Franklin, Freeman representing Black football coaches on national stage at Orange Bowl
James Franklin thinks back to Super Bowl 41.
It was Tony Dungy’s Indianapolis Colts against Lovie Smith’s Chicago Bears, a game the Colts won 29-17 on Feb. 4, 2007.
“The first Super Bowl featuring a Black head coach at all, let alone two,” Franklin said. “Dungy became the first Black coach to win a Super Bowl, which was significant. I remember thinking that as a coach, how significant that was in the profession and how significant that was for young coaches coming up in the profession to see those guys in that role.”
Nearly 18 years later, Franklin finds himself in a chance to be in a similar position.
When Franklin’s No. 6 seed Penn State (13-2) face Marcus Freeman’s No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-1) in the Orange Bowl at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, it will be a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup that features two Black head coaches.
The winner, in turn, will be the first Black coach to play for the national title — facing the winner of the Cotton Bowl matchup between No. 5 seed Texas and No. 8 seed Ohio State.
And Thursday’s game is taking place at the same venue where Dungy and Smith had their Super Bowl matchup — Hard Rock Stadium (then called Dolphin Stadium in 2007).
“At the end of the day, does this create opportunities for more guys to get in front of athletic directors? Does this create more opportunities for search firms? I hope so,” Franklin said. “I think at the end of the day, you just want an opportunity and want to be able to earn it through your work and through your actions. So we’ll see. I take a lot of pride in it. I think you guys know there’s been some conversations in the past I kept private for a long time. But you know, I take a lot of pride in it. I’m honored. I’m honored to be able to compete against Marcus. I’m honored to be able to compete against Notre Dame. Most importantly, I’m honored to represent Penn State and the young men in that locker room. For me to sit here and say that it’s not important and it’s not significant would not be accurate. It would not be accurate.”
Franklin, who is in his 11th season as Penn State head coach and 14th season overall as a head coach after spending three years at Vanderbilt from 2011 to 2013, said he has seen strides in representation during the past two decades.
He pointed out that when he became offensive coordinator at Kansas State in 2006, there were six Black head coaches out of 127 Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Now, there are 16 out of 134 FBS schools.
“I know some people will say, ‘that’s not a huge increase,’” Franklin said, “but it is an increase.”
Freeman, who is finishing his third full season as Notre Dame head coach, said the chance to be the first Black coach to lead a team in the national championship game is “a reminder that you are a representation for so many others that look like you.”
“I don’t take that for granted,” Freeman added, “and I just want to work tirelessly to be the best version of me, and it’s great, because even the guys in our program, my own kids, can understand like you don’t put a ceiling on what you can be and what you can do.”
While Franklin and Freeman acknowledge the significance of what can come out of Thursday’s game, they both also said in order for either to be part of that history, their attention has to be on what happens on the field.
And both teams have done their part to get this far.
Penn State went 11-2 in the regular season with its two losses both coming to teams who also made the postseason field in Ohio State and Oregon, the latter coming in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Nittany Lions beat No. 11 SMU 38-10 in their first-round matchup on Dec. 21 and No. 3 Boise State 31-14 in the Fiesta Bowl to advance to the semifinals.
Notre Dame went 11-1 in the regular season, with its lone loss coming to Northern Illinois in Week 2. The Fighting Irish then closed the regular season on a 10-game win streak, outscoring opponents by an average of 25.8 points.
Notre Dame then went on to beat No. 10 Indiana 27-17 in its first-round matchup on Dec. 20 and No. 2 Georgia 23-10 in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday.
Both have top-10 defenses (Penn State is sixth nationally in yards allowed per game and seventh in points allowed per game; Notre Dame is eighth in yards allowed per game and second in points allowed per game). Each defense is led by an All-American — Notre Dame’s by safety Xavier Watts, Penn State’s by edge rusher Abdul Carter, who is a game-time decision after sustaining an injury in the Fiesta Bowl.
“In a lot of ways, they are built similar to us,” Franklin said. “You look at their turnover ratio numbers, you look at their explosive play defense in terms of defending and limiting explosive plays. You look at the middle eight, they are built in a lot of ways that I think we are in terms of emphasizing the statistics that matter. And they do a great job of not beating themselves, which I think is a really important thing in college football. It starts with that, and then you kind of go from there and play to your strengths and things like that.”
Added Freeman: “We’re going to have a challenge to prepare the right way and get ready for this opportunity that lies ahead.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 12:33 PM.
.JPG)