Vanderbilt defensive lineman Adam Butler said during SEC media day on Monday that he wasn’t sad to see former coach James Franklin leave for Penn State.
In fact, Butler thought Franklin was disingenuous while Penn State was calling and that rubbed many of the players the wrong way.
“I don't want to say I'm glad Coach Franklin is gone but then again I am,” Butler told CBSSports.com. “It was a little shady in a way. Repeatedly he told us he wasn't going anywhere. He really stressed it. He was in tears talking about he wasn't going to leave. Then he just up and leaves.”
This is familiar tale. Players often feel hurt by the deception that comes into play when a coach is being courted by another school. Franklin's departure was especially painful because he was seemingly so close with his players and the timing of the job change, coupled with how long it took new coach Derek Mason to get his bearings, nearly put Vanderbilt in a major personnel crunch heading into 2014.
In January, Franklin replaced Bill O'Brien, who took aver after famed coach Joe Paterno was relieved of his duties, and then left for the Houston Texans two years later. Franklin, who is originally from Pennsylvania, put the Vanderbilt program on the map. He led the Commodores to three bowl games and consecutive nine-win seasons.
“The bad always weed themselves out and the good always comes,” Butler told CSBSports.com. “You always have a choice whether to take the next job or not to take it. If he said, ‘They paid me this amount of money,' I would respect him more instead of saying he's not going and then up and leave.”
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Vanderbilt DL Adam Butler is 'glad' James Franklin is gone
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