Franklin extension makes sense, but could it have waited?

Photo creds to The Sports Fan Journal

Since his arrival in 2014, my feelings of Penn State head football coach James Franklin have changed on multiple occassions.

When PSU hired Franklin, I was excited. Why wouldn't I have been? In his three years at Vanderbilt University, Franklin took one of the worst power five programs in college football history to back-to-back top 25 finishes, accumulating a record of 24-15 overall and 18-8 over his last two seasons. Not only did Franklin have an impressive track record as a head coach; his upbeat attitude was also appealing. When the Nittany Lions began the Franklin era with four straight wins, that optimism seemed to be valid. The rest of the 2014 season, however, didn't go as planned.

Penn State lost six of its last eight regular season games, ending with a record of 6-6 overall and 2-6 in the Big 10. To make matters worse, prized quarterback Christian Hackenberg did not build on his impressive freshman season, and many saw the switch from Bill O'Brien to Franklin as a primary cause for this.

The Nittany Lions ended the year on a high note, with a thrilling overtime win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. The exciting end to the season, along with the fact that four of Penn State's six losses were by seven points or less, gave fans optimism that this young football team would take a step forward in 2015. It didn't turn out that way.

Penn State did not improve at all in Franklins second year. A putrid offense, along with embarrassing losses at Temple and Michigan State were part of another 7-6 campaign. So after two years, the Nittany Lions were a mediocre 14-12 overall and 6-10 in conference play under Fraklin. While it might be a stretch to say that Franklin was on the hot seat going into 2016, fans were starting to get impatient. We did not want to deal with another pedestrian season.

An upset over second-ranked Ohio State, a conference championship and an appearance in one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time brings us to the main topic of this article, which is Franklin's recent contract extension.

This Friday, word got out that PSU would be taking good care of its head coach for the next several years. Penn State inked Franklin to a six-year deal worth around $5.8 million a year $32 million extension. On the surface, locking Franklin up long-term makes perfect sense. Although there are plenty of reasons to be excited about Penn State football right now, pulling the trigger on this extension might be a little premature.

The reasons for extending Franklin are evident. Penn State football hasn't been this hot going into a new season in almost two decades, and a lot of that is because of the man running the ship. The job that he has done recruiting and motivating players, as well as picking quality assistants is admirable. But as remarkable as last season was, a lot went right for Nittany Lions.

Penn State had a good football team in 2016 and deserved to be winners. At the same time, an unforgettable campaign could easily have been one of minimal to zero progress if not for a few bounces.

A few of the 11 wins included the game against Ohio State in which the Buckeyes statistically dominated, and likely would have won if not for that late blocked-kick touchdown. If not for Marcus Allen's gifted hand, there would have been no upset victory to force the nation to take notice.

Another example of things going Penn State's way was October 1 against Minnesota. Here, they were two seconds away from falling to 2-3 and creating some serious questions about Franklin's future in Happy Valley. Instead, a Tyler Davis field goal sent the game to overtime, where PSU got a huge win via a Saquon Barkley TD run. If the Lions dropped this game and fell to 2-3, who knows what this would have done to their confidence the rest of the way?

If Penn State hadn't won these two games, they surely would not have had a chance to play for the Big 10 championship, where again it was fortunate.  The Nittany Lions overcame a 21-point first half deficit against Wisconsin,  ending the game on a 28-3 run to win its first outright conference title since 1994.

It's also worth noting that Penn State had a favorable schedule last season. Of the five road games the Nittany Lions played, only two were against teams that finished with a winning record meaning that Penn State had the luxury of playing most of its toughest games in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium.

Again, PSU football had a hell of a run in 2016, and fans should have an abnormal level of excitement as this season draws near. But with that optimism should also come the realization that 2016 was a perfect storm in some ways, and replicating that success will be difficult. Although it's easy to see why Penn State has decided to make James Franklin the third-highest paid head football coach in the Big 10 and the highest among African Americans in the country, weather or not this is a premature decision is a fair question to ask.

Here is what I would have done if I was athletic director Sandy Barbour; I would have waited out 2017 before pulling the trigger. I would have decided that, considering the weight of expectations along with a tougher conference slate, that Franklin needs to prove that he can sustain this success and not be a one-year wonder at Penn State.

This season will be a challenge. Not since the days of LaVar Arrington have the Nittany Lions come into a season with this big a target on their back. They also won't have the perk of playing Ohio State and Iowa at home, and probably won't benefit from a 3-9 Michigan State team again. Unlike last season, this team will not sneak up on anybody.

If Franklin can go at least 9-3 in the regular season, he will, for the moment, justify his raise. In my mind, he needs to prove that he can build a consistent winner. He has not done that yet, and because of that, I would have waited before giving him the big bucks.