The sentiment of the average Vanderbilt fan concerning James Franklin went from adoration to vitriol over the past week as the head coach left Nashville for Penn State and took most of his staff and several recruits with him.
Throughout the process however, Franklin has expressed nothing but gratitude for his time at Vanderbilt and even took out a half page ad in The Tennessean Thursday to thank the school.
Message from James Franklin in today's Tennessean. #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/2DOpvXuVZP
— Keri Potts (@MsPotts_ESPN) January 16, 2014
This is a classy move by Franklin. I’m sure he is aware that he’s not the most popular guy in Nashville right now, but he still opted to take the time out of his day to make something like this happen.
It’s certainly understandable for Vanderbilt fans to be upset at him now, but down the line it’d surprise me if they didn't look back at him with at least some reverence. Compare the Vanderbilt program now to what it was before Franklin took over. He led a historically awful program back to relevance, appearing in bowl games in all three of his years at the helm. He did a great job.
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