James Franklin Named New Vanderbilt Football Coach

Filed under: Maryland, Vanderbilt, Coaching

James Franklin, Maryland's offensive coordinator, has been named as the new head football coach at Vanderbilt University.

Speculation and reports the past few days had been rampant that Franklin would be pegged as the next Commodore coach, so the news comes as little surprise.

"The hiring of Coach Franklin represents a new day for Vanderbilt football," Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos said in a statement. "He has my full support and commitment that we will help him create an environment where the successes on the field equal the university's extraordinary successes off the field. Coach Franklin will have an immediate and positive impact on our students, alumni, faculty, staff and broader Vanderbilt community, and I welcome him to Vanderbilt."

"Improving our football program is a high priority at Vanderbilt and the first step in the process was to identify just the right person to lead us," Vice Chancellor for University Affairs and Athletics David Williams II said in a release. "Our search was national and we talked to many, many candidates and experts in the college football arena. One name that quickly rose to the top of our list was James Franklin. We are thrilled that he has agreed to become our head coach."

Franklin has been an offensive coordinator since 2006. He served in the position at Kansas State for two seasons before going to Maryland -- where he had previously been the wide receivers coach and director of recruiting from 2000-2004 -- in 2008. For the past three seasons, Franklin has overseen the Terrapins' offense. In 2009, he was pegged as the Ralph Friedgen's successor.

Vanderbilt announced the hiring via its Facebook page Friday.

 

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Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/12/17/james-franklin-named-new-vanderbilt-football-coach/

Javier Mascherano Javier Zanetti Jeff Overton Jim Furyk Joe Cole