Thursday, December 16, 2010

Latest Coaching Search Rumor: Talks with Franklin are "Stalled" but "Not Dead"

ESPN.com's Joe Schad just tweeted that Vanderbilt's contract negotiations with Maryland Offensive Coordinator James Franklin has stalled over money and staffing/personnel issues. Who knows what to believe anymore, but the protracted nature of these negotiations, and the fact the Commodores still don't have a coach is beginning to worry many of the Vanderbilt faithful.

6 comments:

Charlie said...

It doesn't matter whom they hire --and who but a lunatic would want the job -- nothing's going to change at Vanderbilt. I've seen all this too many times before.

Anonymous said...

AAAARRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!!

Seth said...

I have the same feeling as those above. At the end of the day, I just don’t think this administration gets it. We need and official athletic department and director, especially for football. It can’t be argued. Sure, Williams has made Kevin, Tin, and Melanie happy but those 3 sports don’t require nearly as much attention as football. Until we get an AD I just don’t see our administration understanding the important needs of football in the SEC. Ive tried to be a Vandy fan in football but I don't see the point of caring if the administration doesn't.

Bobby O'Shea said...

I am and will continue to be a strong advocate for Vice Chancellor Williams. I'm sorry, but I am not at all persuaded that any perceived errors Vanderbilt committed during this search process can be traced back to a title. David Williams might not have the "AD" title, but there has been no evidence put forward that he, or his staff, have not dedicated the time, energy, and effort required to run a major athletic program. Vanderbilt athletics, on the whole, is as strong as it has ever been. Williams hasn't had to do a major coaching search because he's been able to keep his coaches at Vanderbilt. Before criticizing his handling of this situation, let's see how this plays out, what Franklin's staff looks like, the facilities upgrades, etc...

Joe Biddle and David Climer can use Vanderbilt's lack of an AD as a rationale to bash the program, but I think Vanderbilt fans should be wary of falling into that trap.

Seth said...

Bobby, I’m not hating on Williams at all. I know he’s a well respected man and I even said he’s done a good job with the other “major” sports at Vanderbilt. I just think to run an athletic department, especially in the best conference in the country, you need an AD. Williams has done an “ok” job at it all but we need someone dedicated to sports full time. Williams has more responsibilities than athletics and I’m sure those responsibilities have plagued him during this search, which might have caused him to not put this search first. An AD would have put this search first, no questions. Hell, make Williams the AD! It’s just time we had someone focusing on athletics as a full time job, not just part of his responsibilities.

Seth said...

Again, not to bash Williams, but no AD in the country would have let Vanderbilt stadium and its facilities get to the conditions they are in. One those are addressed, Franklin gets the staff he wants to succeed, and we get a boost in our recruiting budget… I’ll stand corrected. Go Dores.