Penn State fired head coach James Franklin this past weekend after losing its third straight game to fall to 3-3 on the year.
It was a decision that some disagreed with due to Franklin’s overall record leading the Nittany Lions program, as well as the fact that Penn State was in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff less than a year ago.
ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis spoke on the College GameDay podcast this week and shared his reaction to the firing. He made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of the timing of the move.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Rece Davis said. “This seems borderline nuts to pull the trigger on this in the middle of the season, even if you’re going to go your separate ways at the end of the year.”
Davis acknowledged that Penn State’s collapse this season was inexcusable.
The Nittany Lions were ranked in the top 5 a few weeks ago, before dropping a heartbreaker in overtime to Oregon.
However, it’s what happened the past two weeks that led to Franklin being fired as Penn State lost back-to-back games to UCLA and Northwestern while being favored by more than 20 points.
“Fifteen days ago they were ranked third in the country, had a lead on Oregon in overtime in front of a White Out crowd. And since then an unprecedented collapse. A collapse unlike any I’ve ever seen,” Rece Davis said.
“The Nittany Lions lost a devastating game; they let go of the rope. They lost control of the season and now their program is at the bottom and they’re getting ready to start over.”
ESPN reporter Pete Thamel also spoke on the College GameDay podcast about Penn State’s decision to move on from Franklin.
Thamel believes Franklin should be praised for all of the success he had leading the Nittany Lions program but also wasn’t surprised that a change was made.
“James Franklin did a lot for that university. … He did a lot of hard work to bring them back to respectability, competitiveness and contention,“ Thamel said. ”And ultimately, this decision was made, my understanding from talking to people, is that they hadn’t won a Big Ten Championship since 2016. And his big game failures… they were very real and searing.
“That, combined with the free fall this year, gave the brass at Penn State the realization that it’s not going to happen under James Franklin after 12 years.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Source link
