Franklin named Freidgen's successor

Last Friday, athletic director Debbie Yow and football head coach Ralph Friedgen announced that offensive coordinator James Franklin would take over the reigns when Friedgen decides to step down.

Many high profile assistant coaches have been given the decision to accept a “head coach in-waiting” position, rather than leave for a head coaching job elsewhere. Franklin, like others, will be receiving a pay raise, but not necessarily increased duties.

On the national landscape, the successor title was recently given to Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Current head coach Mack Brown, though, still has eight years on his contract and doesn’t seem close to retiring.

The move allows Texas to have the same defensive system in place for years to come, as Muschamp is the fourth defensive coordinator in the last five years and was already fielding head-coaching offers from the likes of Clemson and Tennessee.

Maryland, while not on the prestige level of a team like Texas, just got Franklin back a year ago and do not want to see him leave for another school.

In Tallahassee, the Florida State Seminoles seem to be in the same position as the Terps when they appointed Jimbo Fisher as Bobby Bowden’s successor. Bowden, 79, may be stepping down sooner than later.

The move is one that has become increasingly popular over the past year because of the changes in the college football landscape. Along with FSU and Texas, Maryland joins Oregon, Kentucky and Purdue as teams that have designated successors.

Stability is one of the main factors for choosing a successor and also becoming more important in recruiting. This stability that has been jeopardized by the shuffling of college coaches around the country.

While recruits are being scrutinized for opting out of their commitments, sometimes it is for good reason. Many high school players commit to a program because of the relationship they have built with a coach.

When that coach leaves for another program or gets fired, the recruit is left to deal with a situation that he did not plan for.

Franklin is an obvious choice because of his recent success for recruiting in the area. He led all assistants this season, being credited for grabbing 11 of the 24 recruits for the Terps.

The haul included four 4-star recruits according to Rivals.com: DE DeOnte Arnett, DE David Mackall, RB Caleb Porzel, and OL Peter White.

If and when Franklin does take over, we will hopefully see a peaceful transfer of power like the United States just saw with President Barack Obama.

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