“Quite Franklin” only made it nine episodes. Executive producer Pat Kraft pulled the plug.
Ironically, this all started to go really south in Hollywood, and while Penn State athletics isn’t in the business of producing television, it did enter the content creation space with Roar+ this offseason.
Now, a very minor storyline in the firing of James Franklin has been how Roar+, the athletic department’s first-ever full-service paywalled media outlet, would cover it.
And for the most part, that coverage has been forward-looking. However, the most interesting piece of content came today when Roar+ posted a 26-minute one-on-one interview with interim head coach Terry Smith.
In it, Smith appears to be much more confident and relaxed than when he faced the media on Monday afternoon. What has not changed is his authenticity.
“The reality of this situation is coach Franklin got fired Sunday night. The entire Lasch football building does not know if we have a job,” Smith said. “The players do not know if they’re coming back, leaving, transferring, going to the NFL. Everyone is in disarray…They put me in charge to manage that. I’m going to get this group to be ready to play Saturday night in Iowa. We have nothing to lose.”
In the conversation with fellow letterman LaVar Arrington, who hosted the chats with James Franklin on “Quite Franklin,” Smith was extremely candid about what the last few days have been like.
In a tone with more conviction than his press conference on Monday, Smith made it clear he is interested in coaching Penn State beyond this season as well, continuing his more honest, candid approach.
“Pressure is for the unprepared. I know how to lead young men. I know how to motivate them,” he said. “I know how to lead adults, the building. What’s next for me? I would love to be the head coach at Penn State but if they don’t choose me, this is my résumé to make my next move. I’m going to prove I should be the head coach at this level.”
Franklin’s firing did not elicit much content from the outlet, at least not compared to other Penn State – and far more independent – paywalled outlets. Brian Tripp, one of the key contributors to the site for Penn State, posted the announcement in one of the chats that are included with the subscription.
And that was pretty much that.
While the first nine episodes of the Franklin pseudo-podcast remain on the site, it’s not surprising Penn State doesn’t want to dottle on this part of Penn State history. It is, after all, controlled by the athletic department that fired the man.
Along with a recap article of the introductory press conference, the platform also posted a 2004 episode of “The Penn State Football Story” which featured a story about Smith when he was the athletic director and football coach at Gateway High School. (The game from that episode is the 2004 Boston College game in case you were wondering.)
Arrington continues to ask strong questions – although a few with a verbose preamble – in his role as host for these conversations. Arrington was open about the fact his son is a member of the team and that he was an ardent supporter of Franklin’s. Arrington, who was much more involved in the program under Franklin’s tenure than previously, connected Smith over the two being lettermen – jesting him about what Joe Paterno would say.
That bond seemed to erase any of Smith’s nerves – which could be seen in Monday’s press conference. It also kept Smith open and honest.
“Obviously as an assistant coach, I probably had some opinions that I kept to myself because that wasn’t my role,” he said. “Now that everything falls on me, I can voice my opinion.”
In a matter-of-fact manner, Smith expressed one of those potential changes.
“Kaytron [Allen] is having an amazing start to the season,” Smith said. “He’s got to touch the ball more. Simply put. It’s got to happen this week. It’s got to happen every week.”
For fans, the value out of the platform is moderately insightful. It is interesting however to watch Penn State handle some of the struggles the Nittany Lions were facing this season.
Over his final weeks at Penn State, Franklin, in his episodes with Arrington, was not particularly as candid as he was in the offseason or early parts of the year. Roar+ also did not post locker room video or interviews with Jim Knowles and Andy Kotelnicki after each of the last three losses, like it had done after each of Penn State’s wins.
It will also be interesting to keep an eye on this space in the future as Penn State navigates the coaching carousel. It’s doubtful that the news will break there in the way Pete Thamel broke the news of Franklin’s firing, but how that future head coach leverages the platform and how the platform leverages the head coach will be fascinating.
At Monday’s press conference, Kraft expressed his requirement that Penn State’s next head coach embrace the NIL era, and a few of Penn State’s targets do as well. Most notably, Matt Rhule has a podcast called “House Rhules” which features far more in-depth conversations and interviews conducted by Rhule himself with guests.
On this week’s episode, he discussed content creation.
He did not discuss whether he was taking the Penn State job.
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