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James Franklin and Virginia Tech Would be Perfect for One Another
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There’s some smoke out there about James Franklin possibly winding up at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. One of the sources is this story by On3’s Pete Nakos:
The prediction market Kalshi is currently offering Franklin to VPI at 75 cents for “yes” and 79 cents for “no.” Other names listed include Deion Sanders, Bob Chesney (no relation to Kenny), Alex Golesh, Jon Gruden, Jedd Fisch, Billy Napier, and Brian Kelly.
Why would this be a good fit? Well neither has won a big game in a long time. Heyo! VPI used to be a perennial contender in the Frank Beamer and Bud Foster heyday, when they were rolling out, with regularity, guys like DeAngelo Hall, Michael Vick, Kevin Jones, Darryl Tapp, and Kam Chancellor. They were always a beast. From 1995 to 2011, in both the Big East and ACC, they won 10 games or more at least 12 times and played for the 1999 Natty.
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Eventually that petered out, and Beamer’s last four seasons were mediocre, just one 8-5 season and three 7-6 seasons, then Tech brought in Justin Fuente, who did well enough the first two years before falling back to Earth. They went for Franklin’s defensive coordinator at PSU, Brent Pry, who finished 16-24 over three and a half seasons and now the program is at its lowest point since the early 1990s.
So if you take that history into account, VPI’s current spot isn’t too much different from where Penn State was in 2014. Back then, the Nitters were trying to find their identity in a post-Joe Paterno world after a couple of average Bill O’Brien seasons. Franklin built the program back into a contender and recruited hard and got Penn State into the national conversation, winning double-digit games in 6 of his 11 full seasons before the firing. Tech has similarly floundered in the post-Frank Beamer era, but it’s a program that was one of the best in the country for 15 years. There’s good infrastructure in place, good stadium, good fan base, fertile recruiting grounds. And you’re playing in the ACC, so no Ohio State buzzsaw awaiting Franklin each season. He’d do well beating up on the likes of Boston College and Duke and Wake Forest and all of these average programs.
James Franklin to Virginia Tech. Who says no?
disclaimer: As a WVU alum I am obligated to hate Virginia Tech with every fiber of my being.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com