BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY James Franklin (born February 2, 1972) is an American football coach. He currently is the head coach at Penn State :
Early years
Franklin was born in Langhorne, Pennsylvania on February 2, 1972. He attended Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, and went to college at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, where he played as a quarterback all four years. In that position, he set seven school records and was a Division II player of the year nominee in 1994. Sports Illustrated named him a National Player of the Week that season. He earned a Bachelors of Science degree in psychology in 1995.
Coaching career
He began his coaching career in 1995 as a wide receivers coach at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. The following season, he took over as the coach of the defensive secondary for his alma mater, East Stroudsburg. That year, he was also the offensive coordinator for the Roskilde Kings of the Danish American Football Federation. In 1997, he became wide receivers coach at James Madison, and, the following year, became tight ends coach at Washington State.[1]
In 1999, he served as wide receivers coach at Idaho State. That year, the Bengals recorded 29 touchdowns, 258 receptions, and in excess of 3,300 passing yards for one of the best statistical seasons in school history. Idaho State ranked ninth nationally in total offense that year.[1]
Franklin has also held internships at several National Football League (NFL) franchises, including the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Vikings.[1]
Maryland
Franklin first served at the University of Maryland as the wide receivers coach starting in 2000. In November 2000, head coach Ron Vanderlinden was dismissed and replaced byRalph Friedgen, a Maryland alum and former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator.[2] Friedgen retained Franklin as the wide receivers coach, one of only two assistants to be kept on the new coaching staff (running backs coach Mike Locksley was the other).[3]
In 2003, Franklin's duties expanded to include the position of recruiting coordinator.[1] Since then, he has been considered a top recruiter.[4] His geographic areas of concentration for recruiting were Baltimore; Prince George's County, Maryland; and public schools in Washington, D.C.[1] In 2005, Franklin departed Maryland to serve as the wide receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL.
Kansas State
Franklin served at Kansas State University as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the 2006 and 2007 seasons.[1] He joined head coach Ron Prince as the first coaching staff to follow the legendary Bill Snyder. During his tenure at K-State, Franklin nurtured record setting offensive talent; including the future NFL starters quarterback Josh Freeman and All-America wide receiver Jordy Nelson. Despite impressive wins over a top 5 team and an appearance in the inaugural Texas Bowl, the Wildcat program was a far cry from the title contending teams fielded during the Snyder era. Franklin left the Wildcat coaching staff prior to Ron Prince's 2008 dismissal, and subsequent return of Coach Bill Snyder.
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt considered Franklin a candidate for its head coaching position vacated with the forced resignation of Robbie Caldwell after the 2010 season.[5] The Washington Postreported other candidates for the job were Al Golden of Temple and Larry Coker of UTSA (and formerly Miami), and that Franklin was not the frontrunner.[5] After Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn turned down the job, Vanderbilt began talks to hire Franklin as its head coach.[6] On December 17, Vanderbilt announced Franklin had been hired as head coach.[7] Franklin is the first African American to be head coach of a major sport at Vanderbilt, and the third to be a head football coach in the Southeastern Conference(after Sylvester Croom, formerly at Mississippi State, and former Kentucky head coach Joker Phillips).[8]
Convinced of the strength of Southeastern Conference football, Franklin in the final regular-season coaches poll for 2012 ranked three SEC teams—Alabama, Georgia, Florida—ahead of the consensus Number 1 team, Notre Dame.[9] Interestingly enough, after a blow-out loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game, Notre Dame finished the season ranked 4th in the AP Poll, providing validation for Franklin's "controversial" ballot.[10]
Franklin led Vanderbilt to a bowl game all three of his seasons as head coach at Vanderbilt, a team that had never previously participated in a bowl game in consecutive seasons. In his second season (2012), the Commodores finished 9–4 and ranked in both the Associated Press and USA Today end-of-season coaches' top 25 for the first time since 1948 (and the first ranking in any week since 2008). It was just the third nine-win season in school history. Additionally, Vanderbilt's fifteen combined wins in Franklin's first two years in charge was the Commodores' highest total since 1926–1927.[11] In his third season at Vanderbilt, the Commodores again finish 9-4 and were ranked in the AP and USA TODAY top 25 poll. Franklin finished his Vanderbilt career with a record of 24-15 (an average of 8 wins per year).
Franklin's departure from Vanderbilt was not without controversy, as his sudden move to Penn State upset much of the Vanderbilt and Nashville communities.[12] In the days following the move, Franklin was forced to discuss his response to an alleged gang rape by incoming recruits.[13]
Franklin led Vanderbilt to a bowl game in each of his three seasons as head coach. Vanderbilt had never previously participated in a bowl game in consecutive seasons. In his second season (2012), the Commodores finished 9–4 and ranked in both the Associated Press and USA Today end-of-season coaches' top 25 for the first time since 1948 (and the first ranking in any week since 2008). It was just the third nine-win season in school history. Additionally, Vanderbilt's fifteen combined wins in Franklin's first two years in charge was the Commodores' highest total since 1926–1927.[14] In his third and final season at Vanderbilt, the Commodores again finish 9-4 and were ranked in the AP and USA TODAY top 25 poll. Franklin finished his Vanderbilt career with a record of 24-15 (an average of 8 wins per year).
Penn State
On January 11, 2014, the Athletic Department at Penn State announced the appointment of Franklin as the new head football coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions.[15] Penn State agreed to pay $1.5 million that Franklin owed Vanderbilt for early termination of his contract, Penn State disclosed this information January 24, 2014 according to USA TODAY Sports. He received a six-year contract, which will pay him $4.3 for the 2014 season, including a $300,000 retention bonus payable if he is Penn State's coach on Dec. 31, 2014. He has an annual guaranteed pay increase of $100,000 along with retention bonuses, plus performance incentives each year. During his first few press conferences, he has said how he wants Penn State to once again be the most dominant school in recruiting in Pennsylvania.[16]
Head coaching record
                | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Commodores (Southeastern Conference) (2011–2013) | |||||||||
| 2011 | Vanderbilt | 6–7 | 2–6 | T–4th (East) | L Liberty | ||||
| 2012 | Vanderbilt | 9–4 | 5–3 | 4th (East) | W Music City | 20 | 23 | ||
| 2013 | Vanderbilt | 9–4 | 4–4 | 4th (East) | W BBVA Compass | 23 | 24 | ||
| Vanderbilt: | 24–15 | 11–13 | |||||||
| Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten Conference) (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Penn State | 0–0 | 0–0 | (East) ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | |||
| Penn State: | 0–0 | 0–0 | ‡ Ineligible for Big Ten title, bowl game and Coaches' Poll | ||||||
| Total: | 24–15 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl, Bowl Alliance or Bowl Coalition game. #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll.                   | |||||||||
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