When it comes to James Franklin, there is never a shortage of storylines. Most of those since he was hired at Virginia Tech are coming from Penn State fans who can't seem to move on from him and embrace their new head coach, Matt Campbell.
Aside from these obsessive fans, there is also talk show host Craig Carton. When it comes to college sports and Craig Carton, well, there isn't much he'll talk about. However, when it comes to Franklin, he talks about him like a salty Nittany Lions fan. His latest James Franklin rant was certainly an interesting one.
Craig Carton has tone-deaf James Franklin take
Carton has been bashing Franklin since he was fired and hired in Blacksburg. His takes are something else. You can tell these takes are from his producers and not him. His latest was about Franklin's ego being out of control. My goodness, people who live in a glass house shouldn't throw stones.
"I used to like James Franklin — this dude's ego is out of control! The five core values of VT football have now been taken off the wall! His five core values are completely different!?,'' said Carton.
Ok, that's fair. But where Carton seems confused is at the beginning. He refers to former coach Justin Fuente as "a guy named Justin Fuente.'' I don't think he could tell you where he coached before Virginia Tech. I bet he couldn't name the coach, Brent Pry, that Franklin is replacing. Furthermore, I bet he couldn't tell you that Franklin hired him back as his defensive coordinator for next season.
Anyway, does James Franklin have an ego? Probably, but name me a coach that doesn't? Does Matt Campbell not have an ego? There's no way Ryan Day at Ohio State has one, right? I doubt it.
What makes this take more tone-deaf than the takes Carton has had about Franklin is that the core values put up by Fuente were a long time ago. Who cares if Franklin replaces them? Did Campbell replace things at Penn State that Franklin had done? Why doesn't Carton waste more of his time on that?
Look, James Franklin is going to be under the microscope in Blacksburg. The first time he loses a game, all the trolls will be coming out in full force. When that happens, there will be more tone-deaf Craig Carton takes, you can bet on that.