The Premature Anointing of James Franklin

Disclaimer:  The following is not as much of an indictment of Vanderbilt Coach James Franklin himself as it is a response to the irrational amount of love the Mid-State media seems determined to shower upon him.

Let me start of on a positive note and just say that I do think Franklin is a good coach and was a quality hire for Vandy.  It’s hard to deny that he seems to have brought a real change of attitude and interjected a wave of confidence that has permeated the Vanderbilt football program. However, if he would devote a bit more of his time to coaching and less time as a salesman of himself, his team might be able to find a way to turn some of those moral victories into actual victories. 

Different coaches have different personalities and styles, and honestly, I don’t mind coaches who tend to display cockiness.  You certainly want your coach to believe strongly in what he is teaching and to believe his team is going to win, but there is also something to be said for exercising some humility from time to time.  While the way Franklin conducts himself in interviews, press conferences, and other media appearances may be entertaining at times, his arrogance and overly cocky demeanor often leaves me asking, “What have you ever won?”  The local media seems insistent lately upon comparing Vandy and Franklin to UT and Dooley.  The topic of discussion is logical enough, but the eternal praise they pour upon Franklin would make you think he’s just one step shy of being the football equivalent of the “second coming.”  On the other hand, Derek Dooley receives almost 100% negative coverage.  (Yes much of the Dooley criticism is warranted, but I will not spend any time here discussing Dooley for the sake of brevity.)  However the tiebreaker in most situations will always revert to head to head competition and who prevailed.  As I recall, Tennessee and Vanderbilt did play this year right?  How did it go?  I am not suggesting that a coach defeating another coach in one game definitely proves he is superior; however, if you believe that coach A is significantly better than Coach B, you would expect Coach A to win more often than not, especially when Coach A’s team is favored. Just saying.

The bottom line is that Vandy was 6-7 this year.  No, that’s not a bad season bad Vanderbilt standards, but it seems odd that the coach of a 6-7 team has emerged the apparent “anointed one” in the eyes of the media.  I would posit that James Franklin has yet to do much more than Bobby Johnson was able to do at Vandy(not to mention his "unbelievable season" came using Johnson's players); Franklin has simply been much more outspoken in doing it.  What is Franklin’s signature win that proves he is poised for greatness?  Should wins against Wake Forest, Connecticut, and Ole Miss really render you the Great White Hope?  I know Vandy fans are very excited about the current direction of the program and rightfully so, but I would be fairly cautious of my expectations becoming too great too quickly if I was Vandy fan.  The reason being is that you are headed for a brutal 7 game stretch to open the 2012 season and you're going to be favored in 1, maybe 2 of those games.  Thus, you're staring down the barrel of probably starting next year 1-6 or 2-5 at best.  That is really going to make the remainder of the season an uphill climb.  Also, you likely find yourself coachless in a year or two when Franklin moves on and you realize your team was little more than a spring board for the man to which you have devoted your heart.  He will also take many of his recruits with him and you will find your cupboard more bare than when Franklin first arrived.  I hate to say it but I see a lot of similarities between Franklin and Lane Kiffin.  How's that working out for Tennessee right now?  I suppose though, as with all things, only time will tell!