After a 3-3 start to the season, Penn State has decided to move on from longtime head coach James Franklin. Expectations couldn’t have been higher this year, so being eliminated from the playoffs in early October was enough for the Nittany Lions boosters to leave Franklin. Penn State knew there would be a lot of movement in the coaching world, so they wanted to get a head start on finding their guy.
Well, they didn’t get their guy, James Franklin found a home at Virginia Tech and is putting together an impressive recruiting class, and they couldn’t get a coach to guide them through December’s National Signing Day. The panic button isn’t just open at Penn State; The job security of the entire athletic department is in question due to their disastrous attempts to find a new leader.
They tried to poach some of the best coaches available in college football, but have they been looking at the wrong level all this time? What if they looked 140 miles west and saw what’s going on with Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers?
On Ben Roethlisberger’s podcast this week, he mentioned that it might be time for the Steelers and Tomlin to get a fresh start. He also noted that an academic job might also be a better fit for Tomlin.
Big Ben may have something to do here. Tomlin is a proven winner and has brought the Steelers a level of consistency unmatched in the NFL; however, he also appears to have imposed a hard cap on the Steelers for most of the last decade. They’ve had a lot of power plays at Heinz Field Acrisure recently, and that hasn’t translated into much playoff success. It ultimately looks like both parties are looking to go their separate ways at the end of the year.
That’s where Penn State comes in. From the outside looking in, Tomlin could be a perfect college coach. His Tomlinisms are ideal for college football, and the media will benefit from them. Tomlin also coaches a little dirty and isn’t afraid to call someone out or throw someone under the bus. I think you have to be a little bad to coach college football, and I think Tomlin is the perfect level for Penn State.
Most importantly for Tomlin, he is a true leader. His resume speaks for itself and I think he would excel in recruiting if he was willing to put in the necessary time. His offensive philosophy hasn’t been great in recent years, but if he can recruit the right offensive coordinator, I don’t see why he couldn’t move on to the college level. Tomlin’s only other negative is that since his early years in Pittsburgh, he has notoriously struggled in big playoff games. There’s a real chance Penn State goes from James Franklin to James Franklin 2.0.
Penn State missed every college coach and had the right person for National Signing Day. You might have to wait a bit for a guy like Tomlin, but it might be worth it.
