James Franklin is a busy man. The Penn State coach was out on the road recruiting Sunday night, and he’s trying to put the finishing touches on his top-10 Class of 2022 while also spinning that momentum forward into the 2023 cycle ahead of National Signing Day later this month.
He’s also trying to get his Nittany Lions prepared for their bowl game. On Sunday, Penn State found out it would face No. 22 Arkansas in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 1.
And between all of that, Franklin is also trying to find a new defensive coordinator after his longtime right-hand man, Brent Pry, left his post at Penn State for the head coaching gig at Virginia Tech last week. It’s a lot, and Franklin knows he isn’t alone in attempting to fill out a staff.
“I’d like to try to get it done as soon as possible, but I want to make sure that we also get the right person, and that takes time,” Franklin said on a Sunday evening conference call. “And then the other challenge is with as many jobs that are open right now, a lot of people are fighting for the same guys, so there’s a lot of competition out there from that perspective as well. That’s kind of where we’re at. We had practice early this morning and then got on the road recruiting and trying to kind of balance it all, and then obviously getting ready for the bowl game.”
Pry worked alongside Franklin for three seasons at Vanderbilt and the past eight at Penn State. During that time, Pry developed into one of the more consistent defensive coordinators in the country, with his 2021 Nittany Lions unit ranking No. 7 nationally in scoring defense.
Pry, though, saw the perfect opportunity as a former graduate assistant at Virginia Tech in the 1990s, and he jumped at the chance to take over a program of his own.
“I’m super excited and happy and proud for Brent and his family, and I think it’s a great fit at Virginia Tech,” Franklin said. “This is the type of opportunity that we talked about for 12 years. He turned down a bunch of opportunities waiting for the right one, and this was the right one. So I couldn’t be happier for him, and I think it’s a great fit and a tremendous opportunity.
“On the other hand of it, you talk about a significant loss, personally and professionally. Brent’s one of my closest friends. We’ve been together for 12 years. We’ve been through a lot together, and obviously, that’s going to be difficult to replace.”
Franklin didn’t directly answer whether he had appointed an interim defensive coordinator after Pry’s departure, but he highlighted that Anthony Poindexter was the program’s co-defensive coordinator in addition to its safeties coach. Poindexter, though, is reportedly a candidate for the coaching opening at Virginia, his alma mater. That’s another moving piece of the puzzle to replace Pry, who was also the linebackers coach.
Franklin did emphasize that one thing he’s looking for in a coordinator is someone who runs a similar scheme to Pry’s. After all, Penn State has spent the past eight years recruiting to that system, and the talent currently on the roster and the players who will join the roster in the future cater to that. Franklin wants to make sure the players currently on the roster are fits.
“Everybody is being considered,” Franklin said. “Every situation is being considered. Guys that have been on our staff, guys that are outside of our staff, guys that are part of our tree, guys that are outside of our tree.”
Franklin was also asked if he’s focusing on candidates who have previous experience calling their own plays for their defense. Given Franklin’s offensive background and role as a CEO-type head coach, the new Penn State defensive coordinator would have an amount of autonomy on that side of the ball.
“Previous play calling experience is obviously helpful,” Franklin said. “You really want to be able to kind of study a track record of success, and obviously, guys that have done it before, it makes it easy to go back and study all the metrics and see where guys are at and how you want to rank them and those types of things. So that helps. It’s not the final deciding point, but obviously, it helps.”
Franklin didn’t put a timetable on when he’s looking to have a new defensive coordinator in place, and obviously, there are more dominoes that could fall, like with Poindexter. Franklin, though, is someone who goes after what he wants.
Pry’s replacement has large shoes to fill a valued position at a successful program. It’s a tough task, and Franklin is searching for the right candidate even as he’s on the road and preparing for Arkansas.
“Someone with a similar philosophy and structure that we’ve already done, but obviously, be able to put their own stamp on it,” Franklin said. “But somebody that is going to be the head coach of the defense and be able to handle that side of the ball, and they’re also going to be a resource for me that we can collaborate together and continue to build the defense to put us in the best position to win at the highest level.”
