A fire has been lit under the Michigan State football fanbase after a third straight loss, this time to hapless UCLA which fired its head coach a few weeks prior.
That fire has turned into a burning desire for recently-fired head coach James Franklin who was relieved of his Penn State duties on Sunday after a horrific loss to Northwestern at home. It was the third straight loss for the Nittany Lions who began the season as a top-10 team.
Franklin being back on the market has sparked interest from a large portion of the Michigan State fanbase, especially since it looks like Jonathan Smith is coaching on borrowed time.
I’m probably in the minority of people who believe Franklin wouldn’t be a home run at Michigan State like many think, but I have been wrong before and I’ll be wrong plenty in the future. I may be completely off here, but I just don’t think Franklin is the coach to lead Michigan State back to the top of the Big Ten, especially since he struggled with the conference’s big dogs while at Penn State.
However, there is one reason that I believe he would be a great hire, and it’s forcing me to reconsider my stance on Franklin at Michigan State: recruiting.
After thinking about it, Franklin would immediately raise the floor in East Lansing to bowl berths, while the ceiling would be around 10-11 wins. The floor would be raised because of Franklin’s ability to recruit at an elite level, and he would instantly improve the talent on the roster. Michigan State would no longer lose games because it couldn’t match up, talent-wise.
The only thing holding me back here is his inability to win big games. He’s 16-29 against ranked opponents, 1-14 against top-five teams, 4-21 against top-10 teams, and 1-18 against top-10 teams from the Big Ten. If he couldn’t win those games at Penn State, what’s leading us to believe he would at Michigan State?
That’s my main concern with Franklin in East Lansing.
Maybe all he needs is a change of scenery. He could be given a ton of resources at Michigan State to succeed, and he would accrue a ton of elite talent. Michigan State would be, at the very least, fun to watch again and the Spartans would be bowling yearly.
Recruiting prowess is a major selling point for me.