Big Deal Press Conference at PSU Saturday

With all the trash being posted on twitter, it’s a wonder I was able to pick the following one out of the muck and mire. This, my friends, is the only one that counts.

#PennState President Rodney Erickson and Director of Athletics Dave Joyner will make a major announcement Saturday at 4:15 p.m. #WeAre

— Penn State Athletics (@GoPSUsports1) January 10, 2014

We probably will be able to say goodbye to the Twittiots and get the straight scoop from Old Main.

As I’m to understand it, to comply with university hiring rules and associated governmental bullshit, two things have to take place: the job has to be advertised in the officially prescribed manner, and for megabucks salaries, the BoT’s compensation subcommittee has to approve the contractually committed salary. Rumor has it that we’re dealing with $4.5 million annually here, and that requires BoT approval. I believe that 24 hours advance notice must be given of such a meeting in order to comply with sunshine laws. Thus, if a conceptual agreement with Coach X existed on, say, Thursday night, then Saturday morning would be about the earliest a meeting could be held.

Now, then, who will it be? Well, most of the Twittiots seem to think that it will be James Franklin. They’re still spewing all kinds of bullshit about that as I write this. Why? We’ll probably know for sure tomorrow at 4:15 PM ET, when the major announcement is to take place. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure it will introduce a new head coach, or at least announce that a bilateral contract commitment has been made. I still won’t speculate on who it will be. (But I think it probably won’t be Al Golden, Mike Munchak, Greg Roman, Larry Johnson, or Greg Schiano.)

I can wait until tomorrow. It’ll be anticlimactic, unless we get a big, sweeping curve ball out of Old Main. Once we know, the Twittiots will begin their gloating process about who was the first to call it, etc. (Of course, half of them called it four different ways, three of which they think we all forgot.)

Ahhh, but once we get a head coach we enter some interesting times, as he’ll have to quickly assemble a team, especially if rumors of Larry Johnson’s intention to leave the program are true. There’ll be a helluva lot of work to do to ramp up for recruiting, which starts in earnest next week after the winter hiatus and continues with great intensity for a few weeks hence. Larry was a premier recruiter, so Coach X will have to replace him tout suite. (Unless he agrees to stick around to help with the transition.)

Interesting times, as reader Joe has said, just when we thought we’d be entering dull, winter non-football doldrums.