Players and positions were the focus in Part 1, now time to talk about the coaching staff

In the first part of my Penn State bye week observations and thoughts the focus was on the players and several of the position groups.

Now it’s time for the coaching staff.

James Franklin is a very good college football head coach in the modern game. Franklin is an outstanding CEO at the top of the leadership chart, he’s an excellent recruiter, program promoter and motivator. He’s not the best coach in the land on Saturday, but Franklin knows football, the game and what he is working with. And so far he’s done an outstanding job.

His assistant and position coaches are clearly given a runway to operate on and you can see the talent development happening all over the field. Franklin, as the head coach gets most of the credit, but even he knows who is doing the most grind-it-out coaching on a daily and weekly basis.

The position coaches, for the most part, are operating at a fairly high level. There’s a lot of moving pieces to juggle on this team with all the available talent.

I’m not thrilled with either coordinator, though. And on some level I think coach Franklin needs to emphasize during this bye week that offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne and defensive coordinator Brent Pry are a step short overall.

Yes, a defense that has yielded 30 points has some issues that I see as coaching/coordinator based and not player focused. First, why does this defense look reactive instead of proactive so much? This is elite talent Pry is working with, yet Buffalo and Pitt were a step ahead of him the first half in each contest in terms of in-game adjustments.

And can anyone please tell me why this defense is rarely set and prepared seconds before the ball is snapped? Why do I see arm signals, heads turned, guys moving around? I get this is the check-with-me era, but Penn State’s defense rarely looks ready. Finally, why as the game stays closer longer do the Nittany Lions’ defensive backs drift further away from the ball instead of walking into a more aggressive alignment? That would explain the mess that is third-and-long conversions by the last couple opponents.

Rahne has a serious juggling act with this offense and four running backs. That’s not easy. I get the running backs coach might want to keep his guys happy, but as the coordinator you make the call. Noah Cain not getting on the field again after the way he ran during that critical scoring drive against Pitt is an epic coordinator fail.

And like the defense, third down is a mess. The strategy and plan initially is not working after 12 quarters. This bye week is a perfect time to explore other options. Finally, TE Pat Freiermuth has to see the ball more. This can’t be a “what the defense gives us” option, either. He’s a match-up nightmare in the middle of the field and this offense flourishing is tied directly to him being targeted.

There’s a lot of ball to spread around on offense. And that’s not easy. Rahne is figuring it out, but he needs to be better at making adjustments on the fly in-game and not waiting for halftime.

Enjoy the outstanding slate of college football this weekend!