Mark Madden: Why couldn't Penn State tolerate 1 bad year?

Last season, Penn State football was 13-3 and made the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

This year, Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the country to start the season.

But franchise quarterback Drew Allar fell apart and is now out for the season. Penn State is 3-3 after losing three straight. The last two were to opponents, UCLA and Northwestern, that were underdogs of 20 points or more. That’s a first in NCAA football history.

So, reportedly goaded by sponsor Adidas and undoubtedly by NIL sources, Penn State fired coach James Franklin.

It shouldn’t have.

But it’s indicative of our knee-jerk, fast-food culture and how any disappointment requires revenge. A pound of flesh. Firing.

Franklin had one losing season at Penn State: He went 4-5 in 2020, the covid year. He won 13, 10 and 11 games over the last three campaigns. He had five seasons (out of 12) with 11 victories or better.

How isn’t that good enough?

Why can one bad year not be tolerated?

Franklin (and his predecessor, Bill O’Brien) dug Penn State out after the Jerry Sandusky scandal. It’s barely mentioned anymore. That took some doing.

From 2000-04 at Penn State, Joe Paterno had four losing seasons in five. He kept coaching.

Franklin had flaws beyond Penn State’s recent string of losses.

He went 4-21 against top-10 teams, 1-15 against top-five teams and 1-13 against Michigan and Ohio State when those teams were ranked in the top 10.

His big wins were exemplified by his playoff victories against SMU and Boise State last season. Quality, but not exactly the cream.

Will Penn State get a better coach than Franklin? They are unlikely to get a superior recruiter. Interim coach Terry Smith won’t get a sniff. He’s a career assistant at the college level.

If Franklin made one major error this season, it might be his disinclination to consider other options at quarterback when Allar faltered.

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi did that when starting QB Eli Holstein stumbled, and the result has been a rebirth (however temporary) under freshman Mason Heintschel. (If Heintschel is legit, a Big Ten or SEC school will swoop in and pluck him. That’s how you knew Holstein wasn’t. None did.)

Allar is more highly touted than Holstein. Ethan Grunkemeyer will assume command at Penn State: four-star recruit, strong arm, but you never know until you see.

Allar’s career is in tatters. He was a lock to be a first-round NFL Draft pick, maybe even first overall. Now he might not get chosen until the second or third round, if then.

Penn State probably wants a name of some repute to replace Franklin. It was a showbiz firing, so why not a showbiz hire?

Indiana’s Curt Cignetti seems preferred by the citizens. But would Cignetti leave a rising program to jump on a sinking ship?

The money would be juicy.

Franklin will be paid $49 million by Penn State to not coach.

I’m not sure why Franklin failed this season.

He’s an excellent recruiter. But de-commitments might have hastened his dismissal, like McKeesport running back Kemon Spell.

Penn State under Franklin often came out flat and seemingly unprepared, like it was waiting for something bad to happen. This year, it too often did.

It’s one thing to lose to Michigan and Ohio State, even if you do that all the time.

It’s quite another to lose to UCLA and Northwestern in consecutive weeks when you’re favored by 20 or more. (It’s almost as bad as losing to West Virginia.)

If you lose to the great teams consistently, you can’t ever lose to the horrible teams.

Penn State is in decline at the same time Pitt is coming on strong.

I’m not sure which development makes Pitt fans happier.

If the teams played right now, Pitt might win.

If they played in two weeks, Penn State would definitely win.

The natural order will be restored. No matter who’s coaching Penn State.