It has been said before, but needs to be said again. When Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry, they needed to nail the next hire, as a one-proud program was quickly fading from the national stage. Actually, they were off the national stage. Long gone are the Frank Beamer days, the Glory Days, with Justin Fuente and Brent Pry's era being underachieving.
When James Franklin became available after he was fired at Penn State, it was a no-brianer for the Virginia Tech search committee to zero in on Franklin as the next head coach in Blacksburg. He was the perfect fit after the jobs he did at Penn State and Vanderbilt in turning around those programs.
He knows that he has a project in front of him, but if there is someone who can do it rather quickly, it's Franklin. Just how bad have things been in Blacksburg? USA Today released its Top 25 programs, and Virginia Tech was nowhere to be found on the list. It wasn't too long ago that the Hokies would have been on the list and inside the Top 15.
James Franklin gets message about turning around Virginia Tech football program
There was no Virginia Tech on the list, and that's not surprising. What also wasn't surprising is that Penn State was on the list, coming in at No. 12. Why were the Nittany Lions at No. 12? Well, because of James Franklin, of course. It's not something Penn State fans want to acknowledge.
"Joe Paterno is the symbol of this program as the winningest coach in major college football with 409 victories and also two national titles. The program also defined by its blue and white uniforms was in crisis after NCAA sanctions related to the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Bill O'Brien set the foundation and James Franklin did the heavy lifting to get the Nittany Lions back into the elite of college football. After failing to land a title under Franklin, Penn State will reset under Matt Campbell,'' USA Today wrote.
What Franklin did at Penn State is underrated, to say the least. Even the biggest Penn State homer would admit that. However, those are few and far between. Anyway, if there is someone to get Virginia Tech back and back rather quickly, it's Franklin. It would be nuts to ask for that in his first season at the helm this fall, but it shouldn't take him too long to build something that lands in USA Today's Top 25 in the not-too-distant future. Don't ever count out James Franklin.
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