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James Franklin has a loser mentality

Yeah, more and more, preseason and in game coaching against the big boys, it appears James has resigned himself to this mantra. Sort of, "unfortunate people don't appreciate what 10 wins is." Coupled with the constant suggestion, rightfully or not, that the university isn't willing to do what it takes, "365." I'm not actually arguing whether he is right or wrong, just that he perceives and promotes that mantra for his program. Kind of starting to open to the idea of a coach that promotes championships as the only stated goal, even if he falls short of even James's success. Just for a fresh veneer. James doesn't even bother with "elite" talk anymore. Just defends the record. Which admittedly, is pretty good.
 
Listen to the actual interview. — He meant that it as : We’re Blue Bloods…” we expect to complete for championships”
I just don't see the point of a coach saying this, besides trying to lower expectations and to try and take pressure off himself. I don't like the message that it sends the team. Yeah we won 10 games last year, who was our best win, Iowa?
 
Listen to the actual interview. — He meant that it as : We’re Blue Bloods…” we expect to complete for championships”
He should of said ......"At Penn State we expect to compete for and win a championship every year. Our fans expect this, I expect this, my coaches expect this and most importantly our players expect this."

This crap he is saying is just that, crap. Geez, how are we going to beat Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Michigan. Washington, etc with this weak minded attitude?
 
He should of said ......"At Penn State we expect to compete for and win a championship every year. Our fans expect this, I expect this, my coaches expect this and most importantly our players expect this."

This crap he is saying is just that, crap. Geez, how are we going to beat Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Michigan. Washington, etc with this weak minded attitude?
Yes because we’ve won so many championships, just a regular dynasty.
 
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He should of said ......"At Penn State we expect to compete for and win a championship every year. Our fans expect this, I expect this, my coaches expect this and most importantly our players expect this."

This crap he is saying is just that, crap. Geez, how are we going to beat Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Michigan. Washington, etc with this weak minded attitude?
Exactly. I would venture to guess most coaches give the line they expect to compete and win for championships and that's the goal etc.,.... as they should because that should be the goal to reach the pinnacle, the zenith of your profession or why do it?

I can't remember hearing any head coaches of true Blue bloods continually push this 10 win narrative each and every year. But I guess for some that satisfying.
 
Listen to the actual interview. — He meant that it as : We’re Blue Bloods…” we expect to complete for championships”
But it's still taken as the fans aren't being reasonable. I was content with 10 wins the past two years but that can't be every year and we shouldn't think of Ohio State as unbeatable. He has to continue to build and comments like this indicate he doesn't agree.
 
Didn’t Joe tell us to lower our expectations?
Joe wanted us to accept mediocrity and many people did because they were content believing "success with honor" meant more than anything else. Joe did a great job of getting the fan base to accept less than they should have.
 
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Listen to the actual interview. — He meant that it as : We’re Blue Bloods…” we expect to complete for championships”
Why aren't you panicking and losing your mind? Come on, the season hasn't even started. There's still time.
 
What kind of message does this send to your team?

I'll give Franklin a pass for his first two seasons due to sanctions. O'Brien inherited a lot of talent in spite of Freeh agency but most of those players were gone by the time Franklin took over. I'll say that Franklin won 10 games 5 out of 8 seasons (63% of the time).

Franklin's shorts get tight in big games. Otherwise we would have won 2 of those OSU games and one of the Michigan games. A couple more games too. Illinois where he played a wounded Clifford. Indiana where all we had to do is take a knee. I recall games against Michigan State, Maryland, and Northwestern we probably should have won.

I think Franklin is a good coach who falls short in big moments. I'm not sure he'll out grow it at this point. I also think we have a recruiting problem going forward due to NIL. PSU desperately needs to make the playoffs this year to build recruiting momentum because the stars from 2022s 6th ranked class will be gone.
 
I'll give Franklin a pass for his first two seasons due to sanctions. O'Brien inherited a lot of talent in spite of Freeh agency but most of those players were gone by the time Franklin took over. I'll say that Franklin won 10 games 5 out of 8 seasons (63% of the time).

Franklin's shorts get tight in big games. Otherwise we would have won 2 of those OSU games and one of the Michigan games. A couple more games too. Illinois where he played a wounded Clifford. Indiana where all we had to do is take a knee. I recall games against Michigan State, Maryland, and Northwestern we probably should have won.

I think Franklin is a good coach who falls short in big moments. I'm not sure he'll out grow it at this point. I also think we have a recruiting problem going forward due to NIL. PSU desperately needs to make the playoffs this year to build recruiting momentum because the stars from 2022s 6th ranked class will be gone.

If NIL becomes a problem that's when Franklin needs to go...we need a coach that can convince donors to spend.
 
What kind of message does this send to your team?

Well he’s right. You’re proving his point. Look at you complaining about 10 wins. Or complaining about how he explained the situation at PSU. But in a landscape where NIL money is needed PSU is struggling to keep up with OSU AND Missouri. Missouri !!! So when the man has a level playing field across the board then crucify him. Until then give him some slack and appreciate what he's BUILT since he’s been here. He didn’t walk into a stacked cupboard like Ryan Dey at OSU.
 
If NIL becomes a problem that's when Franklin needs to go...we need a coach that can convince donors to spend.
No one can convince a donor to give if they believe we don’t need to do that to compete. That’s the problem - the mentality that we don’t pay to play. And because we’ve needed to waste time convincing people and comparing to other programs PSU is behind in the game. Just like we were way behind in football bldg upgrades and way behind in stadium upgrades. You see the commonality?? PSU takes too long to get the collective train moving when change happens. If the giving is done reluctantly you will change slowly and get left behind.
 
What kind of message does this send to your team?

You conveniently omitted his statement immediately afterward that “That’s inside the Lasch building and outside the Lasch building. We totally get that and embrace that”. He also mentioned when discussing recruiting that kids come to Penn State with the goal of winning championships. Thankfully they are smarter than you.
 
Exactly. I would venture to guess most coaches give the line they expect to compete and win for championships and that's the goal etc.,.... as they should because that should be the goal to reach the pinnacle, the zenith of your profession or why do it?

I can't remember hearing any head coaches of true Blue bloods continually push this 10 win narrative each and every year. But I guess for some that satisfying.
I'd have a problem with it if he said the goal was to win 10 or 11 games each year, but that's not what he said.
 
I'd have a problem with it if he said the goal was to win 10 or 11 games each year, but that's not what he said.
But he has used numbers multiple times when he tries to state the goals and it only backfires...You are correct about this instance.

However, why even use the numbers? Just keep it to the expectations are Championships, at a conference level and a national title. That's all that is needed. He has frequently used that 10 to 11 win and 'people unhappy' moniker to soften the blow of not meeting expectations of being perhaps unrealistic. You know he has, and all of us know that too
 
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You conveniently omitted his statement immediately afterward that “That’s inside the Lasch building and outside the Lasch building. We totally get that and embrace that”. He also mentioned when discussing recruiting that kids come to Penn State with the goal of winning championships. Thankfully they are smarter than you.
The facts of this quote unfortunately do mot support the fire franklin crowd!
 
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Can you find me that quote?
Are you kidding me? He said it’s several times in the 1990s and 2000s, particularly during press conferences. And it upset a lot of PSU fans. I’m sure if he was alive today he would not appreciate PSU fans slicing up a Franklin press conference to falsely convince people that Franklin is a loser and needs to go.
 
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Are you kidding me? He said it’s several times in the 1990s and 2000s, particularly during press conferences. And it upset a lot of PSU fans. I’m sure if he was alive today he would not appreciate PSU fans slicing up a Franklin press conference to falsely convince people that Franklin is a loser and needs to go.
I am OK with it. First, it was taken out of context. Second, he is trying to say that the program is in good shape but not yet to the tOSU/UM level. Life is about recognizing your accomplishments while seeking to get to the next level. It doesn't help recruiting to say "hey, we suck. And we will suck until we figure out how to beat UM and tOSU". So he said both. We are a good program but one that needs to get better. Works for me.

Third, we have to understand that this is a PROGRAM. It takes legacy, facilities, NIL, fans, boosters and a million other things to win a natty. The BOT allowed the Sandusky era to gut the program. CJF, and BO'B before, allowed the program to recover. Now our facilities are substantially behind because we haven't poured the money into them like the top ten programs have. PSU is moving to correct those problems.

Remember that UM was less successful under Harbaugh until they started cheating. I am not sure that is what our program aspires to.
 
I'll give Franklin a pass for his first two seasons due to sanctions. O'Brien inherited a lot of talent in spite of Freeh agency but most of those players were gone by the time Franklin took over. I'll say that Franklin won 10 games 5 out of 8 seasons (63% of the time).

Franklin's shorts get tight in big games. Otherwise we would have won 2 of those OSU games and one of the Michigan games. A couple more games too. Illinois where he played a wounded Clifford. Indiana where all we had to do is take a knee. I recall games against Michigan State, Maryland, and Northwestern we probably should have won.

I think Franklin is a good coach who falls short in big moments. I'm not sure he'll out grow it at this point. I also think we have a recruiting problem going forward due to NIL. PSU desperately needs to make the playoffs this year to build recruiting momentum because the stars from 2022s 6th ranked class will be gone.
You could say the same about most coaches. Look at Ryan Day. Has more 5 stars on the roster than the rest of the conference combined and his shorts get tight against the team up north and literally every SEC team they face. He has more talent on his roster than just about every team he's lost to when he plays it tight. At least Franklin doesn't do that regularly with teams that we have the roster edge on, he pretty much only does it to those with a roster edge on PSU.
 
His statement is not horrible but is still flawed in my opinion. I don't think he should have said the last part; "but we are one of the few programs in the country you can win 10 or 11 games and people are unhappy." Why say people are unhappy and bring in a negative? I understand he is trying to prop up the program and say winning 10-11 is not good enough but he already said that and this is poorly worded. Sounds a little whiney and defensive. He made the point that the expectations are to compete for championships in the first part of the quote. It would have been nice to add to win championships.
 
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