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I think Saban is an outlier and Ed O is an interesting example because he was a one hit wonder with elite talent at his disposal (something whoever takes over at VT won't have).
I don't think James Franklin can be compared to Nick Saban.
Saban was 55 when he arrived at Alabama
Ed O was 55 when LSU hired him
Franklin is 53 now
He's not some fossil. He's young enough to still be hungry and I imagine he might be even hungrier now.
TEEMING WITH INTEL
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8 months 3 weeks
# | The Argument for James Franklin to be the next VT Football Coach When people complain about switching in ATL It makes me think they haven't done so in many of the other major hubs, because it's a relatively painless experience. Once they experience a terminal where they have to walk 25 minutes, and it's not clear where they are supposed to be going, or take a bus to a whole different building and go through security again, they will learn their lesson lol.
haha
okay I see your point. I'm not looking for a coach who can do more with less, per se, I'm looking for a coach who hasn't relied on talent as a crutch to be successful. Franklin has almost always had elite talent to work with. I don't want to assume that he will be able to get that same sort of talent in Blacksburg. I'd rather hire a coach who has proven that he can win with less than elite talent because my assumption is that whoever the new coach is they're not going to have elite talent to work with in Blacksburg.
I'm seeing 5 offers.
Sacramento State - Brennan Marion (Has previous William & Mary ties)
Jackson State - TC Taylor
Citadel - Maurice Drayton
Depends on his glove size...
...and can do it without blue-blood support.
Less is more? ;^)
SI has been an AI factory for years now. They're straight up garbage.
True, if you have a coach that can, you know, coach.
lol..this is kinda true tbh
Who is the third? That's the one that'll be our new coach.
Kalvin Cline vibes?
Win over Clemson isn't impressive. Franklin is 3-2 in games against ranked opponents where two of his wins were GT who was only ranked because they beat a top 10 FSU team that went 2-10, and late season Miami which is less impressive.
This is nothing against Brown I would take him in a heartbeat, but I wouldn't fire Franklin for him.
I'm sorta with you
Here's where I am. If we manage to hire Franklin (doubtful, imo) then I'll be convinced that our department is serious about trying to get back to our winning ways, albeit in a bit of a misguided approach. I think he's proven that he can win. He'd raise our floor. But he's not a good game manager, particularly in games that matter. I don't think he's the ruthless winner that I want but he'd win enough to make us competitive in the ACC, which we haven't been for a decade. That's a big improvement so I wouldn't complain.
If we hire someone like Huff or Chesney I'll be excited about where this team will be heading, though cautiously optimistic. Hiring a younger guy like that carries a certain type of risk and they're not guaranteed to find the same winning ways in Blacksburg as they have found in their current roles (Justin Fuente is a cautionary tale here) but I think their potential is higher than Franklin's. They could flop, absolutely. Or, they could come in and win 8-10 games right away and be in the ACC CG as early as year 2 with a potential playoff berth. That's exciting!
If we hire Shane, or any other P4 coach with a mid winning percentage I will be completely disappointed and checked out. Shane will win 6 games in year one, proving that he's better than Pry, getting pats on the back for making us better than we were, but he'll plateau around 8 wins or so. I have more faith in Franklin to elevate VT than I do in Shane.
If we hire someone nobody has ever heard of (or someone who wasn't on anybody's list) I won't be surprised but my excitement level is going to depend a lot on who that particular individual is (though, in all likelihood, I'd be disappointed because it likely means we missed on our big targets and are settling for someone we hope will win. Hope doesn't win games. Winners win games.)
Kyle Pitts, Bucky Hodges, and James Mitchell were all TEs that were actually receivers. He could be in that mold.
Franklin isn't the only coach who can win games
Agreed, I'm not on the Franklin or bust bandwagon. I don't love him as a coach, but do think he would win here, which is why I would support that hire.
As I've stated elsewhere, I'd be happy with Chesney or Huff. I don't think Chadwell is a fit for VT (nor as likely to be able to turn things around) and the Shane thing has so many angles, I'm not sure what I think about that!
San Fran just announced they are hiring Tennessee head coach to be their new manager. First time a college coach will jump with no pro experience.
Good frame, will be a beast
NIL is probably a better use of money than lighting it on fire as a buy out.
Maybe if he was paying us 3 million a year and we have 9 million for OC and DC.
Watching these clips has good positioning but almost everything is as a wide receiver so curious how he handles blocking or running routes from a TE spot. Wouldn't mind him just being a wide receiver here if that is a better fit for his skill set.
Heck, I am excited for him as a basketball walk on. Might be good at football as well.
Right now, we just need to win.
agreed
but Franklin isn't the only coach who can win games, you know.
Here's a list of coaches and their winning percentages
Jon Sumrall (16-2, 0.889)
Jamey Chadwell (27-6, 0.818)
Bob Chesney (14-5, 0.737)
James Franklin (104-45, 0.698)
Dan Mullen (109-61, 0.641)
Charles Huff* (30-17, 0.638)
Tyson Helton (53-34, 0.609)
Shane Beamer (31-22, 0.585)
I agree we need a winner. I want a winner. I also want a winner who is young, hungry, has something to prove, has won at multiple levels/stops and can do it without blue-blood support. Those coaches exist. Franklin doesn't have to be the only answer. He's old. He's grown used to having elite talent in PSU and he's getting fired for not doing enough with it. I'm not saying Franklin would be a bad hire for VT. I'm saying that there are BETTER options.
*Huff's record spans two gigs, Marshall and So. Miss
I thought the new coach was Charles Mullen!
Such a sad fall off from when I was growing up.
SI is never a reliable source for pretty much anything.