Geoff Collins worst GT coach of all time

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Southern psu fan

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Franklin is Penn States Mark Richt. Good enough to beat the teams he has built in advantages against but not a good enough coach to beat teams at his level or above his level. I also have Penn State connections and want them to move on as he’s proven what he is. I’d rather take a chance on a new coach who can try and move them up a tier. But I also understand being happy to win 9 games a year against the nobodies is appealing.
If Penn St had aNFL pipeline like Georgia does in recruiting I’d agree with you. Pennsylvania isn't what it use to be in recruiting and they usually have to split the top talent with Ohio St. Penn St recruits good but not even close to Georgia, Ohio St and Alabama. IMO after Alabama, Georgia, Ohio St and maybe LSU and Texas there’s a big drop off in recruiting rankings. Top 5 is stout then it’s a drop off. I believe James Franklin is doing as good as you can get. Just gotta get the right QB and beat Ohio St.
 

Northeast Stinger

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If Penn St had aNFL pipeline like Georgia does in recruiting I’d agree with you. Pennsylvania isn't what it use to be in recruiting and they usually have to split the top talent with Ohio St. Penn St recruits good but not even close to Georgia, Ohio St and Alabama. IMO after Alabama, Georgia, Ohio St and maybe LSU and Texas there’s a big drop off in recruiting rankings. Top 5 is stout then it’s a drop off. I believe James Franklin is doing as good as you can get. Just gotta get the right QB and beat Ohio St.
A test for your analysis would be Franklin at FSU or Miami.
 

Golden Tornadoes

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I have a good feeling Brent Key will put a dent in Georgia recruiting and get GT back in the top 25 every year. We got the right QB we just gotta fix the defense and we’ll be making some good noise in that top 10.
I'm just glad to hear that PSU has moved away from G**** C******. You've been a great poster IMO and I wouldn't wish that travesty on you even in a DC role. What Franklin did his first year at PSU is nothing short of miraculous and has earned him much goodwill from the PSU faithful. He's a great coach that seems to always get great effort from his guys. Best of luck to y'all in the Peach Bowl!
 

UgaBlows

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If Penn St had aNFL pipeline like Georgia does in recruiting I’d agree with you. Pennsylvania isn't what it use to be in recruiting and they usually have to split the top talent with Ohio St. Penn St recruits good but not even close to Georgia, Ohio St and Alabama. IMO after Alabama, Georgia, Ohio St and maybe LSU and Texas there’s a big drop off in recruiting rankings. Top 5 is stout then it’s a drop off. I believe James Franklin is doing as good as you can get. Just gotta get the right QB and beat Ohio St.
Franklin won at Vandy, there is no doubt that the man can coach!
 

ThatGuy

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I dislike Collins as much as y’all, but DC isn’t the same as HC.
Agreed on DC & HC being different.

That being said, I've thought about this quite a bit, when thinking of TFG's future job prospects. I'd have to go back and look again, but an interesting thing came up - IIRC, at most places he's been DC, he came into a situation where things were going fairly well - oftentimes when the DC had been hired away to "move up the ranks," and the fanbases were sad to see them go. And in those instances, he simply kept it competitive without it falling off a cliff. And at the same time, he wasn't there long enough for the previous DC's recruits to age out before leaving for the next gig. So in retrospect I got the sense that maybe he was "just good enough" to keep things running without the wheels falling off, but not to actually improve things.

Same thing we obviously saw with the HC roles, but accelerated - the gradual fall-off at Temple, and then the massive crash at Tech.

So I honestly don't know, but when we're talking a high 6-figures/low 7-figure jobs, I can understand being a little washy on that. The drastic failure that was his time at GT might lead lots of P5 programs to pass him over for even DC jobs. I don't support anyone getting blackballed, but there might be a lot of ego-checking involved in his next role. I do hope he can learn from his mistakes and find something that he can excel at - but as an executive, I certainly wouldn't be willing to pay him that sort of money without an unimpeachable track record. So I think either a move into the G5, or a lower-level role (below DC) at a P5 program might be in order.

Then again, what do I know? I personally wouldn't have signed a contract with no offset with any head coach, but such is what the people who are paid the big bucks wound up doing.
 

wrmathis

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I'm just glad to hear that PSU has moved away from G**** C******. You've been a great poster IMO and I wouldn't wish that travesty on you even in a DC role. What Franklin did his first year at PSU is nothing short of miraculous and has earned him much goodwill from the PSU faithful. He's a great coach that seems to always get great effort from his guys. Best of luck to y'all in the Peach Bowl!
Bill O’Brien went 8-4 and 7-5 before Franklin got to PSU so Franklin didn’t do anything miraculous at PsU when he got there. Franklins first 2 years were 7-6, 7-6. Then he went 11-3. BOB probably would have done the same thing if he stayed.
 

GT33

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Agreed on DC & HC being different.

That being said, I've thought about this quite a bit, when thinking of TFG's future job prospects. I'd have to go back and look again, but an interesting thing came up - IIRC, at most places he's been DC, he came into a situation where things were going fairly well - oftentimes when the DC had been hired away to "move up the ranks," and the fanbases were sad to see them go. And in those instances, he simply kept it competitive without it falling off a cliff. And at the same time, he wasn't there long enough for the previous DC's recruits to age out before leaving for the next gig. So in retrospect I got the sense that maybe he was "just good enough" to keep things running without the wheels falling off, but not to actually improve things.
I’m surrounded by hardcore UF fans. They disliked him albeit the results on defensive side of the field. They were stacked with NFL talent in ‘15 and ‘16, most of them saw the drop off coming because he “ruined” their recruiting (their words not mine).

UF fans have a lot to be butt hurt about. They were competitive with Bama, annually smacked the mutts around and since the Tebow days by their lofty standards they are lackluster at best. They’re a hard group to please. They don’t have the visceral hatred of him most of us have, it’s just a nauseating dislike comparable probably to when someone’s daughter brings home a loser and they want to have her head examined.
 

Root4GT

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Bill O’Brien went 8-4 and 7-5 before Franklin got to PSU so Franklin didn’t do anything miraculous at PsU when he got there. Franklins first 2 years were 7-6, 7-6. Then he went 11-3. BOB probably would have done the same thing if he stayed.
BOn sucked as a HC. He had a lot of talent on those teams, not a lot of depth. Alienated most of his assistant coaches. He was a very poor communicator as well.

Smart guy who know a lot about football but not much regarding dealing with humans.
 

leatherneckjacket

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BOn sucked as a HC. He had a lot of talent on those teams, not a lot of depth. Alienated most of his assistant coaches. He was a very poor communicator as well.

Smart guy who know a lot about football but not much regarding dealing with humans.
What? He lost 30 scholarship players his first year and still finished near the top of the league. He won multiple national coach of the year awards
 

Techster

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What? He lost 30 scholarship players his first year and still finished near the top of the league. He won multiple national coach of the year awards

He also turned a walk on QB into one of the top QBs in the B1G and into an NFL QB.

O'Brien can coach. He's his own worst enemy with that giant ego, but even his time as Texans coach was marked by success. Four 1st place finishes in the division, and one 2nd place finish. Made the playoffs 4 of 7 years in the NFL.
 

takethepoints

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The Paul 3 win team had 100 injuries and still had a lot of close Ls.

Paul winning that game by 4 tubs.
And, I might add, Tech led the nation in rushing in 2018. Again.

And, since none of TFG's teams could stop the run, I'd say a 4td margin is being generous.
 

Southern psu fan

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Franklin won at Vandy, there is no doubt that the man can coach!
You don’t win 9 games at Vanderbilt by accident. Just to make a bowl game at Vanderbilt you have to do everything right and James Franklin won 9 games 2 straight years if I remember correctly and he won a bowl game.

Didn’t Bill O’Brian spend some time coaching under the great George O’Leary and Ralph Freidgen? Best 2 coaches I’ve I’ve seen on a football field. James Franklin definitely learned under Ralph Freidgen.
 

Vespidae

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You don’t win 9 games at Vanderbilt by accident. Just to make a bowl game at Vanderbilt you have to do everything right and James Franklin won 9 games 2 straight years if I remember correctly and he won a bowl game.

Didn’t Bill O’Brian spend some time coaching under the great George O’Leary and Ralph Freidgen? Best 2 coaches I’ve I’ve seen on a football field. James Franklin definitely learned under Ralph Freidgen.
Totally true. But … Vandy also relaxed academic standards for athletes, so Franklin benefited from several factors. Still, to win at Vandy is something.
 

Root4GT

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He also turned a walk on QB into one of the top QBs in the B1G and into an NFL QB.

O'Brien can coach. He's his own worst enemy with that giant ego, but even his time as Texans coach was marked by success. Four 1st place finishes in the division, and one 2nd place finish. Made the playoffs 4 of 7 years in the NFL.
He also turned a 5 star QB into a mess. He loses his staff and players as an HC. Very good assistant when there is a Siberian HC, Saban and Belichick. Running his own program will end up a mess. Some guys aren’t good HCs. BoB is not a good HC.
 

leatherneckjacket

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He also turned a 5 star QB into a mess. He loses his staff and players as an HC. Very good assistant when there is a Siberian HC, Saban and Belichick. Running his own program will end up a mess. Some guys aren’t good HCs. BoB is not a good HC.
Whatever. His only failure at Houston was due to his role as a GM, not coach. His team won the devision four times in five years. At PSU, he was exceptional. To suggest otherwise defies logic and reason.
 
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