Lots of people have shown up here lately with agendas. Different agendas. A few posters have decided that they need to warn Penn Staters that the end of the Franklin program is at hand, perhaps because if it happens they will be able to tell themselves and others "I told you so!" They were good prophets of doom! Some posters have decided that things have changed at Penn State (not the importance of academics of course), they are uncomfortable with anybody at the helm not named Paterno, and the most important thing for them is to express their frustration with losing four games at the end of the season. "Why aren't we winning big? Why didn't we beat Ohio State and Michigan and Michigan State? Joe Paterno always beat those teams when he was in charge." Still others have a more aggressive agenda: they want to do what they can to sabotage the current head coach and his staff. They haven't liked Franklin from the start, for various reasons, and they will foment discord and dissatisfaction whenever they can.
Some posters here, and I will include myself in that group, have an agenda as well. James Franklin is our current head coach, he has continued to emphasize academics and doing things the right way, and he has had winning seasons in his first two years despite the damage that sanctions and some really poor past recruiting have caused. We want him to have the greatest possible chance to succeed at Penn State, and are willing to give him the time and the public encouragement to achieve that success. We won't trash him, we won't trash the players, and we won't trash any recruit willing to join Franklin and the program.
Recent events have some fairly simple explanations. Bob Shoop has already explained his departure, saying he didn't want to have to deal with "a rebuild" of the defense. He wants to look good enough with a strong D to be an attractive head coaching candidate. Herb Hand? He was under considerable scrutiny after very poor performances by the OL, and chose to get a fresh start with an old coaching friend. Players leaving or transferring? Except for Reeder--who had his own family agenda--the rest of the departures are for players who weren't likely to play significant roles on the 2016 team. More talented players have been replacing them--players recruited by Franklin. Think of the current situation as a reboot, a reset that was necessary given the situation that Franklin walked into two years ago.
I have a gentle suggestion for those of you capable of managing it: try to keep your criticisms of the program to yourself, at least for the next few weeks. Share your concerns with your friends. Rip anybody you want on private message boards. For the rest of you, who will respond by insisting that eviscerating the head coach and the program is your right, and you'll damned well exercise it, I will sadly agree.
Losing magnifies problems and liabilities, and winning makes almost everything else acceptable,. Lets hope the 2016 season brings some hope and satisfaction to everyone here.
Some posters here, and I will include myself in that group, have an agenda as well. James Franklin is our current head coach, he has continued to emphasize academics and doing things the right way, and he has had winning seasons in his first two years despite the damage that sanctions and some really poor past recruiting have caused. We want him to have the greatest possible chance to succeed at Penn State, and are willing to give him the time and the public encouragement to achieve that success. We won't trash him, we won't trash the players, and we won't trash any recruit willing to join Franklin and the program.
Recent events have some fairly simple explanations. Bob Shoop has already explained his departure, saying he didn't want to have to deal with "a rebuild" of the defense. He wants to look good enough with a strong D to be an attractive head coaching candidate. Herb Hand? He was under considerable scrutiny after very poor performances by the OL, and chose to get a fresh start with an old coaching friend. Players leaving or transferring? Except for Reeder--who had his own family agenda--the rest of the departures are for players who weren't likely to play significant roles on the 2016 team. More talented players have been replacing them--players recruited by Franklin. Think of the current situation as a reboot, a reset that was necessary given the situation that Franklin walked into two years ago.
I have a gentle suggestion for those of you capable of managing it: try to keep your criticisms of the program to yourself, at least for the next few weeks. Share your concerns with your friends. Rip anybody you want on private message boards. For the rest of you, who will respond by insisting that eviscerating the head coach and the program is your right, and you'll damned well exercise it, I will sadly agree.
Losing magnifies problems and liabilities, and winning makes almost everything else acceptable,. Lets hope the 2016 season brings some hope and satisfaction to everyone here.
