The February Mail Bag—We Answer Your Questions

There is no offseason so let’s open the mailbag to fans of the show.

Question #1 from Julia H: How upset will PSU fans be if Matt Rhule is named new Michigan coach?

Thankfully this is an easy one because Jim Harbaugh is not leaving Ann Arbor. Matt was both a linebacker and tight end at Penn State (I coached him when I was the tight ends coach). He is an excellent coach and he’s done a great job. Love the guy and respect him but it would have been very hard to see him wearing Maize and Blue. That said, it was not easy seeing him at Temple—particularly when they beat PSU in 27-10 to open the 2015 season.

Question #2 from Alan F: What are the most important things Penn State Football program needs to do to create persistence and longevity among Top 10 college football programs?

The biggest thing to being successful over the long haul is consistency. It is fundamentals, details and substance over style. That is going to be even more so as the era of the transfer portal creates more roster instability. If you look at the programs that are at the top they’ve benefitted from a head coach that sets a standard of expectations. They are also programs where no one player and no one recruit is ever bigger than the program. Even Clemson this year, which was considered a “down” year for them, ended up with a 10-3 record. After a slow start they stayed true to their program’s blueprint and became a much better team at the end of the year than at the start.

Question #3 from Jeffrey D:  In a current 15 year period that ends in 2025 Penn State football will open their BigTen schedule on the road 14 times in 15 years for 1 home opening in 15 years. In that same 15 year run how many Conference home openers do rest of the schools have?

 Without doing all the math for all of the other 13 teams the 2024 season will represent the 32nd season of Big Ten Football for Penn State. As it is currently scheduled, we will have only 9 of our 32 Big Ten openers at home. The schedule is what it is and you have to play teams on the road at some point whether it’s the first Big Ten game or the last. As far as future schedules go –as we saw with this year—the schedules are subject to change. Television calls the shots more now than ever. But the schedules are supposedly done via computer modeling and I really don’t believe in Big Ten conspiracies, mostly because in most of our dealings with them it is hard to believe that they are smart enough to pull off a conspiracy.

Also, much remains to be seen as to what “The Alliance” will mean for scheduling. Some signs point to the Big Ten going back to 8 conference games and replacing the 9th Big Ten game with an alliance game. This year the change in scheduling split up back-to-back games against Michigan and Ohio State. In 2008 the month of October had a night game at Wisconsin then a home game against Michigan and a night game at Ohio State. So you play the hand your dealt and play the schedule that’s in front of you. As for that 2008 team, we won all three of those games and to this day that PSU team is the only Big Ten team in history to beat Michigan and Ohio State in back-to-back weeks.  

Question #4 from Bill S: Explain the process of how new coaches integrate into the system. How do they blend their techniques with those of the head coach? Saban seems to have the process nailed. What’s his secret?

Let’s start with Saban. One of the things that Saban has in common with other great coaches like the two hall-of-fame coaches I worked for, is that he could coach any position on the field. He knows what every player is supposed to be doing so that he can make sure that every assistant coach that comes into his program is on the same page. One of the myths about Saban is that his program’s success is all about recruiting. When those players get there, he and his staff coach techniques and fundamentals and elevate the game of every player they recruit. Talent alone will get you nine or ten wins, but it is in the preparation on the fundamentals that makes you win the two or three games that turn a season.

The other element of integrating into a system is verbiage. Learning a new offense or defense is a little like learning a new language. What one coach calls a certain play may be named a different way for another coach. Much like someone speaking English would have to learn that “mangia” in Italian means “eat” in English. The first several times you hear “mangia” you translate it back in your mind. Eventually you become fluent and know the word without translating it. That is one of the factors that is tough when you change systems in football, it takes some time to become fluent in the new nomenclature.

Maintaining consistency and integrating new coaches becomes something that great head coaches do because they “coach” their coaches. New coaches quickly learn the ropes because the expectations are clearly spelled out.

Question #5 from Paul L: What is the explanation for several years of Offensive Line woes? Recruitment? Development? Coaching?

There is no riskier position to recruit than offensive line. If an offensive lineman is not good enough there is nowhere else to go. Receivers who can’t catch often become defensive backs. Defensive linemen who are a step or two slow for defense can move to offensive line.

Now getting specific with Penn State, the recruiting process has become more position specific than ever. A lot of teams over-recruit defensive linemen knowing that some of them will end up on defense. If you don’t recruit guys who can be moved around your roster you get some o-line recruits that have not worked out. And that has happened at Penn State.

When John Urschel was recruited he was the 7th lineman in a class that included some defensive linemen and some offensive linemen. Everyone loves the flashy receivers, running backs and quarterbacks but you’d better have the guys up front.

Long-term the answer is not the transfer portal because offensive line play requires cohesion that is best built by familiarity and experience with the guy to your right and left when you line up. Given the continued struggles upfront it may be worth evaluating the weight program as well in the offseason.

Finally, I’ll echo what a number of pro coaches have been saying and that the college offensive systems are not conducive to great line play. It is hard to get great takeoff from a two-point stance on a clap cadence. The NFL is getting guys who have never played in a three-point stance. The very nature of the two-point stance creates a more passive position from which to come off the ball.

Question #6 from Paul M: Why would PSU give Franklin an extension and a salary increase with such a terrible record? He's a great recruiter but a terrible game manager and selector of recent coaches.

The administration at Penn State felt that they wanted to keep him around for a long-term contract. Whether they are right or wrong we’ll see in the years to come.

Personalities aside, no one should give any coach a ten-year contract given where we are in college sports rights now. The business model is changing rapidly. So to offer a ten-year contract based on the current business model is foolish. One of the reason coaches and their agents want the ten-year contract is because some sort of revenue sharing with the players is highly likely. Once that happens, schools will need to find that money and these coaches want to make sure that their money is locked up.

Question #7 from Pat M: Lasch is a modern building. Why do we keep spending more money on it when Beaver Stadium is so bad - disgusting rest rooms, horrible concessions and deplorable press box?

Beaver Stadium remains one of the great venues in all of college football. But there is no doubt that new bathrooms, concessions and a press box are needed. The next major investment in this program needs to be in Beaver Stadium because that investment has the potential to generate increased revenue. That revenue hopefully can pay for those renovations and increase funding for all of our sports.

By way of background, the 2001 Beaver Stadium renovation was financed and paid for in twelve years. The next Beaver Stadium phase was already well planned to cover all the areas you mentioned. But then the University waved a white flag and wrongly accepted blame, NCAA sanctions and fines in 2012.

There are big fiscal challenges in athletics right now as growth in expenses have outstripped growth in revenue. It is a far cry from the sound financial foundations that were in place for decades here. But that is the challenge for the future of this University.