Fifth OC Under Franklin Bites the Dust
The axe had to fall after the Michigan loss but for whom did the bell toll? Certainly not James Franklin, who is the constant factor during his ten-year tenure, during which we have seen five offensive coordinators. Franklin’s sweetheart contract’s $68 million buyout precludes even thinking in that direction. So, after firing Kirk Ciarrocca after the 2021 season in favor of hiring Yurcich, now Yurcich is gone. At some point, we need to ask whether the OC is really the problem.
Interesting that we’ll be seeing Kirk Ciarrocca on the opponent’s sideline next Saturday. He is the current Rutgers OC, so our loss might be Rutgers’ gain. Adding two and two to get twelve, some PSU fans will naively propose that the Nittany Lions hire Ciarrocca back now. Their heads are completely up their asses. What is this, George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin?
Given Franklin’s penchant for firing OCs, who will want to work at Penn State? I hear that Jimbo Fisher is out of a job. In any case, James Franklin moved his Tuesday press conference to Monday for the second week in a row undoubtedly to discuss this move and who will call the offensive plays. Perhaps he’ll explain why he’s been so flighty with OCs.
Come to think of it, I wonder whether Yurcich was playing out an ultimatum in calling the Michigan game. It sure looked like it, given some of the dumb desperation calls, although we don’t know whether Yurcich called them or Franklin whispered them into his headset. Remember when I exhorted the Nittany Lions to shitcan the trick plays in favor of fundamental football? I wanted them to confuse the defense, not make them laugh at us. Well, we made them do the latter, particularly with that ridiculous fourth-quarter two-point conversion. Certainly fitting as Yurcich’s last play.
