Will James Franklin make staff changes after Penn State’s 3-2 start? What he said
James Franklin’s weekly press conferences have a cadence to them. He recaps the previous week, then dives into a scouting report about the opponent that lies ahead. Which is what made it notable when he didn’t discuss Northwestern until he was asked about the omission Monday afternoon.
“I appreciate you bringing that up. I normally do that,” Franklin said at the Monday presser. “I apologize for missing that.”
It shouldn’t be too surprising that something like that slipped through the cracks. Franklin looks exhausted. He and the Nittany Lions have lost two straight games, including a shocking defeat at the hands of UCLA in Pasadena over the weekend, which has led to fans calling for him to be fired. And it’s showing in his voice — with every response sounding exasperated and him avoiding any small talk outside of the question at hand.
But for now, that’s the only noticeable change.
The Penn State head coach did not announce any staff changes Monday, and when asked if he’s considered any, he did not give a straight answer.
“Ultimately, it starts with me,” Franklin said. “And then there is shared responsibility between myself, the coordinators, and the assistant coaches. I have a ton of confidence in those men or I would not have brought them in the building.
“We’re a results-oriented business and we need to produce, so my job is to hold everybody accountable and create an environment where the players and the coaches can be successful. That’s what we’re going to do moving forward starting with Northwestern.”
While that indicates that nothing will change for now, it does not mean change isn’t possible. And it would be hard to blame Franklin if he decides to do something different at almost any staff position. But there’s one side of the ball that will be under the microscope most.
The Penn State offense has mostly been bad, with the UCLA matchup being an exception. Quarterback Drew Allar has not progressed as expected, and running back Nick Singleton has struggled behind an offensive line that has been inconsistent on a snap-to-snap basis.
That falls on Franklin, but also on offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who had one of the best offenses in the country last year but failed to build off it so far this season.
“Up to this point, we have not been as productive as we expected to be and anticipated being,” Franklin said. “We’ve had slow starts. If you look at what we’re able to do in the second half, that’s more I think who we’re capable of being. But we can’t go on the road and start slowly and do that two weeks in a row and really — you know, it’s interesting, because we went down the opening drive and got a touchdown. The issue was obviously they were able to score and get an onside kick.
“So I think we had three possessions in the first half on offense and part of that is the offense’s responsibility to stay on the field and maximize those possessions, and part of it is getting off the field on defense to give as many possessions for offense as possible. But myself and Andy share that responsibility, and we have not been productive enough at this point of the season.”
For as bad as the offense has been, there has been one bright spot. Running back Kaytron Allen has been excellent through five games, averaging seven yards per carry as one of the few consistent pieces of the offense. But there’s even a problem with Allen — he’s rarely touching the ball. He has nine fewer carries than Nick Singleton, despite having 138 more rushing yards than him.
And against UCLA he had three fewer carries and was not on the field for crucial snaps down the stretch. That is a major problem for an offense that is designed to get its best players the ball — and one that the staff is aware of.
“We discuss rotation as a staff every single week,” Franklin said. “That’s part of the coordinator’s plan. That’s part of the position coach’s plan. So for us, we’re tracking touches more than we’re tracking plays. Those guys are rotating by series, but we’re tracking touches. Obviously that was a discussion after the game. It was also a discussion before the game, that we need to get Kaytron more touches and more carries.”
Allen’s usage, Kotelnicki’s play-calling and everything else will be evaluated in the coming weeks — both by Franklin and the outside world as he and his staff try to right the ship this season.
And he’ll evaluate himself, too. The Penn State head coach is responsible, as he said, for the staff, the players and the entire program.
He’s the one who makes the hires. He’s the one who chooses which recruits they’re bringing in. He’s the one who structures practice and everything else that the Nittany Lions do. And there have to be improvements moving forward.
“The last two weeks weren’t good enough,” Franklin said. “... I’m ultimately responsible for all of it. So offensively, defensive, special teams, I’m there to support those guys. I’m there to challenge. I’m there to hold everybody accountable. That’s the nature of my job.”
And if he doesn’t get better, and his staff doesn’t, then those changes will likely be much more drastic than the adjustments that are expected.
But until then, Franklin and his staff will be waiting, much as the fan base is, to see if any good can come out of the most disappointing season of his tenure.
