Sunday was a bad day for some college football coaches, including Penn State’s James Franklin. Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith also finds himself on a warmer seat than expected at this point in the year, and there’s legitimate talk that his leash is about as short as it can get.
Many fans are ready to move on from Smith, and the rumor mill is churning. There’s widespread belief that Smith may not have much longer and J Batt will soon be able to handpick his own coach.
There have been some names floated around, but one that some fans have run with is Franklin
After Franklin was fired by Penn State on Sunday afternoon, those rumors have picked up some steam as Spartan fans believe that all he needs is a change of scenery and he can recruit at an elite level and win in East Lansing.
Is this a realistic option, though?
Personally, I don’t see Franklin going from fired head coach who had an entire fanbase turn on him and never seemed to win the big game. He also held a career 3-7 record against Michigan which just wouldn’t fly for Spartan fans if that trend continued. If you only care about recruiting, Franklin would be a great get, but if you want a coach who can recruit, develop (Drew Allan has not), and win big games while also taking care of inferior opponents, he’s not the guy.
Michigan State fans want a fresh start, and not a guy who is struggling to beat the big boys in the Big Ten every year.
Franklin would wear out his welcome fairly early on in East Lansing.