Jump to content

Tony Franklin (American football coach)

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Otduff (talk | contribs) at 09:03, 31 August 2012 (→Louisiana Tech: - added details of offensive improvement in 2010 and 2011 seasons). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Tony Franklin
Current position
TitleOffensive coordinator
TeamLouisiana Tech
ConferenceWAC
Biographical details
Born (1957-08-29) August 29, 1957 (age 67)
Princeton, Kentucky
Playing career
Position(s)Running back

Tony Franklin (born August 29, 1957) is an American college football coach, currently serving as the offensive coordinator for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs of Western Athletic Conference.

Franklin was previously the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator of the Auburn University football team, before being fired from that position on October 8, 2008.[1] Franklin is known for his expertise in the spread offense and for developing quarterbacks. Under his guidance, quarterbacks Tim Couch, Dusty Bonner, and Jared Lorenzen each led the SEC in passing, with Couch becoming the first player selected in the 1999 NFL Draft.

While a running back in college at Murray State in 1977, Franklin was a teammate of fellow future coach Bud Foster, who later came to prominence as the Virginia Tech defensive coordinator.

Coaching career

Franklin began his career as a high school coach in 1979, including a stint at Calloway County High School where he coached Mr. Football in Kentucky Pookie Jones who went to play at Kentucky. He continued coaching in the high school ranks at other schools including perennial state championship contender Mayfield High School winning 2 state titles, until he was hired by Hal Mumme in 1997 to coach running backs at Kentucky. After Mike Leach was hired away by Oklahoma, Franklin was named offensive coordinator for the 2000 season and led the Wildcats to the nation’s 2nd best passing offense,[2] as well as the nation’s 11th best team in total offense (445 yards per game).[3] He helped lead the Wildcats to their first back-to-back bowl appearances in 15 years and their first New Year’s bowl game appearance in 50 seasons. During his tenure at Kentucky, Franklin was named one of the top 10 recruiters in the South.

In 2003, Franklin was chosen as general manager and head coach of the expansion franchise Lexington Horsemen of the National Indoor Football League, successfully leading the team to the playoffs in their inaugural season. The team led the Atlantic Division in scoring, averaging 53.1 points per game.

Troy

In 2006, Franklin was hired by Larry Blakeney to serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Troy University. In his first season at Troy, Franklin turned the teams stuttering offense around from the last placed offensive unit in the Sun Belt Conference prior to his arrival, to leading the league in passing and ranking second in overall offense. This remarkable turnaround helped the Trojans earn their first Sun Belt Conference title as well as the school's first bowl win, with a victory in the New Orleans Bowl. Prior to Franklin's arrival, Troy hadn't ranked better than 109th nationally in total offense in the previous four seasons.[4] In 2007, the Trojans ranked 16th nationally in total offense (453 yards per game)[5] and 25th nationally in scoring offense (34 points per game),[6] helping the team win back to back Sun Belt Conference titles.

Auburn

After spending two seasons with the Trojans, Franklin was hired on December 12, 2007 by Tommy Tuberville to serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn University.[7] Franklin implemented his new spread offense with only 8 days of practice, prior to the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl. The new system proved quite effective as Auburn bested their season average in all offensive categories, posting 423 yards of offense (233 passing / 190 rushing), had 24 first downs and ran an 11-year high 93 offensive plays, all despite playing against the #6 defense in the nation.[8]

The Tigers' offense was much less impressive at the start of the 2008 season. Auburn started the season with a somewhat disappointing 4-2 record, losing to LSU and Vanderbilt and having close calls against two struggling teams in Mississippi State and Tennessee. After the first six games, Auburn ranked 104th in total offense out of all FBS teams.[9]

On Wednesday, October 8, 2008, Auburn head coach Tuberville fired Franklin, citing a lack of offensive production from Franklin's spread offense, and noting Auburn's diminishing rank in most of the offensive categories in the FBS.[10] Auburn went on to win only one of the final six games, finishing with a 5–7 record. Some saw this as proof that even though Franklin was able to use his offense in lesser conferences and against lesser defenses, in the SEC where defense reigns, his version of the spread could not work.

Middle Tennessee

On February 5, 2009, Franklin was hired to fill the vacant position of offensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State University.[11] He replaced G.A. Mangus, who left MTSU to become the quarterbacks coach at South Carolina under his college coach Steve Spurrier.

Under Franklin's tutelage, the Blue Raiders offense improved from 7th in the conference in scoring before his arrival (and 84th in the nation)[12] to 2nd in the conference his first season (and 23rd in the nation).[13] Despite a losing record the year prior, MTSU finished the regular season with a 9-3 record including a win over the Maryland from the Atlantic Coast Conference (the lone conference loss came at Troy). The press characterized the year as redemption for Franklin after the difficulties at Auburn the prior year.[14] Franklin's offense helped the Blue Raiders finish with 10 wins (after beating Southern Mississippi 42-32 in the New Orleans Bowl), the program's best record since it entered the Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) in 1999, with the offense averaging over 420 yards per game.[14] Franklin's 2009 unit set MTSU records in total yards, passing yards, and total points. Quarterback Dwight Dasher finished the season ranked 7th in the nation in total offense, threw for a school record 23 TD passes, and was named the SBC Player of the Week three times.

Louisiana Tech

On February 17, 2010, Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes announced the hiring of Franklin as offensive coordinator.[15] The two had previously worked together on Hal Mumme's staff at Kentucky. In their first season, LA Tech's record improved to 5–7 overall and 4–4 in the WAC, with the offense improving in several areas of the NCAA statistical ranks including passing offense (91st in 2009 to 62nd in 2010) and total offense (66th to 52nd) while the team's average offensive national rank improved from 65th in 2009 to 54th in 2010.

The 2011 team saw significant improvement, winning the program's first WAC football title since 2001. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 8-4 and were invited to play in the Poinsettia Bowl versus 15th ranked TCU. The regular season losses included a defeat in overtime at Mississippi State, 2-point loss at rival Southern Miss (finished season ranked #19 in Coaches Poll) and 1-point loss to Houston (finished season ranked #14 in Coaches Poll). Franklin's offense again made improvements, ranking 42nd nationally in scoring[16] and 45th in passing.[17]

Instruction

Tony Franklin is well known for owning and operating The Tony Franklin System Seminar. His copyrighted offensive system has been implemented by over 351 high school and college programs in 44 states across the nation,[18][19] grossing over $170,000 annually from his consulting services.[20] Several college coaches including Sonny Dykes at Arizona, Chris Hatcher formerly of Georgia Southern and Ed Argast at Fordham consult with Franklin about their offenses. Pro Football Hall of Famer John Hannah says of the system "If both teams have players who are equal in talent, this offense is impossible to stop".[20]

After taking the Offensive Coordinator job at Auburn, Franklin was forced to sell the ownership of his football consulting business to partners because of a SEC rule prohibiting coaches from participating in a clinic not on the institution's premises.[19] The system became known as The System Seminars . Since his departure from Auburn, he has again taken control of the business and gone back to the title "The Tony Franklin System".

Besides his offensive consulting work, Franklin has written a pair of football related books. In 2001, Franklin authored a nationally acclaimed book titled Fourth Down and Life To Go (ISBN 9780971428003), which chronicled his experiences with coaching football in Kentucky. The book detailed the inner workings of the Kentucky football program and effectively blacklisted him from coaching from 2001-2005 until he was hired at Troy.[21] He authored a second book in 2005 titled Victor’s Victory (ISBN 9780971428010), which dealt with the sudden death of 15 year old Hoover High School football player Victor Dionte Hill, who died from a cardiac arrest during one of Franklin’s consulting sessions. The book has helped bring awareness of the need for automated external defibrillators in every school and youth organization.

References

  1. ^ "Franklin fired as Auburn offensive coordinator". Opelika-Auburn News. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "IA National Team Report - 2000 Passing Offense". NCAA. 2001. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  3. ^ "IA National Team Report - 2000 Total Offense". NCAA. 2001. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  4. ^ "Troy brings new offensive scheme to NU". The Grand Island Independent. 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-20. [dead link]
  5. ^ "FBS National Team Report - 2007 Total Offense". NCAA. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  6. ^ "FBS National Team Report - 2007 Scoring Offense". NCAA. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  7. ^ "Auburn names Tony Franklin offensive coordinator". NBC Sports. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-14. [dead link]
  8. ^ "Auburn offers glimpse of future in bowl win". Sporting News. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  9. ^ "Auburn Football Ranking Summary - Week 6". NCAA. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  10. ^ "With Tigers 104th in offense, Franklin fired". ESPN. 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  11. ^ "Middle Tennessee hires Tony Franklin as OC". Sporting News. 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2009-02-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "FBS National Team Report - 2008 Scoring Offense". NCAA. 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  13. ^ "FBS National Team Report - 2009 Scoring Offense". NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  14. ^ a b "Redemption for Tony Franklin at Middle Tennessee as Blue Raiders complete 10-win season". The Auburn Beat. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  15. ^ "Louisiana Tech Hires Tony Franklin as Offensive Coordinator". Louisiana Tech. 2010-02-17. Retrieved 2010-10-02. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Bowl Subdivision (FBS) National Team Report - Scoring Offense". NCAA. 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  17. ^ "Bowl Subdivision (FBS) National Team Report - Passing Offense". NCAA. 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  18. ^ "Auburn hopes to score points with recruits". The Birmingham News. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  19. ^ a b "AU offensive coordinator Tony Franklin steps away from namesake system". The Birmingham News. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  20. ^ a b Collins, Don (2005-09-26). "Former college coach becoming prep offense guru". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  21. ^ College coordinators partying like jock stars - NCAA Football - CBSSports.com
Preceded by Middle Tennessee Offensive Coordinator
2009 		Succeeded by
Mike Schultz
Preceded by Auburn Tigers Offensive Coordinator
2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Kentucky Wildcats Offensive Coordinator
1999-2000 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tony_Franklin_(American_football_coach)&oldid=510082737"