Every once in a while, the AJ-C‘s penchant for shit-stirring pays off. Michael Carvell’s follow-up to James Franklin’s whining about Josh Dawson’s late switch to Georgia evidencing a lack of integrity is a must read, if only for the delicious response he gets out of Larry Fedora, who had a kid snatched out from under him by Franklin.
“What does [Franklin] say about the kids that were committed elsewhere and de-committed from their places to go to his place? That’s my comment. What is his comment on those people? He’s got someone in his recruiting class that did that very thing. He’s saying those guys are not men of honor? Basically, he’s saying he has got kids in his own recruiting class that are not men of honor. He said that, and I didn’t.”
Ooh. I don’t think those guys will be exchanging cards this Christmas.
Read it all. When Lane Kiffin comes off sounding better than Franklin does on the subject, you know you’ve got a winner.
Get The Picture 
Lane Kiffin sounds like Lane Kiffin: ‘Tough noogies if you trust anybody. And what’s integrity?’ But in contrast to Franklin it sounds mature and realistic.
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Lose the Laner, lose Urbz, keep Sabanator and the OBC, gain James Franklin. We need a nickname for this guy. He is continuing the Coach Douchebag tradition in his own special way.
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I opt for “The Wharf Rat”, not to besmirch early ’70s Dead, of course.
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Sure, as a mullet maybe
but why give him a good theme song
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For this incident , you could call him “Franklin Stoved”.
How about “Dim Jim”?
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Wonder what Franklin will do if the opportunity to coach a better program comes up in the next few years…
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James Franklin can’t handle the truth.
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That’s because he’s out on the front lines engaging other team’s asst coaches after the game. He is just a great man and football coach who is misunderstood……often.
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Where is Vandy’s verison of Corinne Brown? Oh, wait…
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Shorter James Franklin: Uh, yeah, I was pretty much talking straight out of my own anus, so can we please forget I said anything and not talk about this anymore okthxbai.
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Not sure anyone is exchanging cards with Li’l Jimmy, guy is unlikable. While the teenage Vandy fans may like his punk bravado, my friends that are Vandy alums are strangely quiet on the subject. Love Fedora taking the obvious shot, may make that at-risk rivalry take on a new intensity.
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yeah I dont see how this new coach fits in with the “we dont have an athletic department” crowd at vandy…seems at odds with their culture.
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I live in Nashville and listen to local sports talk radio. Franklin makes regular appearances on them and you have to give him credit for trying to shake things up in the Vandy football program. I guess I didn’t have a negative opinion after the UGA game when he got in to it with Grantham. But the more I hear this guy, the more of a real tool I think he is. What I can’t figure out though if he’s just plain stupid, like Kiffin or just a real jerk like Spurrier. Time will tell I guess. But it sure seems he needs to dial back on the rhetoric or he’ll leave Kiffinized like UT is.
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Jerk like Spurrier. He’s not stupid. He’s trying to get the program on the map, as you say, and he thinks being an A-level asshole is the way to do it.
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I just wish Kiffin had stuck around long enough for he and Franklin to get into it. That would have been exceptional comedy, as both are constitutionally-incapable of taking the high road.
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+1
In some Bizarro-world alternate CFB universe, this rivalry is providing our alternate selves with a boatload of laughs.
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Good observation…Franklin seems to be game-planning out of the Laner Asshole Coach Get the Press textbook.
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Isn’t it a violation of NCAA rules for Franklin to discuss Dawson (and mention him by name)? Or is it just slimy?
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After Robinette* flew the coup, Fedora was bigger than The Hat who lost his Gunner
http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2012/02/college_footballs_national_sig.html
*http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2012/jan/08/patton-robinette-switches-vanderbilt/?partner=RSS
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Two thoughts on Carvell’s piece:
1. Kiffin still loves to twist the knife in the back of UT fans: “… It’s no different than when a fan base gets extremely upset at a coach leaving for another school. They say ‘He should’ve honored his contact and that other school stole him.’ But then they’re going to turn around and hire a coach and steal him from another school? It’s sort of the same kind of story.”
I love this guy.
2. Franklin is an egomaniac. If you’re going to beat your chest and trash a teenager in front of the cameras, at least have the balls to either apologize completely or stand by your statement completely. Franklin does neither. He admits to poorly chosen words, but then later claims it was never directed at Dawson (because there were 3-4 de-commits they lost). He then praises Dawson and expects him to excel at UGA. Everyone in the southeastern U.S. following recruiting knows exactly who Franklin was referring to with his honor and integrity comments. He just won’t admit he was wrong and show some humility. He knows nothing of either honor or integrity. I hope Bobo lets Dawson run a toss sweep to the Vandy sideline next season so he can re-familiarize himself with Coach Franklin.
I hate this guy.
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I really liked Bobby Johnson. I hope he’s enjoying time with his family.
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James Franklin = Paul Johnson 2.0
Younger, slimmer, and with improved haughty righteous indignation!!!!
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If I may ask a simple question from a Vanderbilt perspective, where is the evidence that Vanderbilt continued to recruit Robinette after he quietly went to UNC? As Patton himself explained, he just didn’t feel that he was in the best place and took it upon himself to make the change–nowhere will you see any evidence that this straight-A student who made a 36 on the ACT was being pressured by anyone from VU. This isn’t Richt making a home visit a few days after a recruit says he’s still committed to Vanderbilt. Again, if it makes you guys feel better about having to stoop to stealing recruits from little ol’ Vandy, then go to town! As for Fedora complaining about losing a Butch Davis recruit, I’ll let the NC State fans who watched him actively flip a Wolfpack QB recruit deal with that.
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“Maryville High School’s Robinette commits to UNC” 1:19 PM, Jun 15, 2011
http://www.wbir.com/rss/article/173133/5/Maryville-High-Schools-Robinette-commits-to-UNC
“Rahne and Bob Shoop visited Robinette at his home on Jan. 5. Rahne spent much of the day schooling Robinette in the NCAA Football video game.”
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/andy_staples/02/01/vanderbilt-signing-day/index.html?sct=cf_t11_a0
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Well! You didn’t have to be so precise, Puff. Good Dawg.
Except FCDore was using the weasel facts to support the weasel. He didn’t go after him when he physically went to UNC and the kid flipped on his own conscience. But wasn’t it odd that the Institution is what he flipped for and he doesn’t ever mention what a great coach and mentor Dim Jim might be. That’s because the lad is bright and is going for the free ride to academia, not football.
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Ouch, Puff…Damn, that’s gonna leave a mark…
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If Franklin and Vandy played no role in the flip of Robinette (which could easily be the case as you suggest), does that excuse Franklin for publicly defaming another teenager for changing his mind? If Franklin believes Richt and Co. are to blame, why assault the kid’s honor and integrity in front of the media? Why not just go after the coaches and leave the kid out of it?
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After my reply I had this same thought. The point isn’t really about coaches flipping players. The point is James Franklin quiestioned the integrityof guys who had a change of heart and went elsewhere. Meanwhile, apparently the guys who flipped to Vandy get a pass. These are 18 year old kids here. We get just as many flips as lowly bottom dweller Vandy does. The difference is our coach isn’t a whiny bitch about it like yours is.
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Naw, but some of us fans (me included) were whiney as hell about DaRick flippin at the last minute and leaving us high and dry when we could have used the time to get another receiver.
I would feel hypocritical about my remarks on this subject except for the shithead that poses as a mentor for young men at Vandy. He’s a poser. And there’s no getting around the illegal blocks he “thumbs up” for some of his players and then calls the kettle “black”. We will all conjure up that image for this year’s game, no doubt.
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Excellent point, and the article seems to suggest that Franklin agrees:
“But you’re exactly right. It was like the year before, when we got in here at the last minute and only had a month left for recruiting, we got kids to de-commit to us. I think that’s a very, very valid point.”
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If he truly agrees, why attack Dawson on the front end? Or not offer a sincere apology to Dawson on the back end? Honor and integrity, indeed.
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Nice try.
Franklin wasn’t calling out Mark Richt for continuing to recruit Josh Dawson. He was questioning Dawson’s character because Dawson backed off his commitment to Vandy.
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Did it ever occur to you Mr. Dore that Dawson has too much integrity to want to play under someone as sleazy as your coach? Perhaps he watched film of Li’l Jimmy running onto the field after the Georgia loss and singling out, not his players, but one of ours? Have you seen coaches do that before? I haven’t. Or maybe he watched film of our game and the TN game where your cowardly “hitman” went for an opposing player’s knees from behind with no regard of what that injury migh bring to those player’s future.
I think Dawson realized what a big mistake he was making and wanted to play for a coach that has real integrity. Try to convince yourselves all you want, Vandy has a problem at HC and it’s fortunes will not not change because he has a big mouth and an inflated opinion of himself. I hope our team sees a lot of video before you boys come calling next fall. You deserve an especially harsh arse whipping. In the past it was hard to root against Vandy except when they played UGA, it is easy these days. A thug punk is still just that, regardless of how little threat he represents.
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Sources at CPAC think James Franklin is Soros-funded
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/02/george-soros-secretly-controlling-fox-news
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Slightly off topic but it always makes me laugh when coaches or fans spew venom at a recruit for flipping but nobody gets mad at coaching staffs for losing recruits. And this isn’t just aimed @ Franklin, we Georgia fans are as guilty as anyone see Da’Rick Rogers 2010. Part of a coach’s job is to recruit, in fact it’s a HUGE part of the job. It’s not the kids job to pick your school it’s your job coach to convince said kid to come to your school. At best a commit is an INTENTION to sign not a blood oath to enroll, I don’t understand why people don’t get that. Until the LOI is signed NOTHING is binding, the kid’s free to change his mind as many times as he pleases. A coach who gets mad at an 18 yr old for changing his mind (on the biggest life decison that kid’s made so far nonetheless) is a lazy and unsuccessful recruiter who has to rationalize to himself why his butt getting kicked on the recruiting trail isn’t his own damn fault. In short it’s for cowardly losers….. like James Franklin.
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It’s the kid doin the flippin and for his own reasons, some fathonable, some not so. We blamed DaRick and the stupid 3-star QB’s father for interfereing and getting a scholarship riding DaRick’s talent. The late flip left us unable to replace him at that late date, unless you want to indict the coaches for not having a “late flippers just-in-case list” at every position.
That is idiotic to blame coaches for a 17-18yr old changing his ever lovin mind. What would you have them do, hypnotize them?
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“Josh Dawson’s last-minute switch to UGA may increase tensions with Vanderbilt. Last season, UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and Vanderbilt’s James Franklin got into a heated post-game confrontation. Ironically, Grantham was the UGA recruiter that convinced Dawson to the flip to the Bulldogs.”
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2012/02/10/vanderbilt-coach-elaborates-on-controversial-comments-on-de-commitments-and-the-uga-recruit-that-flipped/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting
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