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he wheels have been in motion on this for more time than it would ap- pear. James Franklin and Penn State agreed to terms on a contract extension, and on Dec. 6 the board of trustees' compensa- tion committee formalized the deal. A:er weeks of speculation regarding Franklin's future with the Nittany Lions, a period of time in which his name was attached to a coaching search at Florida State and a vacancy at Southern Cal that never actually opened, it's done. Franklin and his sta9 will continue to di- rect the Penn State football program for the foreseeable future. He's being paid handsomely to do so. The details had not been announced as of mid-December, but Franklin's last re- up came before the start of the 2017 sea- son, and the program's success since then has only served to further enhance his credentials. Without question, Franklin has demonstrated repeatedly to the Penn State football program, to the university and to the larger community that he is worth it. He has represented the pro- gram and university well and without incident during his six-year tenure, so much so that Penn State's Renaissance Fund named him its 2019 honoree. Then there's the team's on-8eld progress to consider. Over the past four seasons, with a bowl game le: to play this year, the Nittany Lions have gone 41-11. Penn State's winning percentage Franklin's new pact keeps PSU on path to improvement F O O T B A L L Rahne departs for Old Dominion after two seasons as Lions' OC JUDGMENT CALL T After two seasons as Penn State's of- fensive coordinator, Ricky Rahne is getting a chance to run his own pro- gram. The veteran Nittany Lion assis- tant coach, who came to PSU with James Franklin in 2014, was named head coach at Old Dominion on Dec. 10. In a prepared state- ment, Franklin called Rahne's departure "a bittersweet moment for our program." "I am so incredibly proud of Ricky and I am super excited for him, his family and Old Dominion," Franklin said. "I am forever indebted to Ricky for his loyalty and drive in help- ing us succeed at Vanderbilt and Penn State! "Ricky is a rising star in the industry and is built for this opportunity. He is a smart, open-minded and talented coach. His humble leadership style will resonate well with Old Dominion's leadership and players. I look forward to following his program at Old Do- minion!" Rahne had been Penn State's offen- sive coordinator since taking over for Joe Moorhead in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. The Nittany Lions went 20-6 during his time overseeing the offense. He also was in charge of Penn State's play calling in the TaxSlayer Bowl, which concluded the Lions' 2015 sea- son. A quarterback during his playing days at Cornell, Rahne began his coaching career at Holy Cross before returning to his alma mater. Next came stops at Kansas State and Van- derbilt. When Franklin headed to Penn State after three seasons as head coach of the Commodores, he brought Rahne along to oversee the Nittany Lions' quarterbacks. The Lions hired Moorhead as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in December 2015, and Rahne switched assign- ments, taking charge of the team's tight ends. He was promoted to offen- sive coordinator when Moorhead left for Mississippi State in December 2017. During his introduction at ODU, Rahne said he was pleased with what he was able to accomplish with the Nittany Lions. "I look back on my time at Penn State and I feel pretty darn good," he said. "There are some in- credible things that happened there. … The number I'm most proud of is the amount of wins we've had since we've been there." Rahne is bringing Penn State staffer Mark Dupuis with him to Old Domin- ion. Dupuis spent three seasons at PSU as a graduate assistant working with the offense. He previously coached the wide receivers during four seasons at Fordham. The new staff will be working to re- vive a Monarchs program that has struggled in recent years. Old Domin- ion has been a member of Conference USA since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2014. The team went 10-3 in 2016 and defeated East- ern Michigan in the Bahamas Bowl, but it has posted three losing seasons since then. Following this year's 1-11 finish, coach Bobby Wilder stepped down. At Penn State, the search for Rahne's successor was ongoing when BWI went to press. Franklin had not re- vealed who would be calling plays for the Nittany Lions in their Cotton Bowl appearance later this month. ■ RAHNE

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