The Deuce: there's a flaw in the "they're not who they think they are" arguments

it's always really backward looking. what is so special about Clemson vs South Carolina that they would have their late 10s run under Dabo instead of South Carolina? What was so special about FSU under Bowden that isn't special about them now? if Saban takes the Tennessee job in 2009 instead of Bama, we would talk about how Tennessee is one of the all time best jobs and Bama is just an afterthought that will never recapture the days of Bear Bryant.

PSU is a tremendous job but the reality is there are like 5 or 6 coaches at any one time that can sustain high level championship success and Franklin wasn't one of them. and 5 or 6 might be overselling it. if PSU gets on of those 5 or 6 guys, they are off to the races.

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Penn State hasn't won a national title in 40 years, they're not who they think they are. It's pretty unlikely they hire somebody better than Franklin.

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I don’t think he’s the sole reason they lost a lot of big games. He was going to get enough talent to keep you in the top 5 in the Big Ten most seasons with realistic shots at the playoffs and every now and then be a contender. They made a huge mistake.

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and a combined 4-17 against Michigan/OSU (with 3 of those wins coming against mediocre Michigan teams).

Yeah, he consistently had them in the conversation, but there was more than enough evidence that he had reached his ceiling, barring a switch flipping like Mack Brown at Texas (who was similarly bad against elite competition until he finally broke through in 2005). All that said, if you're going to make a move, have a plan.

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now that they're scrounging around looking at guys that would probably do no better than Franklin.