The Chargers just fired their OC. That likely means that Staley will be sticking around. What it means for Beatty though is anyone's guess.
Football Penn State WR coach Taylor Stubblefield no longer with the program...
- Thread starter Dylan Callaghan-Croley
- Start date
Agreed. I have my opinions of some of the football decisions CJF makes but feel he has been consistently a good person and coach throughout is tenure as HC. If he feels he needs to fire some people, unless I see otherwise, I am good with that decision.
My bet would be that he's a Purdue grad... and with Purdue now looking for a new staff, Stubblfield was probably on the list... Maybe OC, maybe WR's coach? BUT, something might have happened that Franklin got wind of some "conflicts of interest"... MAYBE even having to do with why Penn State has been having a hard time landing a couple good portal WR's lately... and decided to cut Stubblfield loose.
It's all conjecture on my part... but, if Stubblfield ends up on the Purdue staff in the next few weeks... I THINK that would pretty much seal it. We'll see !!
I like a good conspiracy. I will definitely follow that idea.
Although his burn the house down post announcing the change says he probably doesn't want to leave
Interesting theory, and more grounded than most of the ideas we’re hearing. If it’s true you ought pursue a career as a Football Detective Mystery writer. There’s certainly enough drama in many of these coaching moves.
Your telling me. I posted a while back that I would love to be a fly on the wall inside the program so I could see what the actual true story was.
Coach posts scathing thread on Twitter basically giving everyone his Penn State resume. Looks like he didn't think the firing had legs.
A short time later, PSU grabs the top WR in their portal and apparently leads for another.
That is gold jerry, pure gold!
I'm gonna go with the gradual dissatisfaction theory. Coach Stubbs may have been doing an adequate to good job. But little weaknesses began to annoy CJF and in those situations sometimes something seemingly minor to some can be the crossing of the Rubicon. The raft becomes an Allison ProSports21 when fate makes the right replacement available.
No but maybe Devin Carter (decommit to WVa) got him fired? Maybe Cephas was the backup choice -- not because of athletic ability but because he needs to pass a bunch of classes to be eligible this fall?
I don't feel too bad about any coach getting fired. If they want job security they could be undertakers. Instability is baked into this career. But they get paid enormous money to be involved with something they love. And very rarely do these guys have any trouble landing the next job
I feel a little bad for the kids of assistants, but generally not the assistants or their spouses.
Bowl wins? Bowl winning percentage? You know, when you play teams of relative equal strength.
Couldn't resist Marshall.
Definitely a plus for PSU....but as I stated earlier, aren't those wins calculated in all time wins and winning percentage. I would love to beat those schools like the family mule. However, the resident Frankln bashers who act like this is something unique to his tenure need to take a dose of reality.
I wonder if the voices will stop if PSU beats Michigan and Ohio State but loses to Illinois and Maryland?
There is no reasonable metric to put Michigan ahead of Penn State in the modern era of football the last 50-70 years. Not one.
Michigan's history survives off a time where it was impossible to evaluate a team because there was no media, no forward pass, no competition or reasonable way to evaluate your team against a nation of others. Michigan is living a lie. It would have been impossible to determine if Michigan was better than Fordham, Rhodes College, Army, Cornell or Carnegie Tech in 1942. Much of the successful history of Michigan football is based on the fact that Detroit & Chicago had large media markets and could get word to California or New York faster and with more bias toward them than other more rural institutions.....Which isn't a great reason to laud their history or validate it for that matter.
Cephas was the priority one. I don't think Carter and Cephas situation was ever either or.
McClain or Carter IMO, is more accurate. From the respect that FSU has directed at Malik....it appears PSU got the prize in that contest.
Penn State's patience in the portal has seemingly paid off. In a world of leaks, media frenzy, content now, Penn State sat back and got the players right for their team. Kudo's to the staff.
Meaningless, anyone can make a short term wiki edit. Bobby Engram's page was briefly altered to show him as the PSU WR coach yesterday as well.
Ah yes, back in the antediluvian days. To watch highlights of Michigan's heyday even ESPN Classic doesn't help. They're more likely to be found on The History Channel.
Well the greatest coach ever was something like 6-10 vs Michigan. Franklin didn't invent losing to Michigan more often than winning.
The last 22ish years of Penn State football is probably it's worst stretch since the 1950's. They only had 7 eleven win seasons and 7 top ten finishes.
Beating individual teams is about matchups not about the body of work. Remember when PSU couldn't beat Iowa? They lost 8 of 9 to Iowa at one point.
Michigan during that same 22 year stretch this century had 4 seasons with 11 or more wins and 4 top 10 finishes.
As I stated, the worst 20 year stretch in Penn State football history dating back to the 50's......3 of Paterno's 4 losing seasons and a scandal and still right beside Michigan in your article.
When your worst 20 year stretch has 7 top 10 finishes and 7 eleven win seasons, your somewhat well healed as a program. Tennessee by comparison has had 2 eleven win seasons since 2000 and 2 top ten finishes.
What Penn State has done this century given the circumstances is kinda amazing.
Largely because of the dark year period from 2000-2004 which was the worst stretch ever by a wide margin, and also the scandal years where we hovered just above .500 for several years. If you pick a time period including these events of course it's going to be among the worst stretches ever.
13 catches for 152 yards and no TD's. As a 4th year player (class of 2019). At 5'9" 170 lbs.
Not what the WR room needs.
The WR roster looks pretty balanced with the addition of the 2 transfers. Not that Franlin and Yurcich wouldn't take Harrison if he wanted to come back to PA.....
Not what the WR room needs.
The WR roster looks pretty balanced with the addition of the 2 transfers. Not that Franlin and Yurcich wouldn't take Harrison if he wanted to come back to PA.....
This is 100% what I just said in another thread. You don't make this move if the kid isn't better than what you have in your room no matter who they bring in as WR Coach.13 catches for 152 yards and no TD's. As a 4th year player (class of 2019). At 5'9" 170 lbs.
Not what the WR room needs.
The WR roster looks pretty balanced with the addition of the 2 transfers. Not that Franlin and Yurcich wouldn't take Harrison if he wanted to come back to PA.....
Georgia WR Ad Mitchell entered the portal a couple of days ago too. He missed a lot of time due to injury but was a stud when healthy. I think I read that he caught a TD pass in each of the 4 playoff games he played in. It's kind of hard to believe that we are at the point where a starting WR from a back to back championship team is transferring, but here we are. Rumors are that he had a child based in Dallas and is looking to transfer closer, and that Texas might win that sweepstakes as a result.
Part of the purge/ rebuild goi g on in Madison with fickell likely not an indication of father coming PSU. Fickell been really working portal totally rebuilding team msu stule
latest word is he's staying at Washington although he isn't quoted in the article?Welcome JaMarcus Shepard?
JaMarcus Shephard - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
Source: Washington Receiver Coach JaMarcus Shephard is Staying at Washington
What began as a fan site’s “Wish List” to fill a coaching vacancy at Penn State spawned an internet rumor that is completely without merit and baseless, a source close to the situation said Thursday afternoon. “Inevitably, a part of success is that when there are job openings Coach Shep will...realdawghuskies.com
Source: Washington Receiver Coach JaMarcus Shephard is Staying at Washington
What began as a fan site’s “Wish List” to fill a coaching vacancy at Penn State spawned an internet rumor that is completely without merit and baseless, a source close to the situation said Thursday afternoon. “Inevitably, a part of success is that when there are job openings Coach Shep will...
realdawghuskies.com
Yes, rumor is that the coaches have known he was going to transfer for a while so that's why they added more.
I'm pretty sure that the staff views retention and the portal as closely linked. I wish we could have kept CV and KL. Otherwise retention and return was a HR. So far, nothing of quality has entered the portal at DT. Perhaps after spring practice or a JC. But I agree Kudo's to the staff.
+ a few of those losses to Michigan and Iowa were "welcome to the Big Ten" from the B10 officials. PSU got about 10 years of hazing from those midwestern old boys. Remember when PSU would get an explosive play and we just waited for the late flag because it was all but inevitable? I do not miss those days. The B10 still doesn't love PSU but the officiating is so much less, uh, personal.
I saw David Jones had a big article on this in the past several days. It was behind a paywall and I was not able to read it. Did anyone read this article? It had lots of comments.
What’s the story with the change at WR coach?
That would be Taylor Stubblefield, the man who stabilized the Penn State receivers coach position after three previous years of musical chairs. By and large, Stubblefield’s receivers did one thing that his predecessors in the job didn’t always seem to accomplish – they caught the damn ball. He produced arguably the two single best Penn State receivers of the past six seasons (2017-22) – Jahan Dotson in 2021 and Parker Washington in 2022.
But he didn’t recruit or mine the transfer portal at a level James Franklin believed was necessary to challenge Ohio State. And when you look at the job new OSU offensive coordinator Brian Hartline did there as receivers coach, well, there’s no arguing that. Hartline produced one stud after another during that window, often deployed simultaneously – Marvin Harrison, Emeka Egbuka, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Parris Campbell, K.J. Hill. That’s not even counting some of the stockpiled talent that couldn’t always get on field and/or were injured, such as Julian Fleming.
So, the fact is that, while Stubblefield upgraded the room and was a very good teacher of the craft, he wasn’t signing enough raw talent to compete with Penn State’s most important rival.
Here’s what I’ve learned about how the firing went down:
The tipping point occurred because Franklin wanted to sign a better 2023 class from both high schools and the portal than the staff delivered for which, of course, he substantially blamed Stubblefield. Still, I’m told that when he notified the assistant last Saturday night that they should meet, Stubblefield was not suspecting a dismissal. When the Sunday meeting occurred and Franklin informed him he was making a change, I understand that Stubblefield was quite surprised.
The meeting grew somewhat contentious beginning with Franklin’s assertion that the WR room was not producing enough and Stubblefield’s rebuttal that it had produced Washington and Dotson and the most functional and consistent unit of the offense, certainly in 2020 and 2021. That Washington had made one acrobatic catch after another in 2022 including his best game (11-179) at the most important moment – the 44-31 loss to Ohio State. That it even performed well without the injured Washington late in the 2022 season and in the Rose Bowl with Stubblefield portal signee Mitchell Tinsley starring in the 35-21 win over Utah.
The focus shifted to the 2023 portal signings. It’s known that onetime PSU commit Dont’e Thornton of Oregon (who officially signed with Tennessee 11 days ago), Kaden Prather of West Virginia (who officially signed with Maryland 16 days ago), Devin Carter of North Carolina State (who signed with West Virginia 10 days ago, 9 days after verbally committing to PSU in the wake of the Rose Bowl win), and Devontez Walker of Kent State (who signed with North Carolina a month ago) were targets Franklin wanted to have signed. That they were not, by all accounts, contributed to Stubblefield’s undoing. There was also some disagreement between the two about who should be pursued.
Here’s where the story begins to reflect the new era we’ve entered. I’m not going to name names but it’s already become common for sought-after recruits or transfers to name a price for their signature – 6 figures or even 7 depending on how many bidders are active. Either you come up with it or you’re not a player. The sell job isn’t cutting it anymore.
For decades, Penn State has been accustomed to simply stacking up the prowess of both their athletic and academic brands against other schools and signing kids based sheerly on that comparison. With the emergence of NIL and the portal, those days are over. Money talks and BS… you know the phrase.
Penn State has the donors and the money. And their brand still matters, just not as much. The trick will now be to identify high-character individuals with requisite talent and quickly pay them what they’re worth. I’m not certain Penn State has ironed out that process yet, but I’m sure it will because there is no choice.
In the meantime, I think Stubblefield was a guy caught in the crossfire of the Wild West as everyone tries to negotiate a transition. He was clearly good at coaching and teaching what he did very amply as a player at Purdue – catching the football, in traffic, in the clear, contested balls and not, gaining yards after the catch. That instruction skill will never go out of style and he will always find work.
But the job description of a major-college assistant became much more than that, almost during his PSU tenure. All college coaches are trying to adapt to the new lack of control in which they find themselves immersed; that’s Stubblefield and everybody else. I also don’t think that’s a bad thing. College players and their families have deserved more power for a long time. Now, they have it.
But the pressure on staff members to sign talent has never been higher than it is now. Stubblefield’s story is just one example.
That would be Taylor Stubblefield, the man who stabilized the Penn State receivers coach position after three previous years of musical chairs. By and large, Stubblefield’s receivers did one thing that his predecessors in the job didn’t always seem to accomplish – they caught the damn ball. He produced arguably the two single best Penn State receivers of the past six seasons (2017-22) – Jahan Dotson in 2021 and Parker Washington in 2022.
But he didn’t recruit or mine the transfer portal at a level James Franklin believed was necessary to challenge Ohio State. And when you look at the job new OSU offensive coordinator Brian Hartline did there as receivers coach, well, there’s no arguing that. Hartline produced one stud after another during that window, often deployed simultaneously – Marvin Harrison, Emeka Egbuka, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Parris Campbell, K.J. Hill. That’s not even counting some of the stockpiled talent that couldn’t always get on field and/or were injured, such as Julian Fleming.
So, the fact is that, while Stubblefield upgraded the room and was a very good teacher of the craft, he wasn’t signing enough raw talent to compete with Penn State’s most important rival.
Here’s what I’ve learned about how the firing went down:
The tipping point occurred because Franklin wanted to sign a better 2023 class from both high schools and the portal than the staff delivered for which, of course, he substantially blamed Stubblefield. Still, I’m told that when he notified the assistant last Saturday night that they should meet, Stubblefield was not suspecting a dismissal. When the Sunday meeting occurred and Franklin informed him he was making a change, I understand that Stubblefield was quite surprised.
The meeting grew somewhat contentious beginning with Franklin’s assertion that the WR room was not producing enough and Stubblefield’s rebuttal that it had produced Washington and Dotson and the most functional and consistent unit of the offense, certainly in 2020 and 2021. That Washington had made one acrobatic catch after another in 2022 including his best game (11-179) at the most important moment – the 44-31 loss to Ohio State. That it even performed well without the injured Washington late in the 2022 season and in the Rose Bowl with Stubblefield portal signee Mitchell Tinsley starring in the 35-21 win over Utah.
The focus shifted to the 2023 portal signings. It’s known that onetime PSU commit Dont’e Thornton of Oregon (who officially signed with Tennessee 11 days ago), Kaden Prather of West Virginia (who officially signed with Maryland 16 days ago), Devin Carter of North Carolina State (who signed with West Virginia 10 days ago, 9 days after verbally committing to PSU in the wake of the Rose Bowl win), and Devontez Walker of Kent State (who signed with North Carolina a month ago) were targets Franklin wanted to have signed. That they were not, by all accounts, contributed to Stubblefield’s undoing. There was also some disagreement between the two about who should be pursued.
Here’s where the story begins to reflect the new era we’ve entered. I’m not going to name names but it’s already become common for sought-after recruits or transfers to name a price for their signature – 6 figures or even 7 depending on how many bidders are active. Either you come up with it or you’re not a player. The sell job isn’t cutting it anymore.
For decades, Penn State has been accustomed to simply stacking up the prowess of both their athletic and academic brands against other schools and signing kids based sheerly on that comparison. With the emergence of NIL and the portal, those days are over. Money talks and BS… you know the phrase.
Penn State has the donors and the money. And their brand still matters, just not as much. The trick will now be to identify high-character individuals with requisite talent and quickly pay them what they’re worth. I’m not certain Penn State has ironed out that process yet, but I’m sure it will because there is no choice.
In the meantime, I think Stubblefield was a guy caught in the crossfire of the Wild West as everyone tries to negotiate a transition. He was clearly good at coaching and teaching what he did very amply as a player at Purdue – catching the football, in traffic, in the clear, contested balls and not, gaining yards after the catch. That instruction skill will never go out of style and he will always find work.
But the job description of a major-college assistant became much more than that, almost during his PSU tenure. All college coaches are trying to adapt to the new lack of control in which they find themselves immersed; that’s Stubblefield and everybody else. I also don’t think that’s a bad thing. College players and their families have deserved more power for a long time. Now, they have it.
But the pressure on staff members to sign talent has never been higher than it is now. Stubblefield’s story is just one example.
