.
But hey, why not help him out with some advice?
Suggestion box: What advice would you give James Franklin to become a better coach?
— Cory Giger (@CoryGiger) August 22, 2022
I tackle that subject in the story below.
Comment here on Twitter with your suggestions, and I'll add best ones to the story.https://t.co/oJ6moBq5rH
READER RESPONSES
We've gotten a lot of good responses so far. Here's a sampling, starting with a very, very important one.
Completely re-examine what you’re doing the week after a loss. The cardinal sin in all of sports is letting one loss beat you twice; this program lets it happen routinely… For all the “1-0” talk, they really do a terrible job getting off the mat after a loss.
— John DeRosier (@JohnRDeRosier) August 22, 2022
When PITT played at PSU in 2017, I watched Franklin for a large part of the game and he stands at the opposite end of the field by himself. I never seen a head coach that was not involved in the play by play action. He lets his coordinators do the coaching.
— Don Lovre (@DonLovre) August 22, 2022
Long list. Don’t get caught up in emotion of the game. Don’t cheer too much. Let your assistants run the offense and defense. Don’t only recruit athletes. Recruit tough football players who can lead and want to win. Players don’t need to like you. But they have to respect you
— nebs (@nebs862) August 22, 2022
When you're up against a quality opponent in the 4th quarter, keep your foot on the gas. Don't go too conservative, too early. Make sure that you put the game away.
— Martin O'Connor (@martinowvhs93) August 22, 2022
Find an old coach to help with clock and game management decisions.
— Rich (@HarlowDad) August 22, 2022
The following guy posted a lengthy thread of suggestions on Twitter. Here's one of the good ones:
Idea #10: Your goal as a coach should be to win at Penn State, not focusing 100% on getting as many guys as possible to the NFL in 3 years.
— Matt Povanda (@MattPovanda) August 22, 2022
And some comments from here on DKPS:
Ditch the RPO as the centerpiece of your offense. It seems to make the lineman reactionary and less physical. Run a more pro style offense, recruit maulers on the o line and let them fire off and be physical. Qb under center most of the time to allow for traditional play action, and maybe use a fullback (a man can dream). -- Jk52
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Obviously, we have little to no idea when and where he steps in to make decisions/calls on game day, but after the results we have seen, I have little to no faith in his football IQ. There's the phrase that perception is reality and thus far the reality is that he is far inferior to other HC's on game day. I'm not here to just bash the man because I do feel he is an excellent recruiter, leader and motivator. Oddly enough, I view JF and Mike Tomlin very similar for their second to none leadership and their downfalls on game day... with all that being said, I say relinquish control to the OC/DC on game day (assuming they are the right ones for the job). -- PGH2CBUS
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He needs to treat Saturdays as CEO days and delegate delegate delegate - let the OC and DC do their jobs. Sure, JF should be involved in game planning and big decisions - fake punts/FGs for example. But let the coordinators call the games the way they see fit on Saturdays. I know he made comments earlier about egos which seemed to point fingers at the OC, but it’ll be hard to convince me that JF wasn’t the primary reason they went run-heavy at MSU to try to get a 100yd rusher. -- Burghman
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Stop saying “obviously “ and “challenging”. Do not take timeouts before big plays. Keep the ball in the hands of stars only. Tricks and low percentage hand offs historically ineffective. Most important- George Costanza had tremendous success doing the opposite of his instinct. This could lead him to a Rose Bowl. -- chorle
