Dec. 17, 2010
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James Franklin is introduced as the 27th head coach in Commodore football history by Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos and Vice Chancellor for University Affairs and Athletics David Williams II. Watch Video
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Vanderbilt Head Coach James Franklin
Opening statement…
“I would like to start by thanking Vanderbilt University for this tremendous opportunity. More specifically, Chancellor [Nicholas] Zeppos and Vice Chancellor [David] Williams. It became apparent to me right away when I came to sit down and talk to them the commitment they had to this program. There was a sense of community that was very obvious to me. I’ve worked at a lot of universities across this country and in professional football as well and there’s a division. There’s a division of people who struggle with how to have an unbelievable academic institution that’s respected around the world and also have a top-flight athletic program. It was obvious to me right away that this is a place that could be really special. It was really about the people. I was blown away by the commitment and really, I was in a situation where I didn’t really have to take a job. I had a pretty good situation and I would have to take something really special to get me to jump on board and coming here, sitting down with these men, I was blown away. I was blown away that we had the opportunity to create something really special. To create something that very few places can have.
You can walk in to a young man’s home, you can offer something to their family that very few schools can. He does not have to choose, he does not have to sacrifice, that he can have the best of everything, which is a world-class education and an opportunity to play in the best college football conference in America. To me, that’s something to be really proud of. That’s something to build on. That’s something you can sell. There is going to be a very specific population in this country that is going to be attracted to that, so we are going to be able to attract the brightest and the best from all over this country. Really, throughout the process that’s what we talked about. Being able to take a perspective across this entire country in terms of recruiting and basically, everything that I ask them for, everything that we discuss, we can help change the culture and make a difference here really before I finish asking for it they said, `you got it.’ Facilities. Being able to hire the right coaching staff. Being able to have the academic support so when these young men come on campus they will have a chance to flourish. Just one thing after another. Actually, my wife came with me and we left campus and we couldn’t have been more excited. I didn’t play division-one football, so I didn’t go through the recruiting process, but I was fired up. I was sold. Like I mentioned before, I had a really good job and I didn’t need to leave. It was going to be something that blew me away and that’s what happened.
“The other thing I would like to talk about is the future and what you guys can expect from this program. To me, it’s time that this football program starts reflecting everything else on this campus and that’s a commitment to excellence. We spoke about this, I’m not six-and-five guy, I’m not a seven-and-five guy. There’s going to be high expectations from day one. I’m not going to tell you it will happen next year but we are going to work with everything in our power to get there. What I’m going to tell you is there is no part of this program that will settle. Everything we do will be about championships. It will be about competing. We will be about having a great attitude on and off the field and developing men for the future. It was very obvious that we could achieve all these goals.
“To me, the next thing I wanted to mention is this: I have a plan that I am very confident is going to work here and be successful. I’ve been able to coach for some very good coaches across this country and be able to tap in and take some of their great ideas and we can use them here. I have a plan that I’m confident about. It was obvious to me that there is a commitment. There was a commitment from this university, a commitment from the administration, a commitment from the people. These players, I can’t wait to sit down and talk with them. These young men have been successful their whole life. Why does it need to stop now? We are going to get back to being successful both on and off the field. We are going to reflect the rest of this university, which is an expectation of excellence in everything we do.
“The last thing I would like to mention is this: the next phase that needs to happen is that we need our Commodore Nation, the people across the country, the alumni, the fans, the community of Nashville, to be all in because this administration is in, this coaching staff will be all in, and we are going to do some special things at Vanderbilt University, but we can’t do it alone. We need everybody to be all in. We need our fans in the stadium being that 12th man, creating an unbelievable environment and I think we can do that if we all come together. It’s time for this community and this program to unite as one. I’m very confident that I’m the man to get us there.”
On the facility upgrades that will take place…
“We didn’t really get into the specifics, it was more of a commitment that we were going to do whatever it takes and they have been studying this for the past six months to a year. Obviously, my time on campus, being able to look around and see what we need to do, we are going to have discussions and I’m just very confident that we are willing to do whatever it takes to get there.”
On competing in the SEC…
“I think it’s exciting. That’s why you play the game and that’s why you sign the scholarship to come to Vanderbilt: to compete against the very best. Is it a challenge, yes, but that is what I’m all about. Taking on challenges and overcoming challenges and that’s what we are going to teach these young men to be about. That’s why you do it. You play the best to be the best.”
On if he was worried the deal would not get done…
“I was very confident from the time that I sat down and spoke that this is where I wanted to be. When they felt confident and made the offer to me, I was coming. My wife and I started packing the day we left here. There was that type of commitment from day one and I was confident from day one.”
On turning around Maryland’s program and how he can take what he learned and apply in at Vanderbilt…
“That was a lot of our discussion. If I’m correct, Maryland had been to one bowl game in 16 years and we got into a situation where we have been to seven in the past ten. We talked about the expectation change and to me that’s the problem we need to discuss five years from now when we aren’t happy anymore going to bowl games. It’s setting a new expectation of winning championships and going to major bowl games. That’s what we experienced at Maryland. We got them headed in the right direction and now going to bowl games isn’t good enough. Being able to come in and change the culture and change expectations. When we got to Maryland people looked at the schedule and said we are going to win this one, this one and this one. You look at each game and we are going to win every game. I’m a processed oriented guy, so I don’t really want to focus on the results; I want to focus on how to get there. If you work hard and you have the right attitude and you recruit the right people in this organization than you are going to have a chance to be successful. That’s going to be our focus from day one. Let’s attack each day one day at a time and wake up in the morning and put in our very best effort. The rest of the stuff will take care of itself. From the coaching staff to administration.”
On how hard Maryland tried to keep him…
“You know, when you work at a university like I did at Maryland, it was an unbelievable experience for me and they were very good to me. I had an unbelievable experience there and just leaving there was hard. Whenever you put your heart and soul into something it’s hard to walk away. But when you have an opportunity to do something special, there is no price that can be put on that. When you have a chance to be apart of something special and to surround yourself with special people, you are going to take that jump and that leap of faith every single time. We have a chance to do something here at Vanderbilt University that has never been done before. That’s what I’m excited about.”
On his ability to recruit…
“I think first of all, in my time in the NFL, one of the coaches told me what’s different about the NFL and college is, for the most part, you get one first round draft choice a year. In college, you can have as many first round draft choices as you want. You can go out and recruit the best of the best and you have control of your own fate and have control of your destiny. I’ve been in this game long enough to realize, if you have good players, your plays work better. For whatever reason, the play you called the year before, with a good player they work better. I like to be considered smart and I like to be considered successful. I’m passionate about walking into a home, being able to sit down with the family and be able to explain to that family and that young man that we can provide something that nobody else can. From an academic standpoint, from a relationship standpoint with our coaching staff and they can be a part of a great community right here in Nashville, one of the greatest cities in America. To me, what it comes down to, and the reason we’ve had success, is that it’s about relationships and it’s about trust. I love coaching college football because I love people. I love going out to the high schools and seeing my buddies. It’s not work, I’m going around the country seeing my friends who I have developed relationships with during the years and they are comfortable with me. Whenever you have coaches that are comfortable with the coaches and they trust them, they are going to send their players. It’s the same thing with the families, being able to step into that home and let the families know that their child is more important than football. You are going to look out for them and treat them as your own. I have two daughters and I have 125 boys. They can come to the house for dinner. These girls right here love the team and are going to come by for lunch and run through offices and these are going to be their uncles and their mentors so to me, that’s what it is about. It’s about relationships and it’s about trust and it’s about bridging that gap so people feel comfortable sending their players to Vanderbilt.”
On looking at the culture of Vanderbilt football…
“My focus is on what Vanderbilt’s culture is going to be from today forward. I don’t spend time focusing on things I can’t control. The history and the past is not in my control. What I can tell you is from today to eternity is my focus is going to be creating the best Vanderbilt football program I possibly can. That’s everything including how our guys behave off the field, how they conduct themselves in the classroom, how they develop as football players and how they develop as people. The whole package. That’s what my focus is, bringing the best players here and the best coaches here and developing a program of excellence like every other part of this university.”
On the academic standards at Vanderbilt…
“I think that goes back to what we spoke about before: the commitment. We are graduating as high of a percentage of our players as anybody in the country. The commitment is there for academic support, so that was part of our discussion. When Chancellor Zeppos and Vice Chancellor Williams says we are all in, we are all in from every aspect. Now, are we going to recruit the same athletes as some other institutions? Maybe not. To me, we can take a very broad perspective and we can go nationally. We can recruit the top eight to 12 players from every state and obviously a big focus in Georgia, a big focus in Florida, a big focus in California and a big focus in Texas just because the amount of athletes those states produce. I think there is going to be a population of players, a population of families, who don’t want to settle. They want to be the best at everything and you are going to have a chance to sell that to them. It’s what I called the dream door in the interview process with David [Williams] and he said it was a reality. He’s exactly right. You are going to be able to sell a reality to them that you can come to Vanderbilt University and be prepared for life because this decision about coming to Vanderbilt is not about the next four or five years of their life, it’s the next 50. The decision to come here is not going to help just them and their family; it’s going to help their grandkids. It’s going to change the culture of their families. They will have the opportunity to do something special and be apart of something special.”
On if he will call the plays or hire a staff…
“My role is going to be the CEO of this program. We are going to have an offensive and defensive coordinator but I will have an input on both sides of the ball. Obviously, my background has been offense so I will be able to help out there a little bit more. There is a core group of guys that we have been talking about working together. They won’t be working for me; we will be working together with the same common goal. I know there is a core group of guys who want to come to Vanderbilt University. We’ve been talking about it for years and that’s exciting to me. Everybody is all in like we’ve been talking about all day. Just like I feel this is the greatest opportunity in the country, they will feel the same way. There is a group of guys I feel confident will be able to come here but it will be like anything else where we will have to recruit some guys here as well. I’m confident with the resources we talked about that we will be able to bring in a great staff in here that will be able to relate well with the players and be able to help our players develop on the field and also, which will be critical, is that they will all have to be great recruiters. Everyone will be held accountable in that building to go out and recruit. We won’t go out and grab someone who people say is a great line coach but not a great recruiter. Everybody is all in because this job is too hard. Everybody needs to be out there working together to make Vanderbilt football the best it possibly can.”
On the NFL Minority Coaching program…
“Really, my focus is on being the best coach I can possibly be. I don’t overlook the impact of that and I take a lot of pride in that. My focus is on being the best coach I possibly can be, the best father I possibly can be, the best husband I possibly can be and the best leader I possibly can be for the program. I don’t overlook the magnitude in that and I take a lot of pride in that, but really, my focus is on developing our players and being the best leader I possibly can.”
On reaching out to the current high school commitments…
“We have a lot of things that we need to get done, but recruiting is always priority number one. There is a group of young men out there who has decided they want to come to Vanderbilt University. There are other schools trying to get them to leave. Being able to get in contact with these young men as soon as possible is critical to share our vision and share our direction of the program with them. A lot of people asked me when me and my family are going back but I’m not going back. They are going to go back and hopefully I can go back for Christmas but this is too big a job and it’s time sensitive. We were talking on the way over there, when I left Green Bay to go to Kansas State, we packed up two bags, I left in about three hours and I never went back. I have an unbelievable wife that allows me to do those things, and two unbelievable daughters. The moving company comes in, packs the house up and we’re off. That’s why I think we’re so excited about being here, because this is not a stepping-stone for us, this is a destination. This is an opportunity for us to raise our family in an unbelievable community and really just immerse ourselves here.
On considering keeping coaches from the previous staff…
I’m going to look everywhere and anywhere to find the best staff I possibly can. I’m going to listen to great input I have from the people that are here and I’m going to sit down with everyone. I was a holdover at Maryland. I was on the previous regime at Maryland for one year. When Coach Friedgen came in, he kept me on. That’s worked out fairly well, so for me to not sit down and talk with some members of the current staff wouldn’t make sense. We are going to do whatever we have to do to make sure we can bring the best possible people here, wherever they are at. That’s either at Vanderbilt or anywhere else across this country.
On who his mentor is…
My wife probably makes fun of me because I am not a favorites guy. I love everything. I love all of the experiences that I’ve had. Really what I try to do, all the places that I’ve been and people I’ve been around, I try to take from the them the things I think that they do extremely well. I also say, ok these are some decisions that they made that maybe I would have done differently. David Williams mentioned that I’ve been working on this for five years, actually I’ve been working on it a lot longer than that. I’ve been working on it for at least 10 years. My wife would get upset with me in the summers because I have a head coaching manual that basically, any aspect of the program that you would possibly think about or might come up, it’s been well thought out and there’s a plan for that. We just think this is a great opportunity and we’re excited.
On the thought of eventually becoming the head coach at Maryland…
Once again, my focus is on Vanderbilt University, this opportunity, what it presents for me and my family, being able to develop relationships with these young men who are in the room right now, being able to do something special. Being able to lay a foundation for years to come. I told you, when I was able to come here and sit down with the people, they made a tremendous impact on me. This place is special not only because of the things academically that we’ve done, but because of the people that are here. That’s what my focus is on. It’s on Vanderbilt University, and once again, the commitment to excellence that is across this campus, and from this day forward, will also be in the football program.
Vice Chancellor David Williams
Opening Statement:
Almost three weeks ago we heard what you said, we heard what the fans said. We heard the fact that this community and this university, and most importantly our players, wanted us to take a different direction as it relates to football. So three weeks ago we started off on a path of basically taking a new effort and a new direction as it relates to football at Vanderbilt. There were three components to that: first, we understood we had to change the culture, everything associated with football, we needed to really think about and look at and review. Two, we really needed to increase our efforts as it relates to our facilities as it relates to football, as we’ve done in basketball and baseball. And three, we needed to hire a dynamic head coach. So today, we have accomplished one of those things.
First I want to tell you a little bit about the process that goes into this and what went through this. Right off the bat, we heard, between the Chancellor and I, 250-300 e-mails. We tried to answer all of them. Some of them weren’t worth answering, but we did the best we could. We basically said, `we understood and we’d fix it.’ We didn’t promise that we would go out and recreate Woody Hayes and bring him back as the coach, but we said we’d get a good coach. And we’d refocus our efforts at this university as it relates to football.
So over the last 21 days, we’ve been in that process. I think the most important thing that I want to start by saying is to recognize that it has been a total team effort. It’s been a tough 21 days, but a lot of people were involved. Right off the bat I want to first thank my wife Gail and my son Nick because they had to put up with 21 days of getting up on the middle of the night, catching flights at all times. My wife had the pleasure of sharing a bedroom with me and three cell phones that went off at all times of the night. My son, I had to miss his soccer games, all because we were in the business of trying to find a good head coach.
We moved from that to developing a list, or book really, of 60 candidates. There were a lot of people who were involved with that. I want to thank people from my staff, Patricia, Steve, Rod, Brock, Candice, Lori and Kevin, who worked tirelessly and met daily to go over the list of those 60 people. To try to find out things about them nobody else knows so we could find that perfect fit. So many of you in the media so much reminded me and the chancellor that we had never hired a big-time coach and so we didn’t know what we were doing, so we went out and hired and executive firm. We hired Parker Executive Firm. So I want to thank the folks on my staff and Parker Executive who kept us on track and helped us get in the doors we might not have been able to get in.
We reviewed those 60 candidates and we narrowed it down to about four or five. I do want to say one thing, there were some on that 60 that wouldn’t take our phone calls in the beginning. Many of those came back within the last week with a change of heart and wanted to talk to us after they had said no. They realized along the way that we really, really were serious about this commitment. We got about four or five that we decided to bring to campus for interviews. We brought them in and I want to thank a number of our trustees: Bill Wilson, Jack Moore, Edith Johnson, Michael Ainslie and John Ingram who spent three days interviewing them. I also want to thank a couple of our faculty: Lou and Richard, and my fellow vice chancellors: Brett, Jerry, Susie, Matthew, Beth, Richard and Jeff. All of these people interviewed those candidates. This is important because this goes to the team effort and the commitment this university is making towards football. We wanted total buy in.
Also want to thank Kevin Stallings and Tim Corbin. We did a video that they were in that basically talked to these candidates about how important it is to be a coach at Vanderbilt and how you can win at Vanderbilt.
Also want to thank Lee, Ruth Ann and JoAnn. Lee and Ruth Ann from Nick’s office and JoAnn from my office. We were going on all sorts of flights, changing flights, going all over the country, hotels in and out, meeting people in strange places and they were the ones who handled the logistics on it.
I want to thank the people in Creative Services because they did a great brochure under the leadership of Beth Fortune and with assistance from Rod Williamson, and a fabulous video that I think convinced people that we were really serious.
We’ve gone through all of that, it’s been interesting, I’m not sure fun is the word you’d use in this but I think we started off with a plan, we stuck with our plan, we worked the process as we outlined it. I want to thank the people in the media, especially those who made sure that before they ran any stories that weren’t true, they checked with us. We tried to be as honest as we could.
Finally, I want to thank one person who really, without his effort and his involvement, this would not have happened. When we got ready to start this, I went and talked to our chancellor and I said, `We’re getting ready to start our search.’ Nick asked me, `What role do you want me to play? Do you want me to just interview the final candidate, do you want me to just bring two people?’ I said, `Nick, the history of Vanderbilt football suggests that we need to sell this program. And we need you every step of the way.’ He said, `whenever you need, whatever you want, whenever you want, I’ll be there.’ You all need to know his commitment to this; he was at every interview, everywhere I went, he went. He basically devoted 21 days to not only running this university, but also helping us find a head coach. If you don’t believe that makes a difference, you need to go out and ask some other places. There’s almost no place where the chancellor or president would be that involved in this search. Not only was he an active participant, but he was a true partner in this.
I think there’s nobody better and more appropriate to introduce to you our new head coach than our chancellor, Nicholas Zeppos.
On the facility upgrades…
“I think what James said is true. What Nicholas [Zeppos] and I and our staff have been working on this. We have plans – we have actually been working on this more than plans. We’ve done some things in the coaches office but the next thing will be to get after the locker rooms, to get after the training room, to get after the weight room and we are going to keep going. It’s like with out other coaches, they have to tell us what they need to win. The one thing about Kevin [Stallings], Tim [Corbin] and Melanie [Balcomb], they come in each year and tell me what they need to be a champion. We’ll take a lead from the coach. These are things we already had on there. We are going to put in a classroom in our academic support and he will come to us and say, `to get to the goal you want me to get to this is what I need.” Nick [Zeppos] and I are committed to do that for him.”
Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos
Opening Statement:
I was just dangerous enough in the interviews to ask a little about football. Asking about triple options, west coast offense, spread offenses and how do we fill the box on defense? I want to thank our alumni, our fans and to all our supporters who have really been giving us good advice, good input and have supported this entire search. We know that many of you have been waiting on the announcement. I want to thank David [Williams] for his leadership, three cell phones 24/7, the patience of Job, and he is biblical in nature in terms of leading this search.
David mentioned that so many people were involved because we are deeply committed. The vice chancellors, the trustees, so many people from the start to the end and I am very excited. I’m very, very, very excited about James Franklin coming to Vanderbilt. It is a new day for Vanderbilt Football.
I have been very active in this search for a number of reasons. I think that hiring the best people at Vanderbilt is the most important thing we do. It’s a gorgeous campus [when] you walk across it but the thing that makes us great is the people that work here. I also am very proud of what we do nationally and internationally. We’re one of the greatest universities in the world, one of the greatest institutions in the world. We play in the best athletic conference in the country and we play football in the best athletic conference in the country. I tell that as a Big Ten graduate. We play in the best football country probably in the country and I don’t just mean college football. This is the highlight of college sports. So I’ve been very involved in this decision. Like I said I’ve met with every candidate, I asked them questions, I talked to them about this great university and the potential. Because that’s what a great university is about, bringing in people and the potential to develop excellence and greatness.
We win everywhere at Vanderbilt. We win athletically, we win academically and there is no darn reason we can’t win in football and we are going to do it. We are going to do it. I’ve been here for 24 years; I’ve seen some great games. I watched us beat South Carolina with John Travolta sitting next to me, one of my highlights, and we’re going to keep that momentum and build on that into the future. I told Coach Franklin that he has my full support. If I need to be pulling the tire with him, if I need to be running with the parachute on my back, if I need to be with the kids lifting weights, I’m all in and Vanderbilt is all in.
Let me say a few things about this unusually gifted leader, our next coach. When we started this process we sat in this room. We said all right what are the qualities we’re really looking for in this next important leader at Vanderbilt. We care about the success on the field but what should we really be looking for in this next coach. We actually had a list. Here’s what we’re looking for, we want first of all someone who identifies and develops talent, someone who can connect to families and youngsters and bring them here saying you’re really good but I can turn you into a better individual, a better athlete. We wanted somebody with passion. We wanted somebody that works hard. We all work very hard at this university to make it what it is. Passion and hard work really count for a lot. I’m not the last person to turn my lights off at this place at night; there are many people who stay later. And I will tell you, James will… well you’ll probably have the lights off because you’re watching film. We looked for strength of character, integrity. We win the right way. That was very, very important to us. And to say we can be best in football and best in academics, it can be done. Drawing on the unique resources and the unique traditions of this great university, we can be successful. At the end of the discussion I remember saying I want a leader who is a coach. I don’t want a coach who is a leader. We have here a leader who is a great coach.
He jumped out to me and others in the search process. He’s been an assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterback coach at Maryland; he has developed fine young men into great careers in professional sports and the broader community. He has an excellent resume that includes some professional coaching as well. He spent a little time in my favorite city of Green Bay, where I grew up a couple of hours north. And we didn’t think of indoor facilities back then. It was too much fun to sit outside. He will be a coach who will lead us on the field, he will lead us off the field, he will be a leader in the community in Nashville and nationally. So with great pleasure I am very honored to introduce James Franklin, his wife Fumi, those two lovely daughters Ava and Addison to Vanderbilt and to Nashville. They are going to be great members of the Nashville community and Vanderbilt community. I present to you the next football coach at Vanderbilt, James Franklin.
On why this is the right time for a new coach…
“I think this is the right time because I think first of all, we have had success in every part of the university that is unparallel. I’ve been here for 24 years and when I talk to James [Franklin], or when I talked to all these candidates, I said, `listen, when we started out on all work at Vanderbilt, the big picture, we are going to be the best at everything.’ We are going to have the best undergraduate students. We are going to be top-10 NIH funding and everyone said we couldn’t do that. We’ve done it. Then we looked at athletics. I remember when baseball was not what it is. It’s Fenway Park now, it’s Camden Yards. We are doing it there. Every year I recruit basketball players for Melanie [Balcomb] and Kevin [Stallings] and get the best kids in the country. Golf, everything. We are succeeding at the very top level and I think it fits in to what James is talking about. I told James if he needs a rocket to go to the moon to get a player, get the rocket. We have a story to tell about one of the greatest universities in the world with tremendous success in everything and we are going to get those fine young men to be a part of it and we will be successful. We have jumped every hurdle and now is a time for this one. I’ve seen progress. I’ve seen us beat some good teams. I’m not contempt with that. I don’t like upsets. I don’t like when people go through the schedule and say we are going to lose to this team and lose to that team. Lets play the game. I think this university is on top of it in every other area and has overcome obstacles in every other area and this is the last one.”
On the academics and bringing in recruits who can handle it…
“I see it in every other sport too. I meet with the top athletes in the country and they are great students and they come here and they love it and they succeed on the court and on the field and academically. We see, and I can tell you, the best recruits and we are going to do it in football and it will require a team effort by all of us but I see it. We are doing it everywhere else.”
