Here’s what James Franklin wanted to get off his chest Tuesday and what irked him about the media
James Franklin’s weekly press conference was about to conclude Tuesday afternoon when Penn State’s head coach asked the moderator to wait a moment.
He had something he wanted to get off his chest.
What followed was a fiery 5-minute monologue, where Franklin criticized unnamed reporters for stating opinions as facts — specifically the writer, or writers, who railed against his decision to attempt a 2-point conversion late in the third quarter Saturday against Minnesota. And also those who critiqued the way he disciplines players.
Franklin started off speaking calmly but grew more passionate as he spoke. Here is a transcript of what the Nittany Lions’ head coach had to say, along with some context along the way:
“I do got something. So I want to talk a little bit about — because, at the end of the game, I got some questions about going for 2. And I kind of want to talk about that specific situation. But I also kind of want to talk big-picture about what I struggle with, and maybe next summer at the BBQ, you guys can fill me in on your perspective because this probably isn’t the setting for this right now.”
Some context: Franklin was discussing to his decision to go for the 2-point conversion with 4:05 left in the third quarter. Penn State did not convert, cutting the Nittany Lions’ deficit to 24-19. As far as the BBQ, Franklin was referring to the annual get-together with the media, where reporters and the football staff sit down to a catered lunch at the football building for an hour or two over the summer.
Now back to Franklin:
“So, going for 2 in this situation, we looked at the classic 2-point chart, which said go for it. We used our analytics stuff, which said go for it. We decided to go for it, partly because we’re on the road, not playing as well as we thought we should be at the time and, if we picked up the 2-point conversion, it increased our chances and put us in a better situation. If we didn’t pick it up, we were still going to have to overcome those points at some point.
“At the end of the day, here’s the thing I struggle with: A lot of these decisions are not clear-cut. There are some that are. But there’s a lot that are not clear-cut. It’s a gut feel. And what I struggle with is when those decisions — and, again, I already told you, the 2-point chart said go for it; the analytics stuff said go for it — but then opinions are stated as facts. And I struggle with that. I struggle with things that go on when it comes to discipline and people know very little of the story but have really strong opinions on how things are supposed to play out.”
Some context: Linebacker Micah Parsons did not start Saturday because of an unspecified “behavioral modification,” but the sophomore sensation still played a majority of snaps. He finished with 11 tackles and PSU’s only sack. Franklin got back around to the topic of disciplining players a little later.
But he first shifted gears:
“I’ll give you another example. The end of the game, end of the game, we’re trying to decide: Do we go onsides kick — everybody know what I’m talking about? End of the game — do you onsides kick there, or do you kick it deep, hold them and burn your timeouts? Right? We decided to kick it deep. We decided to do a squib kick; you probably saw me bring (the kicker) over there because I was hoping with a squib kick, we have a chance to maybe pin them inside the 25 because every yard matters at that point. And you never know with one guy deep having to cover the whole field; you kick it on an angle, you may go down and recover it or he may bobble it. And he did bobble it. We stopped them, went three-and-out, I burned the timeouts. That was the right decision. (Pounds table) Why? Why was that the right decision?
“Because it worked. Because we stopped them. They went three-and-out, and I burned the timeouts. If they would’ve picked up two first downs, I would’ve been getting my butt ripped at the press conference for, ‘Why didn’t you go onsides kick?’
“My point is — sometimes the decisions are clear-cut. And I get it. I make mistakes; a lot of people make mistakes. But when things are gray and things are stated as facts, I struggle with that. When I see people criticizing decisions on discipline — and I’m not just talking about my program — and you don’t have all the facts, I just struggle with things being stated as facts when they’re not. They’re opinions. And a lot of times, it’s based on how it plays out.
“If I went for 2 early in the game, and we picked up the 2, it’s a great decision. We threw a screen; we had three guys, they had two. If we run inside and score, we get 2 and it’s a great situation. So I’m not saying I’m always right, but it’s easy after the fact to say that was a bad decision when we don’t execute. Now, at the end of the day, I’ll be the first one to admit: I’m ultimately responsible for making sure that we execute the decision. So I don’t want you to misinterpret what I’m saying — I’m still responsible for all of it. And I’ll take it.
“But I will tell you that’s where my frustration comes from sometimes and, doing this for 24 years, that’s the hard part. Once again, you disagree with me and you’re more than welcome to. I’m stating my opinion on how I kind of see it. I appreciate you guys listening to me and letting me vent for a few minutes, but it is on to Indiana. And I’ll look forward to not answering any more questions about last week at Minnesota.”
Franklin did not directly address all the criticisms Saturday — such as his decision to spike the ball on first down at the end of the first half instead of calling a timeout — but the moderator thanked him for his time, and Franklin then exited the press conference.
Penn State (8-1) will next take on Indiana (7-2) at noon Saturday in Beaver Stadium.
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 2:58 PM.
