James Franklin admits he could’ve ‘spent more time with the local media’ at Penn State – Awful Announcing

Awful Announcing
James Franklin spent more than a decade at Penn State building one of the more successful programs in recent Big Ten history. And somewhere in the sprint to get there, he never stopped to introduce himself.
On Adam Breneman’s Next Up podcast, Franklin recently reflected on his tenures at Penn State and Vanderbilt and admitted that his biggest regret from both stops had less to do with what happened on the field than with how he handled the local media and fan base around it.
“Unless you’re a real football fan, a lot of people in the Northeast and specifically at Penn State, weren’t really following Vanderbilt,” Franklin said, per CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford. “You’ve got to be a real football fan to follow what was going on at Vanderbilt. I think we came there, we had a ton of respect for everything we had done in the SEC, but I don’t know if that necessarily carried all the way to the Northeast for us.”
Just days after Penn State let him go, Franklin made his first public appearance on College GameDay, which Todd McShay at the time called “messaging” and “image protection.” Franklin has always understood how to manage his public persona on a big stage, just maybe not as much as he would’ve liked to in State College.
“When I look back, that’s an area where I think we could’ve done a better job,” Franklin continued. “Let’s take a breath, let’s spend a little bit more time with the current players. Let’s spend a little bit more time with the local media. Let’s spend a little bit more time with the local fans and fanbase. And I felt it was just sprint, sprint, sprint, and we didn’t have time to lay that foundation the way we’d liked to.”
That history with the local beat didn’t start with last fall’s losing streak. In 2024, Franklin walked out of a press conference without answering questions about two former Penn State players who had been charged with sex crimes. A school spokesperson had read a prepared statement before Franklin took the podium, and when reporters pressed him on it, he left. He came back the following week and apologized for how he handled it.
It wouldn’t be the last time his relationship — or lack thereof — with the media became part of the story.
At Virginia Tech, Franklin’s contract already includes ACC viewership incentive bonuses, with money on the line depending on the Hokies’ conference television ratings. It’s a structure that didn’t exist at Penn State, and it suggests Franklin understands that building a program and building an audience aren’t the same thing, and that he can no longer afford to treat them that way.
Whether Franklin actually slows down long enough to build those relationships in Blacksburg remains to be seen. After turning down nearly $40 million in buyout money to get back on a sideline immediately, he has every motivation in the world to get it right this time.
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.
Not the way NBC wants to start in its return to the NBA conference finals for the Spurs-Thunder series.
“…when you get to the fourth quarter and you can switch to another sport, that’s not the way it’s supposed to happen.”
“When is she gonna start winning at the next level? She has not won a playoff series yet.”
“The husk of the Sports Illustrated brand is stealing entire stories from people without credit, seemingly using AI.”
“Had I waited about 45 minutes, I would have died.”
“He’s such a f*cking adult, dude.”
Not the way NBC wants to start in its return to the NBA conference finals for the Spurs-Thunder series.
“…when you get to the fourth quarter and you can switch to another sport, that’s not the way it’s supposed to happen.”
“When is she gonna start winning at the next level? She has not won a playoff series yet.”
“The husk of the Sports Illustrated brand is stealing entire stories from people without credit, seemingly using AI.”
“Had I waited about 45 minutes, I would have died.”
“He’s such a f*cking adult, dude.”
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