James Franklin's Guide to Fixing College Football's December Problem

The Penn State coach called the schedule "chaotic" and unsustainable. Franklin would like to see change.

Since Penn State's regular season ended Nov. 24, James Franklin has been on and endless sprint of flights, recruiting visits, portal negotiations, coaching searches, current player interviews, a detour to Las Vegas and even a few practices for the Dec. 30 Peach Bowl. Which is why a shredded Franklin let down his guard briefly Friday during a media pit stop at Beaver Stadium.

"Are you saying that because I look like s--- right now? Is that why?" Franklin began when asked about his schedule for the past few weeks. That launched Franklin, who will conclude his 10th season as Penn State's head coach at the Peach Bowl, into a State of College Football address that sounded bleak. Franklin called the model "unsustainable" as he described a December schedule in which the sport squeezes every aspect of its offseason. His suggestion?

"I think the only people that can really fix this is the commissioners," Franklin said. "They're the only ones that I think have the power to do it right now. Get all the commissioners in a room for like a week, lock the door with some Chick-fil-a sandwiches [a nod to the Peach Bowl's title sponsor] and like literally A through Z, let's come up with a new model for college football because I don't think this is sustainable — for the players most importantly but also for the coaches and the staff.

"I think you're going to see more and more coaches leaving college football," Franklin added. "... The other concern I have is that it's attracting people into college football, I think, for the wrong reasons, and I think that's as big of a concern as the other."

After finishing through a 12-game regular season, Franklin's work only began. He has had to re-recruit his current players (lest they enter the transfer portal), scour the portal for new talent and work to replace both coordinators. The defensive coordinator hire still is pending. He brought a tuxedo to Las Vegas for the annual College Football Hall of Fame banquet. Meanwhile, Franklin and his staff have been on the road visiting committed recruits ahead of the early signing period, which begins Dec. 20. A brief glimpse into Franklin's life.

Penn State held its bowl media day Friday at Beaver Stadium. Franklin returned to State College late the night before from Florida, where he made at least one recruiting visit. Franklin, who usually arrives at the Lasch Football Building at 7 a.m. daily, met the media at 11:30 a.m. He left the session noting that he wanted to make the defensive coordinator hire "yesterday," led practice that afternoon, then joined new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki on an in-home recruiting visit with 2024 quarterback commit Ethan Grunkemeyer, who lives in Ohio. 

Great home visit🦁@coachjfranklin @Kotelnicki @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/0c9Fiidwsx

— Ethan Grunkemeyer (@e_grunkemeyer) December 15, 2023

Franklin certainly isn't alone among college football coaches with hectic December schedules. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin posts daily on social media from a new airport. And Franklin certainly is compensated well for his time. But as the Big Ten's second-longest tenured head coach, Franklin has a perspective worth considering on the game's thin-stretching of players and coaches. Here it is.

"The schedule is not good. It is not good. It is chaotic," he said. "You're recruiting your own roster. There's mixed messages everywhere. There are agendas in every direction. It's more challenging than it's ever been. Schedule-wise, you used to be able to just focus on your current team and recruits, whether that was high school or junior college. Now obviously the transfer portal is factoring into it as well. We're not a huge transfer portal team, but we do it. That's factoring into it, as well.

"Tampering is rampant. I mean, I think if you talked to any college football coach in the country, that's an issue. Agents, coaches, calling parents, calling high school coaches of your current team, it is rampant. All the reasons why we've had all these rules in place that now are not being enforced. All these rules were put in place for a reason. But it's challenging, right? It's challenging.

"We're running in a thousand different directions, and then it's magnified when you have an offensive coordinator search, and then as soon as you get that done and you're like, take a deep breath for a minute and get back to focusing on my players and recruiting for the future, then one of your staff members [Manny Diaz] get a chance to go be a head coach in the ACC, which is awesome for him and his future and his family. And then you're starting all over again. It has been a sprint. It has been a sprint."

Interestingly, Franklin reiterated that he has faced fewer "battles" on campus, a reference to the currently alignment he feels with Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi, Athletic Director Patrick Kraft and Board of Trustees Chair Matt Schuyler. "So that's helpful," Franklin said. And yet, he added this.

"The issue is, I don't know how to pull it back," Franklin said. "I think that's the challenge for the NCAA. I think that's the challenge for commissioners. I think that's the challenge for ADs. I think that's the challenge for college football coaches."

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.