Penn State football is now eight days removed from the firing of offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich following last week’s loss to Michigan. The focus for the Nittany Lions now turns to evaluating the first game under interim coordinators Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle, preparing for Friday’s regular-season finale against Michigan State, and figuring out who will lead the offense into the 2024 season. But questions in recent days have emerged surrounding the timeline of this firing, as reports surfaced indicating that James Franklin had informed new QB commit Bekkem Kritza that Yurcich would be let go before the Nittany Lions took the field against the Wolverines. On Monday, we heard Franklin’s side of the story, as the Penn State football coach denied Kritza knew of Yurcich’s firing ahead of time.
Reports surface suggesting James Franklin had made up his mind about Mike Yurcich before the Michigan game
It was not shocking to learn that James Franklin had relieved offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich of his duties last Sunday following Penn State’s 24-15 loss to Michigan. The Nittany Lions offense had looked disjointed all year, and another disappointing performance in a big-time game was apparently the final straw.
But in the days following the firing, reports surfaced that raised questions about when exactly Franklin had decided to fire Mike Yurcich. Specifically, in a discussion with 2025 QB commit Bekkem Kritza, Audrey Snyder of The Athletic reported that Franklin may have given the recruit prior knowledge of Yurcich’s firing.
In essence, Snyder reported that Bekkem Kritza met with James Franklin and the coaching staff before the Michigan game to commit. However, when Kritza, who announced his commitment publicly last Tuesday, noticed that Yurcich wasn’t in the room, Franklin insinuated that the offensive coordinator would likely not be at Penn State next year.
The report raises concern about the timeline of Yurcich’s firing
If true, this report would highlight several concerns about the timeline for Yurcich’s firing. It would contradict the statement made by Franklin the day after the announcement, where he explained he decided to fire Yurcich in-season — something he had never done before — out of an effort of transparency.
“I just think for most people and most situations, if you’ve gotten to the point where you feel like that’s what you’re going to do, I’m not great at faking it,” Franklin said last week. “I want to be as transparent and up-front as I possibly can be. So, when you get to the point where you feel like that’s the right decision, then I think you make it.”
If Franklin had already made up his mind, it would call into question the level of confidence given to Yurcich in calling the Michigan game, by far one of the offense’s worst performances of the season.
The report would also raise questions about when the Penn State football players and staff knew of the decision. According to Franklin, the players were told immediately before practice last Sunday.
Franklin denies informing recruit of firing before he committed
During his weekly press conference today, James Franklin was asked about the reports and denied telling any recruits about impending coaching changes.
“I think you guys know me well enough to know that’s not the case,” Franklin said. “I can’t talk specifics about recruits, as you guys know, but I think you guys know me well enough.”
“Every recruit that I have ever met with, I talk to the recruit about committing to Penn State and committing to me, because of the nature of college football,” he continued. “I don’t want there to be a coaching change, or a coach leaves to go be the head coach at Virginia Tech or Old Dominion or Mississippi State, and now all of a sudden, you’re unsure. So, I cover that with every single recruit, but I also can see that based on the timing of how things played out that, for a young kid, him kind of connecting the dots in the wrong way.”
While Franklin suggested that the situation likely resulted from a misunderstanding on the behalf of Bekkem Kritza, he also admonished the reporters who covered the original story as anything more than that.
“But I know the media that covered that and is talking to a young kid can kind of figure it out,” Franklin said. “I think you guys know how I go about my business. I would never do that. That doesn’t make sense. But for a young kid, I could see how the timing of that, you would connect those dots, and they’re not really connected. But I know all of you guys wouldn’t connect the dots that way and wouldn’t write it that way because you’ve been around me and how I go about things for a while. Wouldn’t put a kid and recruit in that type of position.”
On the field, Penn State football takes on Michigan State on Friday night at 7:30 on NBC.
Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media. Also, be sure to check out our new site shop. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!
WRESTLING3 days ago
WRESTLING2 days ago
WRESTLING2 days ago
WRESTLING1 day ago
FOOTBALL3 days ago
FOOTBALL3 days ago
FOOTBALL21 hours ago
