One of Penn State football’s veteran leaders was asked what coach James Franklin said to the team after Saturday’s loss to Northwestern.
Penn State Shocked Again, Northwestern Puts Final Nail in Playoff Coffin
“That he loves us,” Dani Dennis-Sutton told reporters, “that he’d do anything for us, and now it’s gonna be a whole ‘nother level of problems.”
Dennis-Sutton didn’t say specifically what the “problems” were, but it’s clear that Penn State has a lot of them.
It’s also clear that, at this point, the majority of the fanbase feels that Franklin is the biggest problem, and they want Saturday’s embarrassment to be the last game James Franklin ever coaches at Penn State.
‘I LOVE YOU, COACH’
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
Zane Durant’s answer to the question about Franklin’s message mirrored what Franklin said in his postgame presser, which was “I will get it fixed.”
“He said say together,” Durant said. “He loves us. Keep tight, we’re going to get it fixed. Come here, be critical of yourselves and be ready to work.”
Durant also shared his personal message to Franklin.
“I said ‘I love you, Coach,’” he said. “I told him that after the game when we walked off the field. Whatever goes on, at Penn State, that’s what we do.”
“I have all faith in Coach Franklin. Since I got here, he’s been the ultimate coach. I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else.”
It must be said that, after the game, Durant was seen walking off the field and not appearing to acknowledge Franklin’s presence.
Plenty of other players did acknowledge Franklin after the game, making some fans think about what that might mean.
THE CHANTS
Image courtesy of Kyle Golik, Nittany Sports Now
Penn State fans chanted “Fire Franklin” as time expired and then booed him off the field.
For Dennis-Sutton, this led to somewhat of a helpless feeling.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” he said. “It’s tough when you hear people wanna fire your coach. But fans have their opinions, so you can’t really do much about it.”
Likewise, Durant didn’t have much to say about the chants.
“They’re going to say what they want to say. I don’t really have an opinion toward it.”
For the first time in more than a decade, Penn State fans woke up Sunday morning not 100% sure who the coach was going to be for the following Saturday’s game.
Regardless, Penn State will play Iowa on the road at 7 on Peacock next Saturday.
