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re: Hiring James Franklin is the easiest decision any AD could make.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:18 am to TTsTowel
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:18 am to TTsTowel
James Franklin is by far the best hire Auburn could make right now. Don’t worry about his record against ranked teams. It’s not 1975 anymore and we need a new understanding of college football. With a 12 (and I assure you, soon to be 16) team playoff, 2 or 3 losses no longer means you’re out of the running for the National Championship. Just get in and let the chips fall where they may.
Franklin won 10+ games at PSU in 6 of 10 seasons (I’m not counting this season or 2020, when PSU only played 9 games). 10+ wins for a Big 10/SEC team will have you in the playoff conversation and often will get you in. So that’s 60% of the time Franklin would have his team in the conversation and (let’s say) 40-50% of the time he’d get his team in. Is that where WE are right now?
The thing that bemuses and annoys me is how some posters here speak like Franklin is beneath us. That’s utterly delusional. We probably can’t convince Franklin to take our job, given some of the others that will be open this off season. (And I don’t say that because I don’t think Auburn has as much to offer a HC as any school, but I do realize national perception views jobs like LSU and Florida as being better than ours.)
As for hiring a young up and coming coach - Yes! I’d love to hire the next Smart! But the odds are we’re more likely to hire the next Napier than the next Smart. And do you really trust the brain trust at Auburn to pick the right guy? Come on, man.
The thing about a young up and comer is - higher potential ceiling, but much, much lower potential floor. Franklin would bring stability and respectability back to a program that has been spinning out of control for years. Will he get us into the playoffs? I’m confident in saying yes. Will he win a NC? Maybe, maybe not. But hearing him speak on Gameday yesterday, he’s pissed that he got fired and he’s highly motivated to prove PSU made a mistake.
Franklin will be pursued by every major school with an opening HC this off season. We should go for it and do our best to win.
Franklin won 10+ games at PSU in 6 of 10 seasons (I’m not counting this season or 2020, when PSU only played 9 games). 10+ wins for a Big 10/SEC team will have you in the playoff conversation and often will get you in. So that’s 60% of the time Franklin would have his team in the conversation and (let’s say) 40-50% of the time he’d get his team in. Is that where WE are right now?
The thing that bemuses and annoys me is how some posters here speak like Franklin is beneath us. That’s utterly delusional. We probably can’t convince Franklin to take our job, given some of the others that will be open this off season. (And I don’t say that because I don’t think Auburn has as much to offer a HC as any school, but I do realize national perception views jobs like LSU and Florida as being better than ours.)
As for hiring a young up and coming coach - Yes! I’d love to hire the next Smart! But the odds are we’re more likely to hire the next Napier than the next Smart. And do you really trust the brain trust at Auburn to pick the right guy? Come on, man.
The thing about a young up and comer is - higher potential ceiling, but much, much lower potential floor. Franklin would bring stability and respectability back to a program that has been spinning out of control for years. Will he get us into the playoffs? I’m confident in saying yes. Will he win a NC? Maybe, maybe not. But hearing him speak on Gameday yesterday, he’s pissed that he got fired and he’s highly motivated to prove PSU made a mistake.
Franklin will be pursued by every major school with an opening HC this off season. We should go for it and do our best to win.
2
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:21 am to LanierSpots
quote:also covered up gang rape at Vandy
bro, he is 1-18 against ranked teams
Come on. Lets do better
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:21 am to metafour
quote:
Dan Mullen
I’ll say this, I live in gator country. Every Florida fan I know says they wish Mullen wasn’t fired, because he is a hell of a game day coach. His problem was recruiting, which means absolutely nothing in the NIL era now (see DeBoner at uat).
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:25 am to jvilletiger25
I like Merlins
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:26 am to metafour
quote:
Auburn fans are forever obsessed with this idea of rehabbing once-great coaches
You do realize Franklin was coaching in the playoffs 9 months ago. Hardly a “once great” HC who now needs “rebab.” Yes, this season seems to have gone off the rails. It happens. But is it possible (just possible) that PSU has made a terrible mistake and now a great coach is out there for the taking?
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:28 am to NewYrkTiger
And PSU has a ceiling. It is not Oregon or OSU.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:28 am to NewYrkTiger
Franklin isnt a failed story. He is more like an a-hole that Penn got tired of.
He would definitely be the type to butt heads with our PTB
He would definitely be the type to butt heads with our PTB
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:35 am to NewYrkTiger
quote:
Franklin won 10+ games at PSU in 6 of 10 seasons (I’m not counting this season or 2020, when PSU only played 9 games). 10+ wins for a Big 10/SEC team will have you in the playoff conversation and often will get you in. So that’s 60% of the time Franklin would have his team in the conversation and (let’s say) 40-50% of the time he’d get his team in. Is that where WE are right now?
Half the top 10 are SEC teams right now. Do you honestly think - given his record - Franklin is going to get 10 wins at Auburn? How much do you think we'd have to pay to get him? Do we pay huge money for not much different of a risk factor to get someone's leftovers than we do making a well thought out hire and taking a chance?
I know where the PTB falls on that scale and we'll likely exhaust ourselves in a bidding war for a Franklin or Swinney just like we did going after Kiffen last go 'round. If we're looking for a few more wins and a bowl game, sure. Break the bank for Franklin. Little in his resume suggests to me we'll get much more than that, though.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:36 am to jangalang
Franklin’s PSU team would have lost all the games Freeze has lost at Auburn this year.
PSU under Franklin looses to Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UGA and Missouri.
If we hire Franklin we are right back here in 3 yeas doing this again.
PSU under Franklin looses to Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UGA and Missouri.
If we hire Franklin we are right back here in 3 yeas doing this again.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:45 am to TTsTowel
Franklin would be a terrible fit
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:46 am to DyeHardDylan
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:50 am to AUCom96
His resume suggests he is a 10 win coach who had his team in the playoffs 9 months ago. I’m not saying he will be the next Smart or Saban. I’m saying he will have Auburn in the playoff conversation about 60% of the time and in the playoffs about 40% of the time. Even if that number is only 25%, that’s still a substantial upgrade over where we are now.
IMHO, we need a safe bet to get back to respectability. Franklin is it. Roll the dice on an unproven coach? Ok. But odds are it’s not going to work out.
IMHO, we need a safe bet to get back to respectability. Franklin is it. Roll the dice on an unproven coach? Ok. But odds are it’s not going to work out.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 10:54 am to TTsTowel
quote:
hire James Franklin
I'm here for it. The interview on Game Day only made me like the idea more.
He has enough star power; he might be able to save this roster from being decimated. He's won in the SEC. He has the respect of his peers, and instantly flips the horrible press we've been getting.
#HireJamesFranklin.
This post was edited on 10/19/25 at 6:34 pm
Posted on 10/19/25 at 11:07 am to TTsTowel
I’m with meta. Conduct a thorough interview process (not smoke and mirrors) hire a young, energetic coordinator/assistant who’s at and observed how a successful head coach at a larger P4 school runs a program. The PTB will not give “full control,” but us lil ole fans can’t control that.
This post was edited on 10/19/25 at 11:23 am
Posted on 10/19/25 at 11:24 am to TTsTowel
The easiest decision to me would be firing freeze but cohen hasn’t even gotten there yet
Posted on 10/19/25 at 11:25 am to SamGinn Cam
Penn State didn't just dish out 40 million to get rid of him for nothing.
It is amazing what a sympathy tour on Game day will achieve.
It is amazing what a sympathy tour on Game day will achieve.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 11:30 am to AU86
I absolutely despise James Franklin. I can't look at his face w/o getting upset.
He's a better coach than Freeze, but that's not saying much.
I won't be able to watch him if he's hired so I'm sure that's what Auburn will do.
What a smug meh he is...he's probably our guy.
He's a better coach than Freeze, but that's not saying much.
I won't be able to watch him if he's hired so I'm sure that's what Auburn will do.
What a smug meh he is...he's probably our guy.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 11:31 am to TTsTowel
I refuse to cheer for Auburn if they hire Franklin. Don't care. He's a POS and I'll have nothing to do with him. Period.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 11:43 am to NewYrkTiger
quote:
IMHO, we need a safe bet to get back to respectability. Franklin is it.
With the portal, NIL and boosters, there’s no such thing. Having to overpay for a coach reputedly difficult to get along with who has a terrible track record against top teams is a much bigger cliff to fall from then investing in a hungry up and comer. We’re going to be starting over for the most part, regardless. Save the money you’d overpay for a “name” and spend it on a rock solid staff and talent.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 11:57 am to TTsTowel
Tony L. Elliott - U of VA. Should have hired him years ago.
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