Jan 9, 2025
FORT LAUDERDALE – History is being pursued here on several fronts.
As the Nittany Lions stalk their first national championship since 1987, James Franklin – and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman – are also vying to become the first Black head coaches to win a national title.
“For me to sit here and say that it’s not important would not be accurate,” Franklin said during the pre-game preparations. “I take a lot of pride in it.”
Questions on their race and the significance of being in this position were sprinkled throughout Wednesday morning’s final Orange Bowl press availability.
Though both tried to keep the focus on the team, and the challenge at hand, it was also unescapable.
“It’s not about me. It’s about us,” Freeman said. “More than anything, I want to achieve team glory with this program. There’s a lot of people in this coaching profession that have come before me that have given me this opportunity.”
As the two sat side by side addressing the media, it was clear Franklin has become an elder statesman. He is 52 years old, a head coach for 14 seasons – 11 at Penn State.
At 38, and a head coach for the first time who’s now in his third season, Freeman almost looks like a little brother.
Both appreciate the platform they’ve been afforded, thanking their administrations, those who hired them and paying tribute to coaches who helped paved their way.
“I want to be a representation,” Freeman said. “But that’s not enough. If you want to truly help some people, then you got to be one to make decisions and actions that truly help people.”
Franklin is a student of the game. He harkens back to 2007 when he was hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Kansas State by Ron Prince, then one of six Black FBS head coaches.
Franklin actually named the others, and added there are now 16 among 134 programs.
“That’s not a huge increase,” Franklin said, “but it is an increase.”
That was the same year Tony Dungy (Tampa Bay) and Lovie Smith (Chicago) met in the Super Bowl, a historic first-time meeting of Black head coaches for the grand prize.
“I do think it’s had an impact,” Franklin said, adding he hopes more coaches of color get opportunities from athletic directors and search firms who recommend candidates. “We felt that was going to create change.”
Only one will move on to the Jan. 20 national championship game in Atlanta against the winner of Ohio State-Texas.
In some ways, these teams mirror each other as they both rely on strong running games and tough defenses.
“If you look at our season, that’s been a big indication of the outcome of the game — our ability to run the football and our ability to stop the run,” Freeman said. “It’s a mentality.”
“This is going to be a four-quarter football game, and we’re going to have to be prepared to compete like that,” Franklin said. “Stopping the run is priority number one.”
With Drew Allar, Penn State has thrown the ball better upfield, particularly to Tyler Warren, but Freeman reminded, “If you are not able to do a good job at stopping the run and trying to run the ball, you’re not going to have success. When you can’t stop an offense from running the ball, it can be demoralizing.”
When the national media gather at events like this, there are often questions on the state of the game and college football trends.
Franklin, as can be his tendency, was expansive on his visions – uniformity in scheduling across conferences (ND is an independent but should be in a conference, he said) and realigning the college football calendar to start earlier.
Freeman, meanwhile, had shorter answers and at times deferred to Franklin.
“Coach Franklin has a lot more experience,” Freeman said. “I don’t have a whole bunch of opinion on it. I’m a guy that just tell us what we’re doing, and let’s go and move forward, and let’s make the most of it.”
“I think in a very eloquent way, Marcus just called me old,” Franklin said, smiling.
“Experienced,” Freeman clarified before the two posed for a photo in front of the Orange Bowl trophy.
Notre Dame football is one of the highest coaching profiles in sports. And yet, being just 38, Freeman is ahead of schedule.
Franklin, meanwhile, has been banging his head against the wall, trying to get over the big-game hump for a decade-plus, especially vs. Ohio State, and has now positioned himself and the Lions to play for the national championship.
This could well be – finally — his time, and he seems to have the team to do it.
The question is: Will he?
Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.
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