Yep, James Franklin is a salesman — he has to be — and he’s pretty good at winning football games, too.
Franklin has a problem winning games against two teams, Ohio State and Michigan, and this season only OSU is on the schedule. Otherwise, he’s 94-39 during his decade at Penn State, a record few other coaches, perhaps none, would’ve been able to match in Happy Valley during the same time.
He has a Big Ten Conference championship on his resume, and has won the Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Rose Bowl. Since the start of the 2022 season, his teams are 27-5.
At the same time, he’s sold and sold and sold, championing “alignment,” facility upgrades and investments that have made the football program better and enhanced the program’s long-standing reputation for success.
As a result of Franklin’s complaining and comparing, his leadership and performance, Penn State enters this weekend’s game at Wisconsin ranked third nationally and comfortably in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Nittany Lions are better positioned at this point of the season than they’ve been in a while (though Ohio State looms a week away) and the salesmanship never wanes.
Entering this season, it was about an in-house training table — something that became a reality just a few weeks before the season and other units at Penn State, those that provided such meals in the past, did not know about until it happened. For a brief time a couple of weeks ago, it was about an airport upgrade, and it feels like that topic might get a consistent and regular pitch.
And it’s always, always, about money.
With the college football model fully altered to a pay-for-play approach under the guise of name, image and likeness, programs like Penn State (or at least what Penn State aspires to be year in and year out) need millions of dollars every year to pay the bills. That’s everything from the light bill to the on-field talent. Well, mostly the on-field talent.
If you’re going to pay bills, you’re going to need money. And if you need money, you need a salesman. That’s Franklin.
That’s not a pejorative, either. He knows that’s a big part of the job — and it’s a tough job with a fanbase that’s proven more reticent than some others to embrace the updated college football model.
For whatever reason — and naysayers could offer many, primarily those nagging losses to the conference’s longtime standard bearers — after 10 years and all that success, some are still not sold on Franklin.
Part of it is the contract with the pricy out clause for the university. Still, it’s hard to argue he’s overpaid in the modern market of college football. You might be able to pay someone less, but you’d probably get less.
My personal list of nitpicks would include community engagement. Pick a charity, any charity. Do it in the offseason, or at least some time when things are slower. Engage the wife and family, and let’s let Sue Paterno stop being the First Lady of Penn State Football, and you might buy yourself a little goodwill.
But that’s the rub. He’s not a buyer. He’s a salesman.
Right now, he’s in the process of trying to increase the value of his product. Behind the scenes and on all the days other than game days, Franklin makes almost all the right decisions.
The coaching and support staff has grown, exponentially, as it has at all the other top-tier programs. The support systems have been upgraded. After all, you have to keep up with the Georgias, Oregons and Ohio States of the world.
Penn State has done that, with more upgrades to come, and more money to be requested.
He’s built a staff, and rebuilt it, dutifully ousting those who do not perform (or who need to take the blame for poor performances) as well as those who move on to better opportunities. Plus, he has embraced former players, rebuilding bridges to alumni that were weak when he arrived and added Penn Staters to his staff when he can.
Administratively, Franklin seems to walk the talk regarding athletics and player discipline. Every big program has issues, and we’re long removed from the Grand Experiment, but the related topics generally seem to get more than lip service from the current head coach.
He does seem to make a public relations misstep every season — we saw that again this week — with those rooted a little bit in hubris, it seems. He could be more forthcoming, without saying anything.
It’s an approach and practice that can be practiced and should be a stronger skill for him after a decade at Penn State. There have been enough opportunities to test it. Sometimes saying nothing is fine, and sometimes learning a little bit while on the job is even better. Walking away from the microphone when you’re paid to be the face of the place is a harder approach to sell.
It’s really all about the nagging losses, though. And, by comparison, Franklin is not alone. Ohio State’s Ryan Day is 2-7 against Top 5 teams. USC’s Lincoln Riley is 4-8 against ranked teams and 0-2 against those in the Top 10.
Those big games are not easy no matter where you are and, yes, Franklin is getting paid to win those games. That’s his job, and that’s ultimately how he’s judged.
He knows that. He also knows the route to that success relies on sales.
He’s done that well. Now he just needs to win the games.
If you’ve enjoyed this content, please subscribe to Stuff Somers Says With Steve on YouTube. Or join our newsletter by entering your email below.
