If only James Franklin developed offensive linemen as well as he develops head coaches.
Brent Pry, Franklin’s long-time right-hand man, became the fourth former Franklin assistant to eventually ascend to an FBS head coaching position earlier this week when he accepted the Virginia Tech job, joining Charles Huff (Marshall), Ricky Rahne (Old Dominion), and Joe Moorhead (Mississippi State and, as of Saturday, Akron). It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Josh Gattis, currently the offensive coordinator at Michigan, was added to that list in the next year or two.
So Franklin will do what he’s done pretty well during the last few years — turn to his little black book of coaching names and try to find a new assistant (if he decides not to promote from within). And while replacing the underrated Pry will be more difficult than many Penn State fans believe, it is an opportunity to both add some new life to a coaching staff that could use a spark or two and to see if the administration’s commitment to competing with the nation’s best (put a better way: its willingness to hand over a blank check) is indeed a result of Franklin’s princely contract extension.
Franklin will have to navigate the ongoing college and NFL seasons as he searches for this new hire, but it’s likely he had a few ideas in mind even before he knew Pry was leaving. He will likely want someone with a proven track record of leading a defense, who can quickly get both players and fellow coaches to learn his system and who is able to adapt his system not only to each opponent leading up to the game but, more importantly, adapt once the game is underway.
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