Offensive fallout: Twelve burning questions Lions face after Yurcich firing

ALTOONA, Pa. -- There's no doubt Mike Yurcich had to go. Everyone seems be in agreement on that, and James Franklin pulled the plug on the offensive coordinator Sunday.

But why? What happened? How did Penn State's offense melt down so badly that it came to the point where the program is starting over? And where do the Nittany Lions go from here?

Let's tackle all the issues.

Q: Why was Yurcich fired?

The offense was terrible at Ohio State, beginning the game 0 for 15 on third down in what turned into a 20-12 loss. The offense then was bad once again in Saturday's 24-15 loss to Michigan.

What was really going on behind the scenes, though? Franklin addressed that Monday, revealing that game plans were being prepared but then essentially ignored on game day.

"I think you guys have heard me come in and talk, whether it's openers, third down, starting fast, all these things are things that we've had lengthy discussions about and had a plan for," Franklin said. "But a lot of the times when we got to the games, either we did not call the games that way or we did not execute the games the way we intended them to."

All of that is a pretty damning rebuke of Yurcich. It's basically Franklin suggesting that whatever was decided upon beforehand, Yurcich was sort of going rogue and doing things on his own with the play calling.

Q: Why wasn't Yurcich fired sooner?

Remember the Iowa game? Franklin said afterward that he had to remind Yurcich not to get bored with the play calling and continue to do what was working -- the grind-it-out, time-consuming offensive approach and relying heavily on the strong defense. Franklin has mentioned similar reminders since the Iowa game, as well.

Looking back on it, all of that was very telling. Because it seems like Yurcich wanted to keep doing something different even back then, going off script, if you will, and Franklin wasn't having any of it.

So, as far as we know, Franklin may have been pretty fed up with his coordinator long ago.

So, why not fire him earlier? Say, after the sorry performance at Ohio State? Easy: Because they still had the Michigan game left, and it makes more sense sticking with what you've worked on for months and months trying to prepare for that huge game, as opposed to blowing things up beforehand.

Q: What does firing Yurcich now accomplish?

Two things:

1. It allows Penn State time to reset a couple of weeks early and to begin the process of looking ahead at who might be available to hire down the road.

2. This takes a lot of pressure off Franklin RIGHT NOW. The coach was booed off the field following Saturday's loss, with fans yelling "fire Franklin" and F-bombs and some even throwing stuff. That had to be incredibly difficult for Franklin to hear, after all the good things he's accomplished at Penn State. Then, in the press conference afterward, he was grilled about his two unusual/bad decisions to go for 2 in the game, even having a tense back and forth with a reporter.

But lo and behold, by firing Yurcich the next day, all of a sudden everyone's attention turned to that and not to continued criticism of Franklin. It was a master class in public relations. When the coach showed up to his press conference Monday, he didn't face 15 biting questions about what he had done wrong and so on. No, he faced a bunch of questions about the firing and how it will impact the program, etc. It was, all things considered, a very tame press conference for Franklin given that he had just lost an enormous game. Another one.

Q: How did Penn State's offense get so bad?

This is where I'll take a baseball bat and beat the dead horse I've been beating for weeks now.

The wide receiver situation is a disaster. Not just bad. Not a problem. A disaster.

I've covered Penn State for 18 years. I don't have the full institutional knowledge of the decades preceding that, but I feel like I know the program's history well enough to say: This might be the worst wide receiver group Penn State has ever had, all things considered and given the expectations of the program coming into the year.

There's not a legitimate No. 1 wideout. KeAndre Lambert-Smith is really a No. 2 guy, at best, and a possession receiver. He doesn't play at a high level against great competition. Dante Cephas has been a gigantic disappointment. Malik McClain has disappeared. The young receivers brought in the past couple of years simply have not developed anywhere near well enough to be able to contribute in a major way.

It's incredible -- and I do mean incredible -- that the wide receiver situation is that bad. The Lions aren't far removed from having stars at the position such as Chris Godwin, KJ Hamler and Jahan Dotson.

Having such a poor group of wideouts has crippled the offense, and the entire program really. Franklin can throw Yurcich under the bus, and again, everybody's in agreement that he had to go. But at the same time, what was Yurcich really supposed to do when shackled with such a poor receiver unit?

Defenses don't respect Penn State's wide receivers -- not the defenses that matter, anyway, such as Ohio State and Michigan. The program knew it had a star QB prospect in Drew Allar lined up for a couple of years, and yet everyone let the receiver situation deteriorate to the point where this is all that’s available.

It's stunning. Because for all the things Penn State does well -- from recruiting, to player development, to defense, to the brand building -- letting this one crucial area become so weak has nullified everything.

Defenses don't have to worry too much about the wideouts. So they can stack the box to focus on the run. That overwhelms the offensive line. Then the running game can't get going. Allar has no one open to throw to. He doesn't seem to trust that the wideouts will get open and therefore won't even make some throws.

I asked Franklin point blank Monday if the overall offensive problems are merely a result of the fact that the wide receiver situation is just not good enough.

I know the answer. He knows the answer. Mike Yurcich knows the answer. You the fans know the answer. And yet, Franklin still denied it, surely because he cannot just throw his players under the bus publicly.

"I think we've talked about in the offseason the development of that position, depth at that position, trying to find a No. 3 before we ended up losing (Harrison Wallace III), then lose Trey, and now it's back to figuring out who the No. 2 is," the coach said.

"Yeah, we have talked about that position and the importance of the development, the importance of the recruitment, the importance of the playmaking on a consistent basis," he added.

But ultimately, he answered my question by saying, "No, I would not describe it the way you just described it."

Q: Why was Taylor Stubblefield fired?

No one will ever know why Franklin fired the wide receivers coach following last season. But that was a gigantic red flag with the whole wideout situation.

Franklin went out and hired Marques Hagans from Virginia, and he's supposed to be good at developing young receivers. But has anybody seen any development from any of the wideouts this year?

Not to put the bulk of blame here on Hagans. This is his first year, and the problems extend far beyond him.

The tentacles of the problem extend everywhere in the program really.

Q: What could Yurcich have done better?

It's astonishing that he could not get Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen more involved in games, especially when the Ohio State and Michigan games were still within reach.

Yurcich had Allar throw 42 passes at Ohio State. That was beyond dumb. The running game had worked pretty well early on, and it was abandoned.

Against Michigan, he went the other direction and kept running on first down all the time, showing no balance or creativity and playing right into the hands of Michigan's great defense.

Just look at these numbers. This is astonishingly bad play calling.

Allen is the best running back on the team. Singleton is the most explosive player on offense. Somehow, Yurcich and the collective minds couldn't come up with a way to utilize both of them properly and effectively.

Why not have both of them on the field at the same time -- a lot? Why couldn't they find a way to get Singleton the ball in space on screen passes or quick hitters to the slot and see what he can do? Heck, even a jet sweep!

Again, for failing to do any of those things, Yurcich had to go.

Q: How much blame should fall on Allar?

I won't beat around the bush here. I don't think Allar is very good. Not right now. Anybody who wants to try and convince me otherwise, go right ahead.

He's not accurate. He doesn't handle pressure well. His footwork is not good. He doesn't throw to the middle of the field, even when guys are there. He doesn't give his guys a chance to make catches down the field. He throws the ball way over the receiver or out of bounds when he does try to go deep.

He threw for 70 yards in the biggest game of his career, at home.

Allar is not a bust. You cannot say that yet, and there's time for him to improve. He's had an up-and-down season as a first-year starter, which was to be expected. But what wasn't expected is that he would play so poorly in the two biggest games, the kind of games where a young supposed star is expected to put the team on his shoulders.

Q: Will Allar look to transfer?

This is a good question that has been asked by many, many people.

He was recruited by Yurcich and is said to have a good relationship with him. So, with the OC now gone, might the quarterback look to move on?

Yes, it's possible. For myriad reasons, not just losing one personal relationship with a coach.

It's 2023, and every player is a transfer risk in this modern era, if he feels like he can find a better spot and/or get a lot more money. Allar, you would think, could comand a lot of money if he enters the transfer portal.

He seems to love being at Penn State, which bodes well for the program. But he and the people around him have to be fully aware of the fact that the wide receiver situation is really bad, and it might not get any better next season.

Allar's career hinges in large part on next season. If he wants to turn pro after his junior year, then he needs to have a big season. Can he have a big season if he doesn't have good wideouts?

KLS will be back next year, and so will Wallace. We think anyway. Cephas has another year of eligibility if he wants it, and there are lots of young wideouts. Allar should have a good idea if any of them will be ready to step up next year.

Franklin said Allar will not have any input in the next offensive coordinator. Nor should he. Allar has not earned the right to have any input whatsoever.

Q: What will Lions look for in next offensive coordinator?

Christian Hackenberg did not play well under Franklin. He was a pure pocket passer.

Allar is a pure pocket passer and has not played well.

Trace McSorley, a mobile quarterback, did play well and produced at a high level.

Sean Clifford, who did show good mobility, was able to do a lot of the things Franklin wants his QB to do.

The current quarterback, Allar, needs an OC who has familiarity with and can succeed with a pocket passer. For as much as some people may want Joe Moorhead to return, his forte is the mobile quarterback and the RPO. That's not the kind of system Allar needs.

OK, so does Franklin hire the best guy he can and force whatever system he runs onto Allar? Or does the choice have to be a coach with a proven track record for developing pocket passers?

It will be very, very interesting to see which way they go here.

Q: Who are the OC candidates?

Moorhead is a popular pick. He's the head coach at Akron and a Pittsburgh native. But for as much success as he had at Penn State, there were some things about his offense that didn't always work well. He refused to have the QB go under center, the offense often struggled on third or fourth and short, and they always seemed to have trouble finishing games by converting in the 4-minute offense. Those would all be concerns if he returns.

Joe Brady would seem like a slam-dunk hire. He was a former Penn State graduate assistant before going to LSU and helping Joe Burrow have an incredible season while winning a national title. Brady was OC of the Carolina Panthers before getting fired and is currently QB coach with the Buffalo Bills. It's unclear if he would want to leave the NFL for college.

Sean Lewis, OC at Colorado under Deion Sanders, had his play calling duties stripped by Coach Prime. He previously served as head coach at Kent State.

Kliff Kingsbury is an interesting name. He has a great offensive mind and was an NFL head coach with the Arizona Cardinals. But he seems like a reach.

It would be stunning -- a big mistake -- if Franklin were to give the job to current staffers Ja'Juan Seider or Ty Howle. They're good assistants, and Seider is an incredible recruiter, but they're not ready for this level of responsibility.

"I already have a list (of names)," Franklin said. "It's narrowing it down, running all the numbers, seeing if people are interested. And then trying to find a way to get that turned over as soon as we possibly can through maybe some Zoom calls, in-person interviews."

Q: When will the Lions make a new hire?

"Sooner rather than later, right?" Franklin said. "It's hard. Hiring someone is like a full-time job. Can't really have two full-time jobs right now. Most important thing is for us to play well this week and finish the season the right way, and then during that process, be working through, narrowing down a list."

Unless they plan to bring in someone from the NFL, around mid-December would be a reasonable time period to expect a hire.

Q: What would Franklin say to assure fans the future is bright?

The coach was asked that Monday and had this reply:

"At the end of the day, we need to play well and we need to play well against our toughest opponents. That's the reality of it. We embrace that. That's why you come to a place like Penn State as a coach, as a player, and we understand what comes with that -- the positives and the challenges. You embrace it or you don't come to a place like Penn State.

"In terms of what I'm looking for on offense, is, again, back to that point: Somebody that's going to put us in the best position to play our best football when it's needed most and against the best competition."