Coach Franklin Please explain the love for this guy

[GoDucks349]

I believe he has won 60% of his games as head coach. His best finish is 4th in the SEC East. He's lost at least 4 games a year. As OC at Maryland he had one good year out of three.

So WHY would anyone trying to win a championship be interested in this guy? I just don't understand the love for this guy.

 

[volfanjustin]

Vandy was 2-10 the year before he got there, he went to a bowl game the very next season. 9 wins last year, very likely 9 wins this year. All of these close games they are winning, they lose every one of those without Franklin.

 

[Mason72]

Franklin is a great coach he is just at Vanderbilt.. he gets under my skin but I like him, he has made Vandy a Rivalry and I think it is good for the State of TN.

 

[govols120]

At any other school, it wouldn't be noteworthy. Vanderbilt, historically, is one of (if not the worst) the worst BCS conference football programs ever. For them to potentially have two straight nine-win seasons is incredible.

 

[bamawriter]

I believe he has won 60% of his games as head coach. His best finish is 4th in the SEC East. He's lost at least 4 games a year. As OC at Maryland he had one good year out of three.

So WHY would anyone trying to win a championship be interested in this guy? I just don't understand the love for this guy.

The Vanderbilt coaches prior to Franklin, going back to 1970, won the following percentage of their games:

Caldwell: 17%
Johnson: 31%
Widenhofer: 27%
DiNardo: 43%
Brown: 18%
Macintyre: 32%
Pancoast: 30%
Sloan: 52%
Pace: 33%

That's an average of 31%. So Franklin currently enjoys a winning percentage that is almost double what the previous 9 coaches managed.

 

[MAD]

Cutcliffe>Franklin

 

[velovol]

Pros - He has taken Vandy to unprecedented heights in recruiting and rankings and victories.
He is a tireless worker and seems to be a great motivator, pretty good coach too

Cons - I dont think he has beaten a rank team, and maybe only one team with a winning record.
He has greatly benefited from Dooley being the coach at UT, and this years UF and UGA team being WAYYYYYY down when he played them.
His best players thus far have been the previous staffs players.
Some of his best recruits have actually left or are not starting yet.
last but not least he could be an accessory to a gang rape

If I were a big program I think I wait one more year for him.

 

[Orange_Crush]

Pros - He has taken Vandy to unprecedented heights in recruiting and rankings and victories.
He is a tireless worker and seems to be a great motivator, pretty good coach too

Cons - I dont think he has beaten a rank team, and maybe only one team with a winning record.
He has greatly benefited from Dooley being the coach at UT, and this years UF and UGA team being WAYYYYYY down when he played them.
His best players thus far have been the previous staffs players.
Some of his best recruits have actually left or are not starting yet.
last but not least he could be an accessory to a gang rape

If I were a big program I think I wait one more year for him.

I predict he beats:

Temple
Ole Miss
Mass
Kentucky
Charleston So
Old Dominion

And some folks still think he's amazing because he got Vandy to a bowl again. With that proof of his coaching acumen, they'll be propping him up to oust Kelley at Notre Dame, or Meyer at OSU.

 

[GLDunlap]

Beating Tennessee for the second year in a row and going 8-4 resulted in a crowd of 30,000 on senior day in Nashville. Well done Vandy............

If I were Franklin I would get out while the getting is good. It's never going to be better then it is right now. Unfortunately for him I think the rape case is hanging over his head.

 

[hohenfelsvol]

His staff has great looking spouses.

 

[UTBasketball2]

He's a good coach who has mad a bad program decent.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

I believe he has won 60% of his games as head coach. His best finish is 4th in the SEC East. He's lost at least 4 games a year. As OC at Maryland he had one good year out of three.

So WHY would anyone trying to win a championship be interested in this guy? I just don't understand the love for this guy.

So in your opinion, until James Franklin wins championships at Vanderbilt, he shouldn't be considered as a viable candidate at a major program.

Championships...at Vanderbilt...

 

[GoDucks349]

I think Stanford, Duke and Northwestern have proven you can win at institutions with higher academic requirements. I think perhaps a way to win at schools like Vandy is now a reality, so I don't think turning around a Vandy is as big a deal as it use to be. Just an opinion......

 

[GoDucks349]

So in your opinion, until James Franklin wins championships at Vanderbilt, he shouldn't be considered as a viable candidate at a major program.

Championships...at Vanderbilt...

That's not what I said. I think he needs to prove himself more. Certainly something better than 4th in the SEC East or a couple 10 win seasons.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

I think Stanford, Duke and Northwestern have proven you can win at institutions with higher academic requirements. I think perhaps a way to win at schools like Vandy is now a reality, so I don't think turning around a Vandy is as big a deal as it use to be. Just an opinion......

Stanford, Duke and Northwestern don't play in a conference with 5 different schools winning at least one national title in the past 15 years.

 

[WesternNCVol]

Franklin gets on my nerves because he runs his mouth. Having said that, I think he is a good coach.

He has been fortunate to catch the good teams during down times and pad the win column with some real cupcakes.

I think he motivates his players to play hard and finish games and I think he makes decent in game adjustments.

I also think if he can win 8-9 next year he will leave for a program that supports football more. He has already had a hard time filling seats at Vandy and that will always be an issue.

I doubt he ever gets a "big time" job though. He would do well with ACC talent and schedule. Not a championship type coach in my opinion but a steady coach that can get winning seasons.

I want to see what happens if he stays at vandy 2-3 more years. We will be stacked then as stomp them. Georgia and Florida should be much better too. Missouri is good already. SC is a toss up depending on who they hire when the ol' ball coach leaves. I think he will fall from grace and keep candy last or next to last on the east again.

His best move is to move along though.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

That's not what I said. I think he needs to prove himself more. Certainly something better than 4th in the SEC East or a couple 10 win seasons.

"A couple" 10-win seasons....you realize Vandy's never had a 10-win season, right? But to meet your expectations Franklin needs two.

Also, prior to Vandy's 9-win season last year you have to go back to 1915 to find their last 9-win campaign.

If you can't understand why Franklin is getting all this love, you simply aren't paying attention.

 

[allvol123]

Franklin is a great coach he is just at Vanderbilt.. he gets under my skin but I like him, he has made Vandy a Rivalry and I think it is good for the State of TN.

He is not a great coach.

If UT was looking for a coach right now and we hired him, I'd expect the athletic department be burnt down in a riot.

 

[UTProf]

I believe he has won 60% of his games as head coach. His best finish is 4th in the SEC East. He's lost at least 4 games a year. As OC at Maryland he had one good year out of three.

So WHY would anyone trying to win a championship be interested in this guy? I just don't understand the love for this guy.

People assume that because Vandy has been so historically awful that Franklin has the Midas touch -- winning a single game was seen as accomplishment for them. However, what folks haven't taken into account is that: (1) Vandy started scheduling cupcake games and much weaker OOC games than they used to and that scheduling happens to coincide with their 'turnaround' under Franklin (2) Franklin is a decent enough coach to take advantage of teams that are traditional SEC powerhouses being down and/or injury ravished.

IOW, Vanderbilt's brand/reputation is terrible enough to make Franklin (or anyone, for that matter) look like a genius if he wins more than 2 games a year regardless of how those wins came about.

 

[ukvols]

I predict he beats:

Temple
Ole Miss
Mass
Kentucky
Charleston So
Old Dominion

And some folks still think he's amazing because he got Vandy to a bowl again. With that proof of his coaching acumen, they'll be propping him up to oust Kelley at Notre Dame, or Meyer at OSU.

Ole Miss is not a lock, but the other five games are one-foot puts.

 

[GoDucks349]

Stanford, Duke and Northwestern don't play in a conference with 5 different schools winning at least one national title in the past 15 years.

Really???? Come on I think you are smarter than that. You're a good poster most of the time.

 

[bamawriter]

Stanford, Duke and Northwestern don't play in a conference with 5 different schools winning at least one national title in the past 15 years.

Really???? Come on I think you are smarter than that. You're a good poster most of the time.

Are you suggesting that those schools do, in fact, play in a conference that is as challenging as the SEC? If you are, I'm no longer sure what sport we're talking about.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

Really???? Come on I think you are smarter than that. You're a good poster most of the time.

Says the guy who thinks Franklin needs a couple 10-win seasons at Vanderbilt...Vanderbilt...to command attention from a major program. Anything less is unacceptable. lol:

And you're questioning my intelligence.

 

[Orange Bison]

I can't stand his mouth and arrogance but he is a great coach IMO. You can't discount what he has done with Vandy. That being said it will get harder for him to keep the momentum especially when the big 3 SEC east teams rebound.

Franklin would be a home run hire at a school with more football prestige, better facilities, and bigger budget.

 

[OrangeBalls]

Vandy had the easiest schedule in the SEC this year with the #52nd toughest. They schedule four cupcakes in out of conference to assure 4 wins. Then they beat the bad SEC teams and hope to pick off a couple against teams that are decimated by injuries or rebuilding. Check their schedule the last 2 years. Then check the ratings.

USA Today | Sports | NCAAF

Their common West opponent is Ole Miss. We could be so lucky. They've avoided Bama and LSU the last 2 years. Next year? They get Ole Miss and Miss St. Uh, yeah. Their four out of conference games next year are against UAB, UMASS, Old Dominion (UNC beat them 80-20 this year) and Charleston Southern. Good Lord. That's embarrassing. I don't give a sh*t who you pull for.