Penn State Sports Magazine
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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M E D I T O R I A L MATT HERB MATT.HERB@ON3.COM W hen it hired receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield away from Miami (Fla.) in 2020, Penn State was hoping to develop some stability at a position group that had been through too much change in too little time. Stubblefield was the team's fourth receivers coach in as many years, and the rapid turnover coincided with a decline in on-field productivity, as well as some key recruiting losses; one of the main reasons that five-star wideout Julian Fleming from nearby Catawissa, Pa., chose Ohio State over PSU in 2020 was that the Buckeyes didn't have a revolving door that kept spitting out new position coaches. Stubblefield ended up lasting three seasons at Penn State, which was longer than he'd stayed at any of his nine previ- ous coaching stops. It was on his watch that Jahan Dotson turned into a first- round NFL Draft pick, but that wasn't enough to keep PSU from parting ways with the well-traveled assistant in Janu- ary. James Franklin announced the move, offering thanks for Stubblefield's hard work and well wishes for all his future endeavors but acknowledging that he felt the Lions needed a change. Maybe they did. And maybe, having kept the postseason coaching drama to a minimum the past two years, Penn State can afford to make such changes without wreaking too much disruption on what appears to be a winning leadership team. Since the start of the 2021 season, PSU has lost just three members of its on-field football coaching staff. There's Stubblefield, whose exit caught many off guard. There's defensive coordina- tor Brent Pry, who left to become head coach at Virginia Tech. And there's spe- cial teams coordinator Joe Lorig, who headed to Oregon to be closer to his Pa- cific Northwest roots. In modern college football, that's what stability looks like. Franklin has been seeking stability, to the extent that it's achievable these days. He has emphasized the need for Penn State to pay competitive salaries so that assistant coaches aren't tempted to make lateral moves. The university doesn't disclose how much it pays its assistants, but we do know this: Athletics director Patrick Kraft shares Franklin's view. "Continuity is huge, right? You want to keep that continuity," Kraft said in December. "There's going to come a time where it's probably better for some people to move on, whether it's to be a head coach or a defensive coordinator or offensive coordinator, whatever it is. But I will always be committed to keeping our staff together no matter what. "I've said to James, 'What do we need to be successful? What do we have to do to win a national championship?' "I think keeping staff is critical. It's important not just for James, but for all of our teams. If you have a great staff and you have great people, you want to keep them as long as you can." The revenue-producing sports are al- ways going to have more than their share of upheaval. There's too much scrutiny and too much money at stake for schools to stand pat if they're not reaching what they consider to be their potential. And vacancies at underachieving programs have ripple effects that impact the stron- ger Power Five schools. Penn State football assistants are all but certain to become targets in the next couple of years. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, for instance, has already said he's open to being a head coach again, having served in that capacity at Miami (Fla.) before joining the Nittany Lions' staff in December 2021. After helping PSU finish 10th in the country in scoring defense in his first season, he will likely get that opportunity someday. You don't see quite so much churn in the Olympic sports, and there, too, Penn State has distinguished itself by holding onto its coaches. Of its 24 varsity head coaches, four have been in charge of their programs since the 1990s: Randy Jepson (men's gymnastics), Mark Pavlik (men's volleyball), Greg Nye (men's golf) and Denise St. Pierre (women's golf). One coach has been in charge since the 1980s: Char Morett-Curtiss (field hockey). In addition, men's ice hockey coach Guy Gadowsky has been with that pro- gram since its inception in 2012, and the school's most recent head coaching hire — Katie Schumacher-Cawley — is fol- lowing in the footsteps of Russ Rose, who oversaw the women's volleyball program for 43 seasons. Franklin is getting up there, too, albeit not into Rose's realm. Having com- pleted nine seasons at Penn State, he's the third-longest-tenured head football coach in the Big Ten, trailing only Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald. After an 11-2 season and Rose Bowl victory in 2023, Penn State would be quite happy to keep staying the course under Franklin's leadership. But as Stubblefield's exit illustrates, there's something paradoxical about the pursuit of stability in college sports: Occasion- ally, the way you maintain it is by making a change. ■ James Franklin has worked to ensure that Penn State offers competitive salaries so that its assistant football coaches won't be tempted to make lateral moves. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE PSU Focuses On Stability And Reaps The Rewards VARSITY VIEWS