Penn State Fired James Franklin and History Shows That Move Can Go One of Two Ways
There is a widely known saying attributed to Spanish philosopher George Santayana, which Penn State Football may be considering.
“Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.”
Well, no different than life, College Football is the same way.
History can teach us a lot of valuable lessons. More pointedly, there is a lot to learn in regards to Penn State Football’s recent firing of James Franklin.
Franklin is not the first coach to be let go for “not winning the big ones” or “coming up just one play short”.
There are numerous examples of similar situations. But how did those work out? That is the history that can help inform Nittany Lion fans on what to think of this move.
Here are cases of coaches who were let go, despite having a lot of success, in an effort to climb to the next level.
What History Says Penn State Football Could Expect After James Franklin Firing
The Best Case(s)
Georgia: Mark Richt to Kirby Smart
Right off the bat, there is a glaring example of a move that worked out well. That example is Georgia firing former Head Coach Mark Richt.
Richt led the Bulldogs for 14 years. In that time, he had a couple of New Year’s 6 Bowl wins, SEC titles, and a lot of wins, but he never got Georgia “over the hump”. Richt’s best year was in 2002 when he went 13-1 with and an SEC championship and a Sugar Bowl victory. His worst year was in 2010 when Georgia was just 6-7.
In 2015, Georgia chose to move on from Richt and hired a young Kirby Smart.
After a solid inaugural season, Smart led Georgia to a National Championship appearance in his second year, 2017. Four years later, in 2021, Smart won his first National Championship, and followed it with another one the next year.
Really, since 2017, Smart’s second year, Georgia has been elevated to an annual National Championship contender.
Others
Outside of Georgia with Mark Richt and Kirby Smart, there just isn’t very many situations that parallel the one Penn State is in, and have worked out for the good of that program.
Maybe Texas going from Tom Herman to Steve Sarkisian. Possibly Les Miles to Ed Orgeron at LSU. Both of these examples really aren’t all that parallel to Penn State right now. Unfortunately, the “worst case(s)” were much easier to find.
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The Worst Case(s)
Nebraska: Bo Pelini to Mike Riley
When you look up the reasons why Bo Pelini was fired at Nebraska, his inability to “win games that mattered” comes up quickly.
Pelini was the head man of the legendary Cornhusker program from 2008-2014. Pelini never finished worse than a nine-win season and never finished better than a 10-win season. Simply put, Pelini won a lot of games in his six-year tenure. If stretched out 12 years, I’d venture to guess he would have a very similar record to that of James Franklin.
After firing Pelini, Nebraska hired Mike Riley.
Riley turned Nebraska irrelevant with mostly 4 or 5 win seasons. After Riley, Nebraska turned to Scott Frost who never won more than 5 games. Following Frost is Matt Rhule, who is in a solid year 3 at Nebraska. Rhule has not climbed higher than 7 wins in Lincoln yet.
Since firing Bo Pelini, Nebraska has been irrelevant for over 10 years.
Tennessee: Phillip Fulmer to Lane Kiffin
While Fulmer wasn’t *technically* fired, he got a strong nudge from the athletic department.
Fulmer had an even better resume than James Franklin has. In his time in Knoxville, he won a National Championship and stacked 8 double-digit win seasons during his 16-year time in Tennessee.
Fulmer was nudged out after having a nine-win season, a 10-win season, and a 5 win season, in which he was effectively fired. Sound familiar? A good tenure, 2 really good years, followed by an ugly year, and then fired. Regardless, Tennessee hired Lane Kiffin, who went 7-6 before he bolted. After that, the Volunteers have had a run with 4 coaches and none of them have come anywhere close to taking the next step and winning a National Championship.
Florida: Dan Mullen to Billy Napier
The Florida situation is bad. It isn’t exactly parallel to Penn State, but it’s close. Florida saw a pretty good amount of success under Dan Mullen. Mullen led Florida to 3 New Year’s 6 bowls and appeared in an SEC championship game during his 4 years.
But big, bad Florida can surely do better. Right? Well, it’s been rough for the Gators with Billy Napier. Napier has called the shots in Gainesville for 4 seasons now and has effectively turned them into a national laughingstock.
The Case For James Franklin
Look, James Franklin has his flaws.
Franklin did come up consistently short against the major opponents. Franklin did fail to create a good offense later in his tenure. He had shortcomings; there is no denying that.
Furthermore, Pat Kraft and company could make an excellent hire and “Kirby Smart it”. That is a very real possibility. Kraft may be able to find a coach to raise Penn State to the next level.
But, 10-win seasons, playoff appearances, national relevance, and competitiveness with the blue bloods of college football don’t grow on trees. There aren’t that many James Franklin types out there, let alone Kirby Smart types. There are far more Billy Napier’s.
So, be cautious, Penn State fans.
If history shows us anything, it’s that there is a certain chance to elevate the football program to the ever-elusive next level. But, there are far more examples of jumping the gun and falling far out of the picture to contend for a National Championship. Which, after all, should be Penn State’s goal every year.
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Purdy was born and raised in central Ohio and served for four years writing for his high school's newsletter. Currently studying Biblical Studies at Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, Ian has been a lifelong Nittany Lion fan.
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