Wow, wow, wow is all I can say. I explored the possibility of former staff members returning to the fold as the new OC, but NEVER would have thought in a million years that Franklin would return!
FOOTBALL BREAKING: Tony Franklin returns to MT as OC
- Thread starter C-Bow
- Start date
Wow, wow, wow is all I can say. I explored the possibility of former staff members returning to the fold as the new OC, but NEVER would have thought in a million years that Franklin would return!
First of all this kills the Stock is hard to work with nonsense. Second, does this pave way for Ingram to be WR coach/Head Recruiter? We could have a hell of a staff.
I just might get excited about Blue Raider football again 
Twitter outsiders are already mentioning a red flag by this move but I believe he has family in the area.
From what I understand, Ingram hasn't been shown any interest by MT or any colleges for that matter. Actually he might end up a "step above" the college game, if you catch my drift
Same here. Now just fix the defense giving up the big play and poor tackling.I just might get excited about Blue Raider football again
Make sure you tag Colin on twitter so he can keep up with Middle Tennessee State.
Hiring his former boss might change the interest factor for both parties. Nobody knew Franklin was coming so who's to say what will happen. One thing we do know is the relationship is there.
With Stock, all the RB's, James and these 2 new 3 star WR commits, we are gonna light it up. Season tix already locked in. Might by another. Holy crap. Beyond stoked right now. This is the best news in a long time!
Hallelujah!!! Excellent news!! Gets me excited for next year! Maybe we will play for a Championship next year.
Taken from TF's official resignation letter
"When Laura and I made this decision to leave Cal and move back closer to our family we were very fortunate to have an opportunity arise soon after. The new opportunity allowed me to continue to coach football as well as have a closer relationship with our parents, children and grandchildren. I am grateful to head coach Rick Stockstill and Middle Tennessee State University for welcoming me back as the offensive coordinator for the Blue Raiders. In 2009 we worked together to win a MTSU Division I record 10 games and I’m certain we can work together to better that this go around."
It sounds like he may have actually been planning to leave Cal regardless and maybe retire. The opening at MT was just perfect timing for him it seems.
"When Laura and I made this decision to leave Cal and move back closer to our family we were very fortunate to have an opportunity arise soon after. The new opportunity allowed me to continue to coach football as well as have a closer relationship with our parents, children and grandchildren. I am grateful to head coach Rick Stockstill and Middle Tennessee State University for welcoming me back as the offensive coordinator for the Blue Raiders. In 2009 we worked together to win a MTSU Division I record 10 games and I’m certain we can work together to better that this go around."
It sounds like he may have actually been planning to leave Cal regardless and maybe retire. The opening at MT was just perfect timing for him it seems.
This not just an upgrade. Not a homerun hire, This is a Grand Slam of a hire!
What's interesting is he interviewed at Texas for the OC job about a month ago and was also a finalist for the head coaching gig at North Texas.
dnj excerpt:
"When Laura and I decided to move back east in order to be closer to our families, we were thrilled to have a chance to join Rick Stockstill's staff and the Blue Raider family," Franklin said in a news release. "Our one season with the Blue Raiders in 2009 was one of our favorite journeys. We look forward to helping Coach Stock and the Blue Raider family achieve unprecedented success."
Franklin's hiring is pending full approval from the Tennessee Board of Regents.
He spent one season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at MTSU in 2009 prior to his six years at Louisiana Tech and Cal.
In 2009, MTSU made it to and won the New Orleans Bowl. That's the only bowl game the Blue Raiders have won since joining the FBS.
"As soon as we had the opening, Tony and I had conversations, and he expressed his interest in coming to Middle Tennessee State, so we immediately started figuring out a way to make it work," head coach Rick Stockstill said in a statement. "I am extremely excited about working with Tony again. He did a great job here the last time, and I know our players will love playing for him.
"I know our offensive players will be eager to learn from Tony because he is one of the top three or four offensive coordinators in the business with a proven track record. Everywhere he has coached, his offenses have been one of the most productive in the country, and I can't wait for him to get here and start putting his plan into place."
"When Laura and I decided to move back east in order to be closer to our families, we were thrilled to have a chance to join Rick Stockstill's staff and the Blue Raider family," Franklin said in a news release. "Our one season with the Blue Raiders in 2009 was one of our favorite journeys. We look forward to helping Coach Stock and the Blue Raider family achieve unprecedented success."
Franklin's hiring is pending full approval from the Tennessee Board of Regents.
He spent one season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at MTSU in 2009 prior to his six years at Louisiana Tech and Cal.
In 2009, MTSU made it to and won the New Orleans Bowl. That's the only bowl game the Blue Raiders have won since joining the FBS.
"As soon as we had the opening, Tony and I had conversations, and he expressed his interest in coming to Middle Tennessee State, so we immediately started figuring out a way to make it work," head coach Rick Stockstill said in a statement. "I am extremely excited about working with Tony again. He did a great job here the last time, and I know our players will love playing for him.
"I know our offensive players will be eager to learn from Tony because he is one of the top three or four offensive coordinators in the business with a proven track record. Everywhere he has coached, his offenses have been one of the most productive in the country, and I can't wait for him to get here and start putting his plan into place."
I guess this kind of shoots holes in the theory that there was some bad blood between Stock and TF.
Exciting times to be a Blue Raider. Time to get it done on the field.
Exciting times to be a Blue Raider. Time to get it done on the field.
Nashville Post:
Stockstill starts to recycle offensive coordinators
ESPN blog:
Franklin leaves Cal for Middle Tennessee
The Daily Californian:
Cal offensive coordinator Tony Franklin resigns
Californian Golden Blogs (see the cal fan comments here):
Cal offensive coordinator Tony Franklin resigns, will become OC at Middle Tennessee
Stockstill starts to recycle offensive coordinators
ESPN blog:
Franklin leaves Cal for Middle Tennessee
The Daily Californian:
Cal offensive coordinator Tony Franklin resigns
Californian Golden Blogs (see the cal fan comments here):
Cal offensive coordinator Tony Franklin resigns, will become OC at Middle Tennessee
Maybe I'm looking at this from the wrong angle, but I do believe Stock is a devoted father. And if there was someone who could help my child get to the next level and improve their performance in a way I could not, I would put my personal feeling about that person aside and find a way to work with them.
I love how they think there isn't any pressure to do well at MT...geez. Yeah we don't "want" to win. Its not as important as it is at Cal.
That's a formality. Stock wouldn't announce it if he wasn't approved to do so.
WR drag routes off of bootlegs, 3 man screens, post routes, misdirection based off of reads etc. Franklin, the mad genius will be dialing up some great offense and will keep the conference on it's toes.
Once his offense is installed, 5 things always happens...
1. Turnover margin rankings always rise. He stresses ball security and when he was our OC, we were #1 in turnover margin. That wins games right there my friends. Had we taken better care of the ball this year, we would have won 10 games.
2. Field position moves against the opposition. Since his offenses are highly productive, even if the ball has to be punted, the opponent is backed up on their field more often than not. This forces opponents to get outside of their comfort zone and gameplan which opens up opportunities for the defense. It's all connected.
3. Scoring offense and redzone offense numbers go up dramatically.
4. Road play improves. The offense he engineers is easy to install and grows as the season goes. If Dasher could get it, the entire team will easily. This gives the team confidence on the road because they know the plan and the scheme and will be comfortable with it. It will really be more about them than who they play.
5. Predictability decreases. TF is all about ball distribution. He literally "spreads it around". I think we had like 10 WR's and 3 RB's get catches per game in 2009. Andrews, Honeycutt, Gee, Sancho, Beyah, Tanner, Blissard, McClover, etc. were touching the ball on the regular. Hard to gameplan coverage when you don't know who will get the ball thrown their way.
Buster did ok but didn't bring much of this to the table. He was more of a TF product than the real deal. In tough situations, he would buckle and call the same play 5 times in a row. TF won't do that. We run a variation of his offense already so the transition will be easy to make. Welcome back TF.
WR drag routes off of bootlegs, 3 man screens, post routes, misdirection based off of reads etc. Franklin, the mad genius will be dialing up some great offense and will keep the conference on it's toes.
Once his offense is installed, 5 things always happens...
1. Turnover margin rankings always rise. He stresses ball security and when he was our OC, we were #1 in turnover margin. That wins games right there my friends. Had we taken better care of the ball this year, we would have won 10 games.
2. Field position moves against the opposition. Since his offenses are highly productive, even if the ball has to be punted, the opponent is backed up on their field more often than not. This forces opponents to get outside of their comfort zone and gameplan which opens up opportunities for the defense. It's all connected.
3. Scoring offense and redzone offense numbers go up dramatically.
4. Road play improves. The offense he engineers is easy to install and grows as the season goes. If Dasher could get it, the entire team will easily. This gives the team confidence on the road because they know the plan and the scheme and will be comfortable with it. It will really be more about them than who they play.
5. Predictability decreases. TF is all about ball distribution. He literally "spreads it around". I think we had like 10 WR's and 3 RB's get catches per game in 2009. Andrews, Honeycutt, Gee, Sancho, Beyah, Tanner, Blissard, McClover, etc. were touching the ball on the regular. Hard to gameplan coverage when you don't know who will get the ball thrown their way.
Buster did ok but didn't bring much of this to the table. He was more of a TF product than the real deal. In tough situations, he would buckle and call the same play 5 times in a row. TF won't do that. We run a variation of his offense already so the transition will be easy to make. Welcome back TF.
