Franklin denied the accusation. It is fair to suggest Penn State has not been as successful as one might hope with a coach being paid as much as Franklin is. Please check your email for a confirmation. All those accomplishments don't cease to exist because of a nasty downturn and a bad break. At the beginning of the 2022-23 bowl season, Franklin was on the winning side of a bowl game as often as he was on the losing side. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports, January 1, 2022; Tampa, FL, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin runs out of the tunnel before the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the 2022 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Disgusting. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports, Sign up for the Nittany Lions Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. And here he is, the reason were here today. The Outback Bowl will provide the Nittany Lions with a national audience against an SEC opponent in Arkansas. On January 11, 2014, the Athletic Department at Penn State announced the appointment of Franklin as the head football coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. Franklin did come into Happy Valley already carrying an 0-5 record, but since arriving, he's lost 15 of 17. Shortly before then coach Ralph Friedgen was fired in December 2010, he accepted the head coach position at Vanderbilt.[10]. Penn State finished the regular season 75, and 45 in Big Ten play. Below are some of Gary Bernard accomplishments: Northwestern, like Vanderbilt in the SEC the sole private institution in the Big Ten, alleged that the real reason was fear on the part of Vanderbilt to continue playing its Big Ten counterparta series which had been referred to as the Battle of the Nerds.[19]. James Franklin Contract and Salary Breakdown at Penn State Signed: 2021 Term: Through 2031 season Base Salary: $500,000 Additional Salary: Supplemental Pay: $6,500,000 Annual Retention Bonus: $500,000 Franklin's base salary, supplemental pay, and retention bonus are all static for the duration of his deal. 6-3 since 2019, 11-10 since 2016. Or write about sports? Long story short, James Franklin has a bowl record of 5-5 in his career and a record of 3-4 while at Penn State. More bio, uniform, draft info In his ninth season at Penn State, he is already on his fourth contract. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. The holiday season is upon us, which means bowl season is here. However, all four games were also at home, so that doesnt excuse much. Prior to arriving at Penn State, Franklin led Vanderbilt to a 24-15 record over a three-year period and served as offensive coordinator at both . [30], Penn State got off to their worst start in school history in 2020, starting 05. Heres a recap of every bowl game Franklin coached en route to the 2023 Rose Bowl against Pac-12 champion Utah. [5] Since then, he has been considered a top recruiter. Join the conversation today. To answer this, I decided to compile the records of every Big Ten coach against top ten and top five opponents so we can see what kind of coaches do handle their toughest foes. if (!el_button || !el_info || !el_info.classList) { console.log('no meta_button'); return; } "[24][25], During the 2016 season, Penn State started the season 22, but Franklin rallied his team to win the next eight games, winning the Big Ten's East Division, followed by a victory over Wisconsin in the 2016 Big Ten Football Championship Game. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports). Alright, Schianos comes with an asterisk: neither of those wins were against Big Ten teams. ESPN says this group of players will be the key to Penn State's success this football season. Capturing a Big Ten Championship, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, and Rose Bowl after maintaining a 16-14 overall clip heading into week five of the 2016 campaign shows just how far Penn State has come in a relatively short turnaround. Fast forward nearly seven years in the other direction, Franklin recently etched himself among an exclusive group of head coaching titans with his squads dominant 35-21 handling of Utah in the Rose Bowl. Interestingly, Fleck is 1-3 against top ten teams with the Gophers, but all four opponents were ranked in the top five. He received a six-year contract, which paid him $4.3 million for the 2014 season, including a $300,000 retention bonus payable if he was Penn State's coach on December 31, 2014. Yet, James Franklin won nine games at Vanderbilt. Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher has been highly scrutinized this season for having such a giant contract with little to show for it. The season was scarred early on by the sudden retirement of starting running back Journey Brown due to a heart disease.[32]. [4], Franklin began his coaching career in 1995 coaching wide receivers at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Championships: 4 National Championships: 1911, 1912, 1982 and 1986 Bowl Record: 52 Bowls, 31-19-2, .615 W-L% (Major Bowls) Ranked in AP Poll: 48 Times (Preseason), 44 Times (Final), 678 Weeks (Total) Heisman Winners: John Cappelletti (1973) The team also becomes the first in school history to experience back-to-back bowl appearances in school history, capping the year with a decisive 38-24 victory over N.C. State in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. We're very, very careful and very methodical about doing that. 8 Missouri vs. No. GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Safety Marcus Allen #2 and quarterback Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions hold up the Playstation Fiesta Bowl trophy after defeating the Washington Huskies at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. Franklin was 2-1 in bowl games at Vanderbilt, a remarkable feat on its own given Vanderbilt is just 4-4-1 all-time in bowl games. Largest margin of victory against secondary rival Kentucky (40) since 1916 when Vanderbilt won 450. . Since arriving at Penn State, his teams have devoted hundreds of hours each semester to service, including an annual team trip to the Penn State Children's Hospital at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center to visit with young children battling pediatric cancers. Coach Joe Paterno was responsible for most of these bids and victories, compiling more wins, 24, and appearances, 37, than any other coach in college football history, with a bowl record of 24-12-1 (.662). Here is what Football Scoop had to say about Gattis' return to the Big Ten East: "The Terps are poised to hire Josh Gattis, the former Miami (Fla.) coordinator who rose to acclaim as a Broyles Award winner at Michigan and who has previously coached under James Franklin as well. Penn State 35, Washington 28 (2017) Franklin has coached some. Build your customFanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis onPenn State Nittany Lions and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. "And I've told them, 'Trust me. James Franklin has been a head coach for 11 seasons now. So, is James Franklin bad against top teams? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. [31] They were able to rebound, however, by winning their last four games after that to finish 45. Find out more. Nobody in the Big Ten has beaten more (or played more) top ten teams than Ferentz, but maybe give Ryan Day like three more years. He had an annual guaranteed pay increase of $100,000 along with retention bonuses, plus performance incentives each year. He's had three 11-win seasons, three New Year's Six bowl appearances and three top-10 finishes in the polls. [20] Penn State agreed to pay $1.5 million that Franklin owed Vanderbilt for early termination of his contract, Penn State disclosed this information January 24, 2014, according to USA TODAY Sports. The three losses have come in the Taxslayer Bowl, Citrus Bowl, and last seasons Outback Bowl. Standing to the side of a stadium tunnel with media members as Buckeye fans exited after storming the field, Penn State head coach James Franklin recalled the 33-24 loss his team had just suffered . One of Penn State's Big Ten rivals is adding a former James Franklin assistant to the staff, and it's a big one. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images). The lone miss was last season, in which Covid played a part in a disappointing season. So while we work on applying some science to figure those out, let's run through the Misery Index, from least miserable to most: 14. Still, those teams were ranked third and second, respectively. James Franklin was named Penn State's 43rd Annual Renaissance Fund honoree in 2019. Hes 1-0 so far with Illinois Fightin Illini, beating, wait for it, Penn State last year. Franklin was born in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, on February 2, 1972, to James Oliver and Jocelyn "Josie" Franklin. He spent the first three years of his career at Vanderbilt. The dinner raised over $287,600 for endowed scholarships at Penn State. They began a long-distance relationship that led to an engagement in Green Bay, where Franklin worked in 2005. We wont get into the reasons why he shouldnt be today. He also has wins in the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl. [33] The team was invited to the Outback Bowl and a matchup with Arkansas, the first ever meeting between the two schools. Franklin has just the one Big Ten championship but is in a conference where Ohio State is annually on a different level. The Nittany Lions, started the season off with a 50 record and with wins over #12 Wisconsin and #22 Auburn were ranked as high as #4 in the country. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. The Nittany Lions hold a 1761 record in the major bowls (Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, Peach, and Cotton). All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Gattis is set to replace Dan Enos, who left . var bling_len = 0; Heading into Penn State football head coach James Franklin's third season in Happy Valley, the Pennsylvania native boasted a moderate 14-12 record at the helm, highlighted by a first-year Pinstripe Bowl victory over Boston College for the program's first bowl triumph since the 2009 campaign. The coward Jim Leonhard has yet to play a top ten opponent while at Wisconsin, making even Gary Barta blush at the Charmin-esque schedule. [7] Friedgen retained Franklin as the wide receivers coach, one of only two assistants to be kept on the new coaching staff (running backs coach Mike Locksley was the other).[8]. Three of the nine bowl appearances have been in New Year Six bowls, the last of which is the Cotton Bowl in 2019. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. The last three regular season losses were close games to No. Follow Kevin McGuire on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Four straight wins in SEC play for the first time since 1949. Some may give a pass for the results of the 2020 season, but coming up with a mediocre 2021 season to follow that up did little to defend Franklins rep. That is what makes this weekends road game at Michigan so important for the image of not just Franklin as a head coach, but Penn State as a program. On this date: In 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as . He has a small sample size, especially when considering this is his sixth year with the Boilermakers, but he got his second win against a top five team (second-ranked Iowa in 2021) faster than everyone on this list except the next guy.