If Alabama beats auburn in baseball tomorrow, meaning that Alabama will have swept little brother in football, basketball, and baseball for this calendar year, can you do a spring time Sarah Mclaughlin special for how sorry auburn's athletic department is as a whole?
I was in Beaver Stadium when James Franklin coached his final game for Penn State (against Northwestern). That crowd definitely didn’t want him anymore.
That’s an understatement 😂 I was legitimately concerned for his physical safety after that game. Very unhealthy environment Hopefully the fan base will give Campbell some time and be reasonable now I actually think they will
@brianpiergrossiCampbell is an above average to excellent coach without a big head. He won many games against better teams with less talent than Franklin had. Also, he does not look down on fan and tries to B S you.
On recovering from Sandusky, No Penn State fan thought we were finished. That team is the heart of an entire region of Pennsylvania. I grew up 20 miles outside of Beaver stadium and every kid growing up wanted to play in Beaver stadium. There wasn't much in central Pennsylvania but that team made us proud each and every year. They gave us something to believe in. If you do it right you put your nose to the grind stone you fight hard you're going to have success with honor. The people of central Pennsylvania, the alumni, we would never have let that team die!!! Ever!!!
He's a good coach. He'll do good at VT. His time in Happy Valley ran its course and it was best for both sides to move on. All of that can be true at once.
@tomas746I can can do a entire lecture about why he isn’t a good coach. It’s not because of his record against top 25 teams. He is an old dog that can’t learn new tricks.
he's perfect for VT. He's a Mark Richt type coach. He'll get you those 8 or 9 win seasons consistently but he's almost never gonna win the big games. But no one is expecting VT to win a national championship, just to be competitive, so he's a great fit
James Franklin and Penn State were like that multi year high school relationship that’s amazing for awhile but eventually just become incompatible with each other as they age and come into maturity. The relationship between coach, administration, and fans had reached a breaking point and it was time for a change.
James Franklin was the coach before the coach. He did great things but could never take the next step. He was a very good coach that had outweighed his welcome.
BGJ was a real good coach till NIL. He has no clue how to navigate it and refuses to hand it over. He will be the next Dabo, stick to your guns and won't grow.
I'm not a James Franklin hater. I wanted him to win and still do but sometimes things just take its course. I'm grateful he turned things around and did it the right way! With that being said I think it'll be a little while for Matt Campbell to get this on track and hopefully over the hump. This was good for both program's; Not so much for Iowa State unfortunately.
Someone once used the analogy that James Franklin was the " guy before THE GUY. I feel that he was that at Vanderbilt. He's able to elevate the school to a much higher level than it had been but can't get them over the top. Similar to Mark Richt was at UGA. He was only able to get Penn State to a certain level and was just never going to get up over the top. He had taken them I believe as far as they could go. I think Matt Campbell will do a great job given a couple of years at Penn State and I think Franklin will do a good job at Virginia tech.
In addition to being a Buckeye fan I'm also a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Franklin at PSU kind of reminded me of Andy Reid in Philly. It just ran its course.
Fraudlin had 12 years to deliver one of the most winningest programs in CFB history a natty and he failed spectacularly. 4-21 against Top-10 teams. You have to TRY and be that insanely bad. He's a bald snake-oil salesman. Indiana accomplished in 2 years what Fraudlin couldn't in 12 - and he had MORE MONEY AND BETTER PLAYERS. The fact that a damn basketball school won a CFP title before we have is just disgusting. It was a great underdog story, and I'm happy for them, but seeing them just waltz their way to a title after Fraudlin blew chance after chance to take the next step was infuriating as a PSU fan, knowing the litany of failure this program has had under him. I felt bad for him initially when he was fired, but after the way he left and calling us out on ESPN, I wish nothing but the worst for that bald scumbag. Good riddance.
You forgot we won a single Big Ten title with Franklin…1…hmph! N Pate love the show but other schools have been through crazy scandals…which…by the way…sometimes weren’t off field crimes( what 120 person football team doesn’t deal with crime not to mention the immense staff) but actual ncaa football infractions! The Sandusky “ thing” while horrible is just another blip on the radar of American football life. Isn’t Indiana under scrutiny themselves….if your not cheating your not trying with some of these ppl, penn states always been A tier, not S tier and Franklin did nothing but continue that!
So true & thanks for pointing out Franklin's INTEGRITY. It's rare to have a winning program year after year without rumors & investigations = Franklin @ PSU, Saban @ AL, Izzo @ MSU, Knight @ IU, Coach K @ Duke, vs. several other perennial powerhouse U's who won a Natty under questionable circumstances (Carroll @ USC, Harbaugh @ Michigan). Since when did winning a Natty become more important than INTEGRITY ? Some fan bases & donors need to realign their priorities with what's more important...winning at any cost or winning with integrity!
Franklin never won and he didn't have integrity. With Franklin, PSU lost without integrity. PSU either had to fire Franklin or the entire football program would be shut down. It really was that bad.
As a Penn State grad, I'm sorry to lose Coach Franklin as our coach. I am also happy for him that he is rid of the toxic part of our fan base...and away from our clown of an athletic director. I wish him well at Va Tech. I'll be rooting for him.
Josh, let me ask you this. Considering where PSU was when coach franklin took over, how long do you think the leash will be for Matt Campbell struggles in his 1st two years ?
He got fired because Curt Cignetti accomplished in 2 years what James Franklin failed to accomplish in 12. Indiana and Cignetti winning at Autzen the same year you lose to Oregon at home is actually tragic.
There wasn’t NIL when Franklin started at Penn st. Indiana was garbage but there wasn’t one of the worst sporting scandals looming over the program either. Unfair comparison, without NIL it would have taken Cignetti a long time to take Indiana out of the gutter
Indiana wasnt the National Champions when he got fired. He got fired because the Athletic Director didnt like him, he fell apart in the year he claimed was the best roster he'd ever had AND he lost the lockerroom.
yep..very fair by Pate. As a huge Nittany Lion fan, I agree JF era worked out because we could have fallen off into the abyss, I'm thankful for that and thankful JF moved on
Sorta totally overlooked the absolutely critical role Bill O’Brien played in holding Penn State together for the two worst years. And that Franklin has a habit of going around the AD to the BOT for contract extensions annually. Given the commitment of PSU resources, he was overpaid and fully ego-driven.
The truth about James Franklin is that he’s a snake that tried to go behind the AD’s back to get another raise. Then when he got fired, he had all of his loyal employees at Penn state actively work against the Nittany Lions Program so that recruits would follow James to his next head coaching spot. He tried to screw our program for firing him. He failed.
That is true....he had two parties/meetings at his home one with players promoting them to portal and switch to VT. The second was with coaches and specific admins to follow him.
Unfortunately Franklin went behind peoples backs to try to get a raise and has done this several times for other things. He burnt sone bridges and Unfortunately it was time to go in a different direction
This is it. This is what nobody wants to talk about. The tea spilt all over Franklin because he couldn’t keep his contract renegotiations in his pants.
Let’s be honest here…when Penn State was mired in scandal, James Franklin was the right guy at the right time to right the ship and get it back on course. Penn State fans should be grateful that he was able to do this. Going forward, it became obvious that he was not the right guy to lead Penn State to a National Championship, which should be the goal of any elite program. Here’s the thing, Franklin was able to turn Penn State into a good program, but not an elite program capable of winning a National Championship title. I wish him all the best at VA Tech.
I'm not a fan/rival of the Holies but I'm so damn irrationally excited to see how James Franklin fares at Virginia Tech! That fanbase deserves a jolt of energy!
Franklin wasn't the same in his last 5 years than he was in his first 5. The youthful excitement on the sideline was gone. He looked like a grumpy old man the last few years. The "good to great to elite" speech after a second consecutive 1 pt loss to OSU was the first nail in the coffin. That was the pressure cooker and he put himself in it. He began making hiring decisions based the top name on the market and not the best fit for the team. He began recruiting the top name on the market and not the best fit for the team. The arrival of NIL and his mishandling of it only built more pressure. It was too many individuals and not enough team. Look what Cignetti just did in 2 years at the losingest college football program of all time. Brought a bunch of transfers, overlooked players, and coaches he trusted and they all worked as a team to win a Natty. James couldn't figure that out. He was blinded by the Stars
So, I'm gonna give Bill O'Brien a lot of the credit for the recovery of Penn State. Franklin got the administration to spend. Money doesn't win games though, you still gotta coach.
ESPN said they were gonna be champs and everyone believed it. Allar was never elite and their defense wasnt as good as people thought. Thats more factual
That loss to Oregon was a back breaker for that team and for franklins time at PSU. They had that game won and the QB made a horrible play and threw a pick in the red zone if I'm not mistaken. Can't really blame Franklin for that one but yes, he lost his fair share of big games. Correct me if I'm wrong, The QB threw 2 horrible picks that most likely was the reason they lost their last 2 big games(Oregon and the playoff semifinal vs ND) that would have made his record 6-18 vs top 10 teams. Not great but a lot better than 4-21🤷
One play sunk Penn State football. The receiver from Indiana caught the winning touchdown and was in the air, well every d back was taught in high school to push him out of bounds before his feet hit the turf. This did not happen at a D1 level team. That loss turned a national championship team into a tailspin. That game took the air out of the sails from a team that had such high hopes and it could not come back from. That tells me the head coach has no control of his players, Knowles was at The Ohio State University the year before and won a national championship so it’s not that he didn’t have the kids prepared as far as he could in one year. These players were out of control for a long time.I am a diehard fan of “ The Ohio State University “ and live in N E Pa and would like to see Penn State succeed. He was not the leader and it will be proven at Virginia tech. I hope I’m wrong because the athletes pay for it.
Va Tech got the best deal from all of this. They can now recruit much better players with a respected coach like Franklin, getting all those guys from Penn State, best move for VA tech, investing in their football program.
Franklin will be good for Va Tech he is a very good rebuilder but it was time to fire him he had lost the fanbase and it would have been a toxic environment if they kept him and i dont think he was happy at Penn State anymore
Franklin is a really good representative of the University, he is a very good recruiter, he is a fantastic CEO. He is an average (at best) coach. His thing is to surround himself with other guys that have head coaching chops and lean on them. Unfortunately it is during games when only he has to make decisions that you see his true nature. Because of all the previously mentioned traits, he can win a lot of games but, when it's down to being a leader on the field and making the moves to put his team over the top, you will find him lacking. Then you will see his petulant side when his salesman schtick wears off.
Most of the time he lost to teams with superior talent outside of the eggs he laid this last year. Hard to say he’s an average coach in game when he’s going against ridiculous amounts of talent that are in the national championship conversation every year
It's not just that he couldn't win the big one or that he tanked the 2025 season. Even the games he won were hard to watch. I know it sounds crazy, but when you know the team can win by 40-50 and only beat a grossly inferior team by 17 or 20 and you see the struggles throughout the game, year in and year out, you just get tired of the same old nonsense. Of course I wouldn't expect fans of other teams to understand as you wouldn't watch PSU as closely.
PSU went all in last year to test Franklin if he could deliver..fact is..he failed..he gave up on the team..result PSU fired him which was deserved. Actually he should have been put to the test 4 or 5 years ago..he would have failed then too. When the LIGHTS come on..he runs for the door.
When he promised Elite in 2018 after back to back losses after double digit leading OSU in 4th quarter-and then couldn’t deliver that was it! Should have been gone in 2021. He’s a blamer not a truth owner.
I agree franklin is a great recruiter i think he could have done amazing at florida state. Imagine being able to recuite players to florida instead of Pennsylvania. Tallahassee is what 1.5 hours from panama city beach. Fsu would have turn around almost overnight if they would have fired norvel and hired Franklin. I know they says he cant win tje big game but he playing powerhouse in Ohio state, Michigan,and Oregon. He comes to the acc and dominates while being to get better players
@bchap1233they have the money they may not want to spend it but they habd to money its going to cost them more money to keep his. Then to fire him. They save 15% if they fire him. Let me ask you this question have you ever seen a coach that went losing season, losing season, 10-3, 13-1, 2-10, and 5 and 7 and make it bad to the top of the coach worls in any sports more or less football. If they continue to to keep mike norvell they will lose 100s of millions of dollars because if they season is a loss the. Fans will quit coming to the games, they will quit buying jersey, hats, amd all gears.
Been going to psu games for 55 yrs. Haven't been so angry at psu trustees since they killed Joe Paterno. Now psu team is not psu players, it's all cyclone players. Disgusting.
Franklin was never going to win a championship last year. That would require him to beat a team where he didn’t have a significant advantage in talent and depth. On an even playing field against an evenly match team Franklin loses 100% of the time.
One decision flipped last season. And, it was James once again shooting himself in the foot coaching scared. When he punted, 3rd qtr from Oregon's 36, tied 3-3, with a great kicker who has that range, he started the exodus. He didnt play to win. He lost the team right there. Aim for greatness?? PSU doesnt go to OT and they don't lose to UCLA/Northwestern.And, his clock management was an issue several times too. He walked himself out the door when he had it all
Assuming we make the kick (which I agree was the right decision), do you think the game in any ways changes a single snap? Or does everything occur EXACTLY as it does in the past? Do say Dan lanning or Jim Knowles changes a single decision in the hypothetical field goal made scenario
Disgruntled psu fans will never admit it but he rebuilt the program and could have left after beating osu in 2016 and winning the Big Ten, the way Bill Obrien left after 2 seasons but he modernized the program and stayed at psu 12 seasons. I'm very appreciative of what he did.
@timhoffman4360yes if you’re going to squander millions of dollars to lose to northwestern the admin will eat another chunk of change just to get rid of you.
I knew we weren't going to get the full, unadulterated truth on Franklin here.. Franklin didn't save Penn State; No program with 107k stadium is suddenly going to fold up and go away. Dumb take
1000%. These people act as if the program was in shambles when he got there and that he had to rebuild it in order to save it. He made a lot of improvements to the program and facilities, but the program was going to survive regardless
For anyone who wants to know how bad he was, there’s 2 reasons that most don’t know. He was way too loyalty to the crappy players. He demanded on giving people like Liam Clifford $2 million in NIL money so there wasn’t enough to get players like Bear Alexander, who wanted to come to PSU, but he was more into loyalty to crap players than giving the NIL money to top recruits who wanted to come to PSU #2) he kept putting the gun to Penn State’s head for more and more money. He was given great contracts and PSU kept giving him even more $ when he threatened to leave every year. Then he wanted more for facilities and assistant coaches, so PSU gave it to him. So at the beginning of this year, he went to Pat Kraft and he said he wanted a new contact. Pat Kraft explained that they poured a TON of resources into the football program this past off season and told JF that they’d look at his contract after the season. JF was okay with that to PK’s face, then behind his back went to the board of trustees. PK lost all trust and faith in him after that and JF knew the end was coming. He’s a used car salesman and not a good football mind
They aren't the same kind of person though. Brian Kelly is completely unlikable and never accepts accountability for anything. James Franklin is a stand-up guy.
Virginia Tech will be better with him. Penn State will be better without him. The past season was going in the wrong direction even in, or before, the first 3 wins against his annual 8:04 cupcakes
Hey Joe, love your show but the section about James Franklin saving the program after the scandal it wasn’t James Franklin. It was the players who was that next recruitment class which was Bill O’Brien…He stablized things. James had the vision to expand and modernize Penn State football which he successfully did but now it’s back to x’s and o’s
There's only one question that matters in this entire discussion. "Will Matt Campbell win a NATIONAL Championship within 4 years and a BIG Championship within 3 years?" If the answers there are "No", then my fellow PSU fans will have been found out to be what I believe them to be, delusional fools.
Until Franklin gets out of his own way and sets his ego aside he will never win a big game. And that’s perfect for Virginia tech or at any other smaller university that isn’t a national power. Seriously he could have been handed the keys to say Alabama after Nick Saban retired and still wouldn’t win those top 25 matchups
I'm sorry James Franklin is an average coach he's a good CEO but his coaching is atrocious at times. A good coach doesn't lose his team after a big loss. If he was going to shoot for the stars and a national championship falling short for a good coach would be a couple of losses. Falling short for a great coach would be a loss in the championship game. Only average coaches lose half their games in a year whereby they were supposed to be in the national championship game undefeated. And this wasn't the first time it happened to him so it wasn't a fluke.
1:15….not true….2020 and 2021 were colossal busts as well. Guy went 11-11 over that two year span, not good. James has hit copy paste at VT 100% he’s doing and saying literally everything he did at PSU at VT (just with far less talent on the roster, albeit in the ACC now). I think VT will moderately improve to 6-6/7-5 but what’s the end game here? There’s so much parity in the acc, and when James goes up against teams of equal talent level he’s proven to not win those games at a high rate.
So James Franklin was the man solely responsible for keeping the program afloat after the sanctions? Does this guy realize that Bill O’Brien had back to back winning seasons right before Franklin with much lesser talent?
@J@JoshPateCFBf James Franklin’s not there…and Penn State keeps slipping further down the slope”. What slope were they slipping down? Also, “no one talks about it, and you know why? James Franklin is why.” What did I not listen to?
@M0shiM0shi89 Bill O'Brien left after 2 years coaching Paterno era players the second an NFL coaching job was offered. Sanctions effect was still in play. There was absolutely no expectations Penn State had to keep "afloat". Don't even bother trying to revised history with me either. I watched all PSU Football games since I could remember (roughly 2006-2008 era Penn State Football). Went to school there and my family has several letterman even. 2012/13 Penn State Football would beat 2014/15 Penn State Football based on the experience and team culture (staunch brotherhood). The "much lesser talent" is an absolute myth. Pure bullshit. Loved Bill for everything he's done, but James saved Penn State Football's image and standing. Period.
Sorry, James Franklin is just an average coach who followed 2 great coaches, one who was the best named Joe Pa!!!! JoPa did more with less high level players that James kept saying he need more level players. James Franklin is a mico manager average coach that thinks he is great in his head!!!
You can tell by all those championships he won at Penn State. Especially that last year where he got fired 5 games in. He can't coach himself out of a paper bag. He lost to the worst teams in the B10.
I saw on social media that Franklin started several underclassmen in the UCLA game. Then got decimated and that is what led to Franklin's firing . UCLA as we all know had an interim HC.
Pure bullshit. I'll copy and paste an earlier comment I made: Bill O'Brien left after 2 years coaching Paterno era players the second an NFL coaching job was offered. Sanctions effect was still in play. There was absolutely no expectations Penn State had to keep "afloat". Don't even bother trying to revised history with me either. I watched all PSU Football games since I could remember (roughly 2006-2008 era Penn State Football). Went to school there and my family has several letterman even. 2012/13 Penn State Football would beat 2014/15 Penn State Football based on the experience and team culture (staunch brotherhood). The "much lesser talent" is an absolute myth. Pure bullshit. Loved Bill for everything he's done, but James saved Penn State Football's image and standing. Period.
PSU is the 7th winningest program of all time, prior to Franklin, PSU was above 50% in top tier games. Franklin was 19% in top tier games. PSU is expected to compete for National Titles and Franklin never did that and we gave him 12 seasons…much longer than other top programs would have given a coach.
The last time Penn State was in a national championship game Frank hadn’t even coached a game yet at VT. Penn State is a great program but let’s not pretend that they weren’t mediocre the last decade or so before the Sandusky scandal.
@DoAHasekRoll read my statement again, I said all time. Even with the down years in the early 2000s they were competing at the highest level 2005 and beyond, they still beat and matched up with top tier teams because they played physical, disciplined football.
O'Brien left for the first pro job he could get. He didn't have any scholarships to work with, and Franklin came in to a completely empty cupboard. Those teams where Christian Hackenberg got sacked 10 times a game were O'Brien's players. Franklin was the one who built the talent level back up. Franklin recruited Saquon. Franklin flipped Parsons back from OSU after he flipped once already. You can hate Franklin's mistakes, but you shouldn't ignore the good stuff he really did.
Like most in mainstream sports media - Pate is afraid to criticize James Franklin. Franklin…with Kelly are possibly the most overrated “top” FBS coaches….EVER! Won pretty much EVERY game PSU was favored to win. Could NEVER win the BIG game and couldn’t COACH. Franklin’s teams were ONLY as good as his assistant coaches and most OC’s and DC’s didn’t stay long. Plus no more arrogant, self centered coach in college 🏉. On game-day James was a deer in the headlights hologram. And just a gawd-awful communicator. Franklin was hired for the wrong reason and then couldn’t be fired for the same reason. VT’s got their 7-5…8-5 guy! Enjoy!
As an Ohio State fan, I could have warned you. His defensive production at Ohio State was the product of superior talent. In talent equated or well coached games, the defense laid an egg.
@WettBlanket77I didn’t say he was bad, he just wasn’t as advertised. He has a good scheme, but needs time to get the players to learn bc he doesn’t simplify things in the beginning. I think Ohio state is thrilled to have Matt Patricia over Knowles. I would be
@WettBlanket77 Not bitter. Still won a National Championship in spite of Knowles, and now Patricia is at DC. I take everything that happens in the Big 12 with a grain of salt. They’re on the cusp of irrelevance like the PAC 12.
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did the team decide to just quit on him?
If Alabama beats auburn in baseball tomorrow, meaning that Alabama will have swept little brother in football, basketball, and baseball for this calendar year, can you do a spring time Sarah Mclaughlin special for how sorry auburn's athletic department is as a whole?
Long time Penn State fan and alum. Good take on James Franklin. Nice job and run, but it was time to move on for both James Franklin and Penn State
I was in Beaver Stadium when James Franklin coached his final game for Penn State (against Northwestern). That crowd definitely didn’t want him anymore.
More importantly, the players didn’t want him anymore.
That’s an understatement 😂 I was legitimately concerned for his physical safety after that game. Very unhealthy environment
Hopefully the fan base will give Campbell some time and be reasonable now
I actually think they will
@brianpiergrossiCampbell is an above average to excellent coach without a big head. He won many games against better teams with less talent than Franklin had. Also, he does not look down on fan and tries to B S you.
@dwp2377 He couldn't even bring himself to say he wanted to be there anymore.
Crowds are generally regarded. I'm an OSU fan and half our fans hate Ryan Day because he doesn't win a Natty every. single. year. lol
Love the wrestling comparison, didn’t know you knew ball like that lmao
On recovering from Sandusky, No Penn State fan thought we were finished. That team is the heart of an entire region of Pennsylvania. I grew up 20 miles outside of Beaver stadium and every kid growing up wanted to play in Beaver stadium. There wasn't much in central Pennsylvania but that team made us proud each and every year. They gave us something to believe in. If you do it right you put your nose to the grind stone you fight hard you're going to have success with honor. The people of central Pennsylvania, the alumni, we would never have let that team die!!! Ever!!!
He's a good coach. He'll do good at VT. His time in Happy Valley ran its course and it was best for both sides to move on. All of that can be true at once.
Wrong he wasn’t a good coach
He’s mid. He’ll do ok. Maybe even win the acc. Dominated by any good team.
@tomas746I can can do a entire lecture about why he isn’t a good coach. It’s not because of his record against top 25 teams. He is an old dog that can’t learn new tricks.
he's perfect for VT. He's a Mark Richt type coach. He'll get you those 8 or 9 win seasons consistently but he's almost never gonna win the big games. But no one is expecting VT to win a national championship, just to be competitive, so he's a great fit
Not a good coach
Good coach? At football? Maybe a good salesman, yes. A good football coach? I don’t think most would describe him that way.
Franklin walking down that Beaver Stadium tunnel one last time will always stick with me. No coming back from that.
James Franklin and Penn State were like that multi year high school relationship that’s amazing for awhile but eventually just become incompatible with each other as they age and come into maturity. The relationship between coach, administration, and fans had reached a breaking point and it was time for a change.
Very well said
Not a PSU fan but live in the state and a lot of friends are. Spot on
James Franklin was the coach before the coach. He did great things but could never take the next step. He was a very good coach that had outweighed his welcome.
BGJ was a real good coach till NIL. He has no clue how to navigate it and refuses to hand it over. He will be the next Dabo, stick to your guns and won't grow.
I'm not a James Franklin hater. I wanted him to win and still do but sometimes things just take its course. I'm grateful he turned things around and did it the right way! With that being said I think it'll be a little while for Matt Campbell to get this on track and hopefully over the hump. This was good for both program's; Not so much for Iowa State unfortunately.
That Shelton Benjamin comparison was spot on.
Someone once used the analogy that James Franklin was the " guy before THE GUY. I feel that he was that at Vanderbilt. He's able to elevate the school to a much higher level than it had been but can't get them over the top. Similar to Mark Richt was at UGA. He was only able to get Penn State to a certain level and was just never going to get up over the top. He had taken them I believe as far as they could go. I think Matt Campbell will do a great job given a couple of years at Penn State and I think Franklin will do a good job at Virginia tech.
The basic breakdown in plain terms is accurate. Of course there always details, but your statement hits the mark.
Came for college football. Stayed for the wrestling analogies 👌🏾
In addition to being a Buckeye fan I'm also a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Franklin at PSU kind of reminded me of Andy Reid in Philly. It just ran its course.
Cory in Columbus is that you?
@spingebill2009 LoL no
@preshlockHad to ask
Last time PSU got a coach from Iowa State, it worked out just fine.
Total midwit unoriginal iq comment
Campbell's phone call with Cael Sanderson did more than anything to convince him to take the PSU job
This guy is not Cael Sanderson. Not close.
I had Sandusky as an inmate at sci laurel Highlands, u could tell immediately he was a freak
No you couldn't
How ironic. He says click the like button to keep corporate out of the video then an ad immediately pops up.
Fraudlin had 12 years to deliver one of the most winningest programs in CFB history a natty and he failed spectacularly. 4-21 against Top-10 teams. You have to TRY and be that insanely bad. He's a bald snake-oil salesman.
Indiana accomplished in 2 years what Fraudlin couldn't in 12 - and he had MORE MONEY AND BETTER PLAYERS. The fact that a damn basketball school won a CFP title before we have is just disgusting. It was a great underdog story, and I'm happy for them, but seeing them just waltz their way to a title after Fraudlin blew chance after chance to take the next step was infuriating as a PSU fan, knowing the litany of failure this program has had under him.
I felt bad for him initially when he was fired, but after the way he left and calling us out on ESPN, I wish nothing but the worst for that bald scumbag. Good riddance.
Matt Campbell won’t win one either it’s been 46 years since yall been to a natty smh.. Delusional
You forgot we won a single Big Ten title with Franklin…1…hmph! N Pate love the show but other schools have been through crazy scandals…which…by the way…sometimes weren’t off field crimes( what 120 person football team doesn’t deal with crime not to mention the immense staff) but actual ncaa football infractions! The Sandusky “ thing” while horrible is just another blip on the radar of American football life. Isn’t Indiana under scrutiny themselves….if your not cheating your not trying with some of these ppl, penn states always been A tier, not S tier and Franklin did nothing but continue that!
I give BIlly O a ton more credit for holding the program together than Franklin. He did the real heavy lifting directly after the sanctions.
So true & thanks for pointing out Franklin's INTEGRITY. It's rare to have a winning program year after year without rumors & investigations = Franklin @ PSU, Saban @ AL, Izzo @ MSU, Knight @ IU, Coach K @ Duke, vs. several other perennial powerhouse U's who won a Natty under questionable circumstances (Carroll @ USC, Harbaugh @ Michigan). Since when did winning a Natty become more important than INTEGRITY ? Some fan bases & donors need to realign their priorities with what's more important...winning at any cost or winning with integrity!
Franklin never won and he didn't have integrity. With Franklin, PSU lost without integrity. PSU either had to fire Franklin or the entire football program would be shut down. It really was that bad.
As a Penn State grad, I'm sorry to lose Coach Franklin as our coach. I am also happy for him that he is rid of the toxic part of our fan base...and away from our clown of an athletic director.
I wish him well at Va Tech. I'll be rooting for him.
Josh, let me ask you this. Considering where PSU was when coach franklin took over, how long do you think the leash will be for Matt Campbell struggles in his 1st two years ?
could not agree more
He got fired because Curt Cignetti accomplished in 2 years what James Franklin failed to accomplish in 12. Indiana and Cignetti winning at Autzen the same year you lose to Oregon at home is actually tragic.
There wasn’t NIL when Franklin started at Penn st. Indiana was garbage but there wasn’t one of the worst sporting scandals looming over the program either. Unfair comparison, without NIL it would have taken Cignetti a long time to take Indiana out of the gutter
@bchap1233 Well I doubt very many coaches if any will accomplish in two years what Cignetti did.
@gsp3428absolutely not. Anyone comparing any coach to what he did is inherently dumb
Curt cignetti accomplished in 2 years what everyone failed to accomplish ever
Indiana wasnt the National Champions when he got fired.
He got fired because the Athletic Director didnt like him, he fell apart in the year he claimed was the best roster he'd ever had AND he lost the lockerroom.
yep..very fair by Pate. As a huge Nittany Lion fan, I agree JF era worked out because we could have fallen off into the abyss, I'm thankful for that and thankful JF moved on
Sorta totally overlooked the absolutely critical role Bill O’Brien played in holding Penn State together for the two worst years. And that Franklin has a habit of going around the AD to the BOT for contract extensions annually. Given the commitment of PSU resources, he was overpaid and fully ego-driven.
Can you do one of the truth on bill belichick and North Carolina football
He already did that during the college football season last year. In short, he doesn't like it
1:21 immunity
The Shelton Benjamin reference is crazy😭
It brought me no joy
The truth about James Franklin is that he’s a snake that tried to go behind the AD’s back to get another raise. Then when he got fired, he had all of his loyal employees at Penn state actively work against the Nittany Lions Program so that recruits would follow James to his next head coaching spot. He tried to screw our program for firing him. He failed.
That is true....he had two parties/meetings at his home one with players promoting them to portal and switch to VT. The second was with coaches and specific admins to follow him.
I'm sure glad he took the QBs coach with him. Good luck with that VT.
Unfortunately Franklin went behind peoples backs to try to get a raise and has done this several times for other things. He burnt sone bridges and Unfortunately it was time to go in a different direction
Sandusky went behind a few backs too ☠️☠️☠️☠️
This is it. This is what nobody wants to talk about. The tea spilt all over Franklin because he couldn’t keep his contract renegotiations in his pants.
Let’s be honest here…when Penn State was mired in scandal, James Franklin was the right guy at the right time to right the ship and get it back on course. Penn State fans should be grateful that he was able to do this. Going forward, it became obvious that he was not the right guy to lead Penn State to a National Championship, which should be the goal of any elite program. Here’s the thing, Franklin was able to turn Penn State into a good program, but not an elite program capable of winning a National Championship title. I wish him all the best at VA Tech.
Not sure it is a win win for the Cyclones!?! We'll see!
I'm not a fan/rival of the Holies but I'm so damn irrationally excited to see how James Franklin fares at Virginia Tech! That fanbase deserves a jolt of energy!
VT got the best side of that. Penn State worse off for sure.
Who would you rather have as your head coach today, James Franklin or Dabo Swinney?
JF
penn st could be as low as 8th-9th in big 10 this year - think about that
Once Franklin made fun of Marcus Freeman's hairline, it was a wrap.
I just don’t want us to lose to ODU again
Eye rolls incoming.....😂
Franklin wasn't the same in his last 5 years than he was in his first 5. The youthful excitement on the sideline was gone. He looked like a grumpy old man the last few years. The "good to great to elite" speech after a second consecutive 1 pt loss to OSU was the first nail in the coffin. That was the pressure cooker and he put himself in it. He began making hiring decisions based the top name on the market and not the best fit for the team. He began recruiting the top name on the market and not the best fit for the team. The arrival of NIL and his mishandling of it only built more pressure. It was too many individuals and not enough team. Look what Cignetti just did in 2 years at the losingest college football program of all time. Brought a bunch of transfers, overlooked players, and coaches he trusted and they all worked as a team to win a Natty. James couldn't figure that out. He was blinded by the Stars
Franklin did not want to be coaching in the ACC but no real teams wanted him. If he does well he leaves VT as soon as possible.
Franklin assembled 4-star athletes. There's more to success than that.
Penn State fan that supported Franklin for 12 years. So glad he is gone and looking forward to Campbell changing the program.
Can any of you on the comment board coach college football at that level? I never seen a statue erected for a critic!
Then who is Charlie Haas?
You all aren’t ready for the truth about me. It is you will miss me when I’m gone
So, I'm gonna give Bill O'Brien a lot of the credit for the recovery of Penn State. Franklin got the administration to spend. Money doesn't win games though, you still gotta coach.
ESPN said they were gonna be champs and everyone believed it. Allar was never elite and their defense wasnt as good as people thought. Thats more factual
The D had talent, the problem was Jim Knowles
That loss to Oregon was a back breaker for that team and for franklins time at PSU. They had that game won and the QB made a horrible play and threw a pick in the red zone if I'm not mistaken. Can't really blame Franklin for that one but yes, he lost his fair share of big games. Correct me if I'm wrong, The QB threw 2 horrible picks that most likely was the reason they lost their last 2 big games(Oregon and the playoff semifinal vs ND) that would have made his record 6-18 vs top 10 teams. Not great but a lot better than 4-21🤷
One play sunk Penn State football. The receiver from Indiana caught the winning touchdown and was in the air, well every d back was taught in high school to push him out of bounds before his feet hit the turf. This did not happen at a D1 level team. That loss turned a national championship team into a tailspin. That game took the air out of the sails from a team that had such high hopes and it could not come back from. That tells me the head coach has no control of his players, Knowles was at The Ohio State University the year before and won a national championship so it’s not that he didn’t have the kids prepared as far as he could in one year. These players were out of control for a long time.I am a diehard fan of “ The Ohio State University “ and live in N E Pa and would like to see Penn State succeed. He was not the leader and it will be proven at Virginia tech. I hope I’m wrong because the athletes pay for it.
Franklin was fired way before the Indiana game this year, and the team already had 5 loses.
He was a good recruiter. Bad coach. Arrogant. Best thing for both he was fired.
Wish Billy O never left
Va Tech got the best deal from all of this. They can now recruit much better players with a respected coach like Franklin, getting all those guys from Penn State, best move for VA tech, investing in their football program.
Franklin will be good for Va Tech he is a very good rebuilder but it was time to fire him he had lost the fanbase and it would have been a toxic environment if they kept him and i dont think he was happy at Penn State anymore
@luis.ramirez-diarte8654 I think thats fair. He was there a long time, and every relationship runs its course.
They got like 10 dudes from PSU, zero of whom would be starting in 2026 lol
@SPCpittsburgh0012he built for the future, not next year, and 10 guys is a lot
Franklin is a really good representative of the University, he is a very good recruiter, he is a fantastic CEO. He is an average (at best) coach. His thing is to surround himself with other guys that have head coaching chops and lean on them. Unfortunately it is during games when only he has to make decisions that you see his true nature. Because of all the previously mentioned traits, he can win a lot of games but, when it's down to being a leader on the field and making the moves to put his team over the top, you will find him lacking. Then you will see his petulant side when his salesman schtick wears off.
Most of the time he lost to teams with superior talent outside of the eggs he laid this last year. Hard to say he’s an average coach in game when he’s going against ridiculous amounts of talent that are in the national championship conversation every year
PSU fan here. canvas. ugh.
It's not just that he couldn't win the big one or that he tanked the 2025 season. Even the games he won were hard to watch. I know it sounds crazy, but when you know the team can win by 40-50 and only beat a grossly inferior team by 17 or 20 and you see the struggles throughout the game, year in and year out, you just get tired of the same old nonsense. Of course I wouldn't expect fans of other teams to understand as you wouldn't watch PSU as closely.
PSU went all in last year to test Franklin if he could deliver..fact is..he failed..he gave up on the team..result PSU fired him which was deserved. Actually he should have been put to the test 4 or 5 years ago..he would have failed then too. When the LIGHTS come on..he runs for the door.
When he promised Elite in 2018 after back to back losses after double digit leading OSU in 4th quarter-and then couldn’t deliver that was it!
Should have been gone in 2021.
He’s a blamer not a truth owner.
Look up RAF wrestling
I so wish Franklin had come to FSU. I think they really screwed up not wanting to spend the money to fire Mike (and Mike).
I agree franklin is a great recruiter i think he could have done amazing at florida state. Imagine being able to recuite players to florida instead of Pennsylvania. Tallahassee is what 1.5 hours from panama city beach. Fsu would have turn around almost overnight if they would have fired norvel and hired Franklin. I know they says he cant win tje big game but he playing powerhouse in Ohio state, Michigan,and Oregon. He comes to the acc and dominates while being to get better players
It wasn’t they didn’t want to spend money, they didn’t have the money to spend
@bchap1233they have the money they may not want to spend it but they habd to money its going to cost them more money to keep his. Then to fire him. They save 15% if they fire him. Let me ask you this question have you ever seen a coach that went losing season, losing season, 10-3, 13-1, 2-10, and 5 and 7 and make it bad to the top of the coach worls in any sports more or less football. If they continue to to keep mike norvell they will lose 100s of millions of dollars because if they season is a loss the. Fans will quit coming to the games, they will quit buying jersey, hats, amd all gears.
Been going to psu games for 55 yrs. Haven't been so angry at psu trustees since they killed Joe Paterno. Now psu team is not psu players, it's all cyclone players. Disgusting.
James Franklin couldn’t beat Ohio state consistently and Penn state probably thought they could get lane kiffen or curt cignetti
You must have missed the 2020 and 2021 seasons. And the 2014 and 2015 seasons. There’s 5 seasons where he wasn’t even good.
You mean the Covid years and the 1st 2 years he got there post Sandusky 😱
Franklin was never going to win a championship last year. That would require him to beat a team where he didn’t have a significant advantage in talent and depth. On an even playing field against an evenly match team Franklin loses 100% of the time.
Virginia Tech would love to go 104-45 over the next 12 years
One decision flipped last season. And, it was James once again shooting himself in the foot coaching scared. When he punted, 3rd qtr from Oregon's 36, tied 3-3, with a great kicker who has that range, he started the exodus. He didnt play to win. He lost the team right there. Aim for greatness?? PSU doesnt go to OT and they don't lose to UCLA/Northwestern.And, his clock management was an issue several times too. He walked himself out the door when he had it all
Assuming we make the kick (which I agree was the right decision), do you think the game in any ways changes a single snap? Or does everything occur EXACTLY as it does in the past? Do say Dan lanning or Jim Knowles changes a single decision in the hypothetical field goal made scenario
Disgruntled psu fans will never admit it but he rebuilt the program and could have left after beating osu in 2016 and winning the Big Ten, the way Bill Obrien left after 2 seasons but he modernized the program and stayed at psu 12 seasons. I'm very appreciative of what he did.
Franklin losing to Oregon is excuseable franklin folding on the team is why he got fired
He got fired because he demanded the money to keep the team together and then went out and lost to very bad teams
@tomas746wrong clearly it wasnt about money, look at the buyout. Simple minded people always think its about money.
@timhoffman4360yes if you’re going to squander millions of dollars to lose to northwestern the admin will eat another chunk of change just to get rid of you.
The Curse of Paterno
I knew we weren't going to get the full, unadulterated truth on Franklin here.. Franklin didn't save Penn State; No program with 107k stadium is suddenly going to fold up and go away. Dumb take
1000%. These people act as if the program was in shambles when he got there and that he had to rebuild it in order to save it. He made a lot of improvements to the program and facilities, but the program was going to survive regardless
The Gold Standard Shelton Benjamin
bart simpon at penn st will wish he could achieve what franklin did -theyll regret this mediocre big 12 hire
For anyone who wants to know how bad he was, there’s 2 reasons that most don’t know.
He was way too loyalty to the crappy players. He demanded on giving people like Liam Clifford $2 million in NIL money so there wasn’t enough to get players like Bear Alexander, who wanted to come to PSU, but he was more into loyalty to crap players than giving the NIL money to top recruits who wanted to come to PSU
#2) he kept putting the gun to Penn State’s head for more and more money. He was given great contracts and PSU kept giving him even more $ when he threatened to leave every year. Then he wanted more for facilities and assistant coaches, so PSU gave it to him. So at the beginning of this year, he went to Pat Kraft and he said he wanted a new contact. Pat Kraft explained that they poured a TON of resources into the football program this past off season and told JF that they’d look at his contract after the season. JF was okay with that to PK’s face, then behind his back went to the board of trustees. PK lost all trust and faith in him after that and JF knew the end was coming.
He’s a used car salesman and not a good football mind
A reminder he has more losses as a 10+ point favored then wins against top 15.
He’s the definition of average after leaving Vandy. Can’t fire up the team to beat an equal or better team.
Coach Franklin is a great coach. He really is. Period
James Franklin and Brian Kelly are just about twins in coaching. Both had difficulty winning big games but could get you a 10 win team most seasons.
except one is a complete asshole and the other isnt
They aren't the same kind of person though. Brian Kelly is completely unlikable and never accepts accountability for anything. James Franklin is a stand-up guy.
Virginia Tech will be better with him. Penn State will be better without him. The past season was going in the wrong direction even in, or before, the first 3 wins against his annual 8:04 cupcakes
Hey Joe, love your show but the section about James Franklin saving the program after the scandal it wasn’t James Franklin. It was the players who was that next recruitment class which was Bill O’Brien…He stablized things. James had the vision to expand and modernize Penn State football which he successfully did but now it’s back to x’s and o’s
There's only one question that matters in this entire discussion. "Will Matt Campbell win a NATIONAL Championship within 4 years and a BIG Championship within 3 years?"
If the answers there are "No", then my fellow PSU fans will have been found out to be what I believe them to be, delusional fools.
Until Franklin gets out of his own way and sets his ego aside he will never win a big game. And that’s perfect for Virginia tech or at any other smaller university that isn’t a national power. Seriously he could have been handed the keys to say Alabama after Nick Saban retired and still wouldn’t win those top 25 matchups
Love ya Josh, but agree to disagree. He coached weakly, and failed QB Allar harder than just about any coach had ever failed a player.
I'm sorry James Franklin is an average coach he's a good CEO but his coaching is atrocious at times. A good coach doesn't lose his team after a big loss. If he was going to shoot for the stars and a national championship falling short for a good coach would be a couple of losses. Falling short for a great coach would be a loss in the championship game. Only average coaches lose half their games in a year whereby they were supposed to be in the national championship game undefeated. And this wasn't the first time it happened to him so it wasn't a fluke.
James was my coach as a Penn State fan but I’m still excited for Matt Campbell
psu fans delusional about campbell - he wont match what franklin accomplished or be that successful in big 10 sorry to say
1:15….not true….2020 and 2021 were colossal busts as well. Guy went 11-11 over that two year span, not good.
James has hit copy paste at VT 100% he’s doing and saying literally everything he did at PSU at VT (just with far less talent on the roster, albeit in the ACC now).
I think VT will moderately improve to 6-6/7-5 but what’s the end game here? There’s so much parity in the acc, and when James goes up against teams of equal talent level he’s proven to not win those games at a high rate.
That sounds good if you ignore his success with Vanderbilt in a much tougher sec at the time. He was the best vandy coach prior to Clark lea.
Most of the ACC coaches are trash. He'll do fine
@codythomas52that's the thing the sec wasnt that deep till 2014 season, Kirby was still at bama till the end of 2015.
Dude there's no sense in counting the covid year
So James Franklin was the man solely responsible for keeping the program afloat after the sanctions? Does this guy realize that Bill O’Brien had back to back winning seasons right before Franklin with much lesser talent?
You didn’t listen to what I said
@J@JoshPateCFBf James Franklin’s not there…and Penn State keeps slipping further down the slope”. What slope were they slipping down?
Also, “no one talks about it, and you know why? James Franklin is why.” What did I not listen to?
@M0shiM0shi89 Bill O'Brien left after 2 years coaching Paterno era players the second an NFL coaching job was offered. Sanctions effect was still in play. There was absolutely no expectations Penn State had to keep "afloat".
Don't even bother trying to revised history with me either. I watched all PSU Football games since I could remember (roughly 2006-2008 era Penn State Football). Went to school there and my family has several letterman even. 2012/13 Penn State Football would beat 2014/15 Penn State Football based on the experience and team culture (staunch brotherhood). The "much lesser talent" is an absolute myth. Pure bullshit.
Loved Bill for everything he's done, but James saved Penn State Football's image and standing. Period.
@gerardlevaar6766the guy literally had d-linemen having to play offensive line. The “lesser talent” is not a myth, it’s factual.
@gerardlevaar6766Now that person can really BS about micro manager Franklin!
Sorry, James Franklin is just an average coach who followed 2 great coaches, one who was the best named Joe Pa!!!! JoPa did more with less high level players that James kept saying he need more level players. James Franklin is a mico manager average coach that thinks he is great in his head!!!
Josh I agree! The truth about James Franklin is he is a phenomenal coach!
You can tell by all those championships he won at Penn State. Especially that last year where he got fired 5 games in. He can't coach himself out of a paper bag. He lost to the worst teams in the B10.
He's an excellent recruiter and program builder. He's not a very good coach.
@teekay_1Franklin > JoePa. You cyclones been assjuice for 40 years. Matt Campbell? 😂😂😂
I saw on social media that Franklin started several underclassmen in the UCLA game. Then got decimated and that is what led to Franklin's firing . UCLA as we all know had an interim HC.
Just acting like Bill O’Brien didn’t exist after Sandusky. He’s the one that saved the program. Not JF
Pure bullshit. I'll copy and paste an earlier comment I made:
Bill O'Brien left after 2 years coaching Paterno era players the second an NFL coaching job was offered. Sanctions effect was still in play. There was absolutely no expectations Penn State had to keep "afloat".
Don't even bother trying to revised history with me either. I watched all PSU Football games since I could remember (roughly 2006-2008 era Penn State Football). Went to school there and my family has several letterman even. 2012/13 Penn State Football would beat 2014/15 Penn State Football based on the experience and team culture (staunch brotherhood). The "much lesser talent" is an absolute myth. Pure bullshit.
Loved Bill for everything he's done, but James saved Penn State Football's image and standing. Period.
“He’s dropped a few big games” nah all of them fam! Good riddance! Raise the Standard! We Are!
Josh I see you getting lazy that hair long boy
PSU is the 7th winningest program of all time, prior to Franklin, PSU was above 50% in top tier games. Franklin was 19% in top tier games. PSU is expected to compete for National Titles and Franklin never did that and we gave him 12 seasons…much longer than other top programs would have given a coach.
The last time Penn State was in a national championship game Frank hadn’t even coached a game yet at VT. Penn State is a great program but let’s not pretend that they weren’t mediocre the last decade or so before the Sandusky scandal.
@DoAHasekRollPenn state isn’t expected to compete for national championships by anyone outside state college
@bchap1233it’s not delusional to expect more out of a top 10 program. You can’t objectively say otherwise.
@DoAHasekRoll read my statement again, I said all time. Even with the down years in the early 2000s they were competing at the highest level 2005 and beyond, they still beat and matched up with top tier teams because they played physical, disciplined football.
@bchap1233 you obviously don't know college football history then
Bill O’Brien is why, not James Franklin!
Bill O'Brien saved the PSU football team.
O'Brien left for the first pro job he could get. He didn't have any scholarships to work with, and Franklin came in to a completely empty cupboard. Those teams where Christian Hackenberg got sacked 10 times a game were O'Brien's players. Franklin was the one who built the talent level back up. Franklin recruited Saquon. Franklin flipped Parsons back from OSU after he flipped once already. You can hate Franklin's mistakes, but you shouldn't ignore the good stuff he really did.
Like most in mainstream sports media - Pate is afraid to criticize James Franklin.
Franklin…with Kelly are possibly the most overrated “top” FBS coaches….EVER!
Won pretty much EVERY game PSU was favored to win. Could NEVER win the BIG game and couldn’t COACH. Franklin’s teams were ONLY as good as his assistant coaches and most OC’s and DC’s didn’t stay long.
Plus no more arrogant, self centered coach in college 🏉.
On game-day James was a deer in the headlights hologram.
And just a gawd-awful communicator.
Franklin was hired for the wrong reason and then couldn’t be fired for the same reason.
VT’s got their 7-5…8-5 guy!
Enjoy!
James Franklin accomplished nothing in 12 years at Penn State.
Fact.
The biggest problem with Penn St last year wasn’t James Franklin, it was Jim Knowles
As an Ohio State fan, I could have warned you. His defensive production at Ohio State was the product of superior talent. In talent equated or well coached games, the defense laid an egg.
As an Oklahoma State alum, I disagree. Take a look at our defense since Knowles left in 22
Ohio St man is just bitter
@WettBlanket77I didn’t say he was bad, he just wasn’t as advertised. He has a good scheme, but needs time to get the players to learn bc he doesn’t simplify things in the beginning. I think Ohio state is thrilled to have Matt Patricia over Knowles. I would be
@WettBlanket77 Not bitter. Still won a National Championship in spite of Knowles, and now Patricia is at DC. I take everything that happens in the Big 12 with a grain of salt. They’re on the cusp of irrelevance like the PAC 12.
Who was hired by Franklin despite a known track record of slow starts.
Or how about his culture sucked, he lost all the trust and hope of his own players, wore them down so hard they had zero desire to play anymore.