When all-in backfires: Penn State finally gave James Franklin everything he wanted -- and it cost him

Penn State ultimately gave James Franklin everything he had been asking for. 

In just one offseason:

• The school bankrolled the hiring the nation's highest-paid assistant coach, $3 million defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. 
• PSU's supporters stepped up in big ways in the NIL department to keep talented players like quarterback Drew Allar, running back Nicholas Singleton and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton for one more year rather than go on to the NFL. 
• In the spring the Nittany Lions added Syracuse receiver Trebor Pena, one of the pricier receiver options in the portal, to ameliorate what's been a disappointing receivers corps for years.

It was all set up for this to be Penn State's "Last Dance" title run. Michigan and Ohio State provided the blueprint the last two seasons, and the Nittany Lions had all the resources, on paper, to make the same run. A year after making it to a national semifinal, this was a title-or-bust kind of year. 

The failure to develop QB Drew Allar sealed James Franklin's fate at Penn State

Brian Dohn

And yet on Oct. 12, midway through the season, not only is Penn State out of the title race but Franklin is out of a job. It's a stunning development, the most surprising firing in decades potentially given the timing, and also perhaps a sign of things to come across the industry.

What Franklin and Penn State taught us is there's a price to going all-in on a season: When you finally have everything you've asked for, with no excuses left, and you still don't perform as expected, then you are the problem. 

For years, Franklin complained behind-the-scenes about not having the same resources as Big Ten peers Ohio State and Michigan. In 12 seasons at Penn State, Franklin had considerable success including five top-10 finishes and five New Year's Day Six bowls. But he could always point to not having as much as the truly elite programs as the reason why his program couldn't get over the hump in its ghastly 4-21 record against top-10 opponents. He could argue his results matched the investment. 

To Franklin's point, Penn State was behind in a few key areas. Certainly, Penn State wasn't as aggressive -- or have as much of a cash arsenal -- in the NIL department as some of its old Big Ten East rivals. Franklin frequently brought up to Penn State boosters all the resources Ohio State had, which included one of the nation's most expensive rosters a season ago. 

James Franklin will be a red-hot candidate despite Penn State firing: 'No way he goes to Florida, right?'

Chris Hummer

The complaining and the recent on-field success pushed Penn State boosters to dig deeper to give Franklin everything he needed to win it all this season. Franklin himself admitted before the season that his roster had never been better in his 12 seasons leading Penn State. 

"This is the best combined personnel that I think we've had at Penn State," Franklin said at Big Ten Media Days. "And when I talk about personnel, I'm talking about players and staff, from a depth, from a talent standpoint, and from an experience standpoint."

When you have all that, you can no longer play the resources excuse card. The pressure to succeed cranked up, and especially in losses to UCLA and Northwestern, Franklin wilted under it. He couldn't manage the disappointment of failing in spite of a major resource advantage over the Bruins and Wildcats. 

This has already been the busiest pre-November coaching carousel in the FBS era and it will only get crazier with big jobs expected to still open up. And at the biggest programs that could come open, faltering despite bundles of resources will be a defining cause. 

It could certainly be that case at Florida and Auburn. 

At Auburn especially, Hugh Freeze has been given everything he's wanted from a NIL and program resources standpoint. The Tigers paid heavily to add Georgia Tech transfer receiver Eric Singleton and gave Freeze what he needed to go out and get a marquee transfer QB. He picked Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold, a decision that multiple industry sources immediately questioned as curious knowing what was at stake for Freeze this season. That skepticism has only gotten worse amidst Auburn's offensive woes in its 3-3 start to the season. 

When you're an offensive guru, you are giving two million-plus dollar receivers in Singleton and Cam Coleman, a pricey quarterback in Arnold and you still aren't succeeding, you run into a problem. 

As one industry source put it before the season, "If they move on from Hugh, someone will take over one of the most loaded rosters in the country that has just not produced."

In Gainesville, Napier is facing the similar weight of expectations that come with the huge resources to hire an army of analysts and personnel folks, land a top-flight quarterback in DJ Lagway and be competitive about filling the roster with top talent. Napier flourished in excelling with less at Louisiana, but that success hasn't translated at Florida where almost every ask is granted. 

Eventually, even the most ardent well-heeled boosters expect a return on investment. You can convince them for a year or two, perhaps, that you just don't have the right ingredients to meet expectations. But after you persuade them to spend millions to get you exactly what you want and the results don't change, the desire to switch the chef rather than pour more money into groceries gains steam.

Penn State coaching candidates: Matt Rhule, Curt Cignetti among options on hot board to replace James Franklin

Carter Bahns

A year ago, Ohio State was as all-in as it gets in a title-or-bust year. It was bumpy along the way and Ohio State coach Ryan Day came close to crumbling under the pressure of it. The Michigan loss nearly broke him. In the end, though, Day was hoisting up a national championship trophy and all the investment paid off. 

That's what Penn State wanted -- expected, really -- from Franklin this season. It could handle a double-overtime loss to Oregon at home, as back-breaking as it was. It could not, and would not, accept losses to two Big Ten bottom-dwellers that were both more than 20-point underdogs against the Nittany Lions. 

With more resources come higher expectations. Franklin learned that the hard way, but he won't be the last. 

In the NIL and revenue share era were coaches are constantly cajoling and begging for more, be careful what you wish for. 

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