Why not Terry

Firing Franklin without a replacement in mind was stupid. This destroyed recruiting. The longer that Kraft twiddles his thumbs, the more damage he has done to the team. There seems to have been no upside to not waiting until the end of the season.
With $ and the portal, the damage can quickly be overcome.
The upside is that after recognizing that the team was underachieving Terry Smith is instilling the sense of toughness that was missing this season under Franklin.

You criticize Kraft for firing Franklin without having a replacement, which never happens in major college football. and then criticize Kraft for not waiting until the end of the season. But the only way to line up serious candidates for a coaching vacancy is to create the vacancy. Which is exactly what Kraft did. Kraft got the process started by terminating Franklin. The process can't move forward unless it is started.

Interviewing coaching candidates, or even holding discussions with potential candidates, is always noticed by the media and would be very low class and disruptive if done with Franklin still head coach. Kraft is following the path to make this change as effectively as possibly. The timing of the recruiting calendar as transfer portal, as well as this season's playoff schedule, are what they are, which Kraft can't control.
 
You're naive here. Franklin wanted to leave and was clearly half assing it at the point he got fired.
I would like to see Terry get a chance at permanent head coach. He is said to be a good recruiter, the players are playing hard for him. He loves Penn State, and no worry about him leaving right away if he has success. I like his no nonsense press conferences, no used car gobbledygook coachspeak BS
Give him a 3 year contract and see how he does. If he doesn't have great success he will probably fire himself, ya'know because he loves Penn State.
He and maybe Matt are the only ones out there that care as much about PSU as we do, and no buyout like Matt.

If Kraft is considering Manny you have to be giving as much thought into Terry. What has Manny really done? Yeah he had a great pass rushing defense here, but he had incredible talent at that time.
Hartline? You think he would suddenly bring in 5 star wide receivers, maybe, but still as big a gamble as Terry would be. Hartline has no passion or love for Penn State like we do, Terry do.
I like Brohm but he is at home there, and would be just a hired gun. Again, no passion or love for Penn State, Terry do.

I think giving Terry a 3 year deal would not be a big risk to Kraft's reputation as he has to get it right talking point.

Tell Im wrong, or who else you got, or want?
Terry is not the guy. Too much Franklin stench on him. Nice guy who can recruit certain areas so he should be retained but not the HC. I see us struggling in big games under Smith and don't see him as a guy who could attract elite QBs.
 
I think he was shell-shocked after the Oregon loss. The game itself, then the reaction afterward, broke him.
After all his years in coaching, he was shell-shocked by his immediate realization that high-level LBs, DL, and a seasoned OC should have been things to consider.
 
I think he was shell-shocked after the Oregon loss. The game itself, then the reaction afterward, broke him.

I think he realized after UCLA that he was staring at a losing season and a shellacking against Ohio State and figured now or end of season? Better to leave now.
 
I really like him but that certainly would be underwhelming. Terry hasn't proven anything as a HC or even a coordinator. I am not saying he can't. Just saying he hasn't. Guys like Elko, Diaz, and Drinkwitz have. Even Hartline has a better resume. And hiring Terry as HC certainly would not be a great look for PSU and Kraft in the short term.
It's all about recruiting. Terry is a good recruiter but he's not a big name that will attract top recruits.
 
Neither was Franklin when he was hired.

It was James who ?
True but back then we were recovering from sanctions and our options were more limited. This time we're just a year removed from a top 5 finish and only a year from a $700 million stadium upgrade. I think Kraft's plan was to land a proven top 10 coach who could attract elite recruits and hit the ground running.
 
True but back then we were recovering from sanctions and our options were more limited. This time we're just a year removed from a top 5 finish and only a year from a $700 million stadium upgrade. I think Kraft's plan was to land a proven top 10 coach who could attract elite recruits and hit the ground running.
The point is that unknown coaches can recruit talent.
 
It's all about recruiting. Terry is a good recruiter but he's not a big name that will attract top recruits.
Our recruits are almost all decorating. No other team is losing so many. V
It's all about recruiting. Terry is a good recruiter but he's not a big name that will attract top recruits.
We have lost almost all of our recruits. No one else has. If nothing else, this shows that Terry is not a recruit magnet as head coach. He was a good recruiter as a position coach. This is just food for thought.
 
Our recruits are almost all decorating. No other team is losing so many. V

We have lost almost all of our recruits. No one else has. If nothing else, this shows that Terry is not a recruit magnet as head coach. He was a good recruiter as a position coach. This is just food for thought.
I don't believe losing recruits since Franklin was fired shows anything about Terry Smith as until PSU has a "permanent" head coach the PSU recruiting classes will be poached by anyone and everyone.

I love Terry but I'm still not convinced he is the best choice for PSU's next head coach. But blaming Terry during his tenure as fill in coach for recruits decommitting is not right.
 
I don't believe losing recruits since Franklin was fired shows anything about Terry Smith as until PSU has a "permanent" head coach the PSU recruiting classes will be poached by anyone and everyone.

I love Terry but I'm still not convinced he is the best choice for PSU's next head coach. But blaming Terry during his tenure as fill in coach for recruits decommitting is not right.
There is some reason that only PSU out of about 8 schools looking for new coaches is bleeding recruits. He is probably not responsible but clearly lacks the charisma to energize the program during this process.
 
There is some reason that only PSU out of about 8 schools looking for new coaches is bleeding recruits. He is probably not responsible but clearly lacks the charisma to energize the program during this process.
You believe that. I don't. Terry has been one of the best recruiters on Franklin's staff since he came to PSU and Terry has owned the WPIAL for a good many years. Franklin himself obviously was PSU best recruiter and seemed to get closer to each recruit and their families than most head coaches. But Terry in addition to being Associate Head Coach and CB Coach was Defensive Recruiting Coordinator. Right now, with clear uncertainty regarding the makeup of the 2026 PSU coaching staff, even the WPIAL recruits such as Seig Spell and Taylor are looking elsewhere. There are other factors, such as LSU and FL reportedly throwing more money at recruits than PSU has been doing. If PSU wanted to hold onto their top commits after the Franklin firing they could have thrown more money at those players. We don't know what resources Terry has been given, but it's not likely that he had the ability to direct the money towards Spell and Taylor that would have kept them from looking around.
 
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