5 things James Frankin had to say about Penn State football, new coaching hire

James Franklin wanted to talk about the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Saturday's Senior Day opponent in Beaver Stadium.

But, as expected, most every question in his now-regular Monday Penn State football press conference was focused on him: his recent offensive coordinator firing and next-hiring; handling his quarterbacks; changing his abysmal record against top competition.

Here are his best takes from his briefer-than-usual 30-minute interaction with reporters:

James Franklin, Mike Yurcich game plan, play calling relationship

"Whether it's openers, whether it's third down, whether it's starting fast, all those things we've had lengthy discussions about and had a plan for," Franklin said. "But a lot of times when we got to the games either we did not call the games that way or we did not execute the games the way we intended them to."

A bit later, Franklin toughed on the same subject when discussing how assistants Ja'Juan Seider and Ty Howle will temporarily handle offensive planning and play calling: "I think we’ve been a little bit more collaborative now than what we’ve been here recently. It's been good."

What's next for Drew Allar, Beau Pribula

Yurcich not only coordinated the offense but was the lead coach for quarterbacks, including prized starter Drew Allar and Central York backup Beau Pribula.

Graduate assistant Danny O'Brien, a former college QB, will now lead the work with Allar and Pribula, Franklin said.

"I met with all of the quarterbacks first, they were the first to know. Then I addressed it with the team," Franklin said of the move to fire Yurcich. The quarterbacks, I think the discussion was good. ... Again, tough conversations, tough decisions but I think handled as well as you can under tough circumstances.

"As far as (quarterbacks) being involved in the new coordinator hiring process, 'No.' But in terms of, 'Are they a part of that decision? Yes. In terms of who I'm bringing in, why I'm bringing them in, do they fit the person I'm bringing in ... does everybody understand what they're signing up for? All of those things, 'Yes.'

"And just like with this decision, I'd like for them to be the first to know."

Timing of hiring a new Penn State offensive coordinator

Franklin hired his last coordinator, defensive leader Manny Diaz, in December two years ago. The timing on Yurcich's replacement is open-ended, he said.

"Sooner rather than later, right? It's hard. Hiring someone is like a full-time job. Can't really have two full-time jobs right now," Franklin said. "Most important thing is for us to play well this week and finish the season the right way, and then during that process, be working through, narrowing down a list.

"I already have a list. It's narrowing it down, running all the numbers, seeing if people are interested, and then trying to find a way to get that turned over as soon as we possibly can through maybe some Zoom calls, in-person interviews.

"And then in a perfect world, I think you would like if you could have a situation like we did with Manny where we hired him, had him here for the bowl game."

How struggles with Michigan, Ohio State impacted Yurcich firing

"Yeah, that was a big part of that decision.

"It's everything. It's kind of what I just talked about. Every unit needs to be operating at the very highest level: Recruiting, development, offense, defense, special teams.

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"We've had times where we have done that, but we have also had times we've been really strong in certain areas and not strong enough in others."

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"I think the biggest thing is understanding kind of what we just talked about, right? That for us to win the way we want to win at the very highest level, every single unit needs to be producing and working at the highest level year-round, 365 days a year.

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"There has been a lot of hurdles and battles to overcome to get there since we arrived on campus, to be honest with you, and the reality is we can't afford not to be thriving in every single one of those areas to be able to beat the people we need to beat on a consistent basis.

"So for us, the most important thing we can do outside of all the things we have already talked about is get the right people into the building. That's staff and that is players, and then be able to give them all the support they need to be successful on a consistent basis."

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football: James Frankin talks Mike Yurcich, Drew Allar