STATE COLLEGE — No matter what Penn State fans might think of the job he has done this season with the Nittany Lions, James Franklin has been one thing throughout his coaching career: loyal.
Sunday, he showed that loyalty only goes so far.
A day after promising he’d evaluate his staff and players, and nearly a week after admitting he thought the offense would be further along in developing an identity, Franklin gave the people what they wanted. He fired his longtime offensive coordinator John Donovan after the Nittany Lions ranked 108th among 127 teams in the nation in total offense during the regular season.
“I have tremendous respect for John and the work
he has put in over the last five years,” Franklin said in a statement released by the university. “I wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future.”
Franklin will immediately begin a national search for Donovan’s replacement, according to the university. It remained unclear Sunday how long that search would take or who would call the plays in Penn State’s bowl game, which is likely to be announced Sunday, Dec. 6.
Whoever it is will be a completely different entity and usher in a completely new era for Penn State’s head coach.
After all, Donovan is the only offensive coordinator Franklin has ever had as a head coach.
He spent the last five seasons on Franklin’s staff, including the last two years at Penn State and the three previous at Vanderbilt. But his results have been consistently mixed. Vanderbilt never finished higher than 74th in the nation in total offense under Donovan’s charge from 2011 through 2013, and Penn State ranked just 107th a season ago.
Donovan also coached Penn State’s tight ends, a position that saw an extreme drop in production the last two years following its renaissance in 2012 and 2013 under Bill O’Brien.
Once a top recruit, sophomore Mike Gesicki struggled with both his blocking and catching this season. Once a freshman sensation, senior Kyle Carter became a near non-factor, and his key fumble in Saturday’s 55-16 loss to Michigan State capped a frustrating campaign.
The Nittany Lions were sloppy all around for the third consecutive game Saturday.
They handed Michigan State three touchdowns, two courtesy of Donovan’s offense that continued to struggle finishing drives.
That has become a hard, bad habit to break for the Nittany Lions in recent weeks, one that has led fans to a new level of frustration with the staff and, especially, Donovan. But in his last game, Donovan called a game that led to 418 total yards while it was the typically stout defense that struggled throughout the game.
That led Franklin to recite another familiar refrain after the game. While the Lions certainly have not put a complete effort together, they have shown flashes of being effective at times, which has given Franklin the hope that he — and the staff that has been with him through it all — is closer than it looked Saturday to being a contender in the talent-laden Big Ten East Division.
“Next year, starting with the bowl game, we’re going to have an opportunity to get some things cleaned up, to get healthy, to get our full roster back,” he said. “Next year will be our first year to be back at full scholarships. We obviously have a lot of work to do, all of us. But good things are coming. I feel very confident in that.”
“We’ve shown that in flashes, but whenever you play the upper-tier teams in this league and in the country, we haven’t been able to get it done at that level yet. We have got to close the gap on them, there’s no doubt about it.”