Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour gave a robust defense of head football coach James Franklin in an interview with ESPN published Thursday afternoon, asserting that while she understands "there's a frustration with where we are," she also believes some Nittany Lions fans don't "understand factual challenges" about how the football program still hasn't recovered fully from NCAA sanctions.
"To some degree, I want our fans to be impatient," Barbour said. But she also said fans need to judge Franklin's tenure on whether the team is "showing progress" on both sides of the ball and "the identity of the program."
She also linked Franklin's work on and off the field directly to Joe Paterno's legacy of caring about matters beyond the football team.
"We were so fortunate to have Coach Paterno for so long. ... He helped shape Penn State's values," Barbour said. "James Franklin is embodying the same values: the academic piece, the social and cultural parts, the community service. The piece that's a little slow to come is the competitive piece."
If that wasn't enough to make Barbour's perspective clear, she also offered a strong take on the still-raging debate over Paterno's legacy at the school and the football program's tribute this season to the 50th anniversary of his first game as head coach.
"What I'm not challenged by is some of the really, really positive influences of Paterno, the things that he's a huge part of shaping over time Penn State's values: a focus on academics, a focus on service," Barbour said. "The challenge, given what Penn State has been through, is that at the same time, the Sandusky scandal and the tragedies of the young people who were victims, none of us go disconnected from that. Talking about some of the incredible things Coach Paterno did and his legacy here is not mutually exclusive to being concerned about the health and welfare of the children, or being concerned about Jerry Sandusky's victims."
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