Forget whatever happens over the course of the next month for Penn State on the recruiting trail. On Wednesday night, James Franklin got the most important verbal commitment he could have possibly received this year; defensive coordinator Bob Shoop.
#WeAre…Better #107kStrong #PSUnrivaled
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) January 8, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsNot too long after Franklin’s tweet, Shoop sent this message out to his followers, which appeared to explain the previous tweet from the head coach…
#WEARE..So excited 2 b part of the Penn State Family. Lots of work 2 b done. Committed 2 building a Big 10 n National Championship Program! — Bob Shoop (@Coach_ShoopPSU) January 8, 2015
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Shoop reportedly interviewed with LSU head coach Les Miles earlier in the day about the vacancy at defensive coordinator at Baton Rouge. Shoop reportedly had interest in the position, but it was unconfirmed if he was considered a leading candidate for the job.
While there has been no confirmation on what it was that led to Shoop deciding to stay at Penn State, long-time Penn State beat reporter and columnist David Jones of The Patriot News shared his reaction to the news, with a suggestion Penn State went to the bank to keep one of the top defensive coordinators in State College.
Be assured PSU did what was necessary to keep Bob Shoop and it was substantial. We’re in a different age at PSU, one of marketplace realism.
— David Jones (@djoneshoop) January 8, 2015
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Penn State does not share salary information for coaches, although it has widely been suspected the school did not necessarily pay top dollar to keep assistants on the staff. Much of the precedent for that logic was taking the lead from previous head coach Joe Paterno, who received a far lighter paycheck than many other big name coaches around the country. Paterno’s staff was generally built with coaches with Paterno connections, but this is a brand new era for Penn State, and the Big Ten.With Ohio State getting things started with investing in
With Ohio State getting things started with investing in Urban Meyer and his staff and Michigan ramping up the momentum with Jim Harbaugh and his soon-to-be-assembled staff, Penn State is entering a new era as well and will have to allocate funds in order to keep up.
Because Penn State does not release salary information to the public, there may be no need for any announcements about Shoop getting compensated or staying with the program. Whatever the case is behind the scenes though, this is a significant victory for Franklin and the entire program. If Shoop had left the program for a lateral move to the LSU, Penn State would have been running with the fifth defensive coordinator in as many years. Consistency is key in college football, and it starts with the staff. When there is constant change at such a key position on the coaching staff, bad things can happen that end up holding a team back at one point or another. For Penn State to keep Shoop in State College offers a chance to keep some uniformity from 2014 to 2015, which is something that has been rocky the past five years for various reasons that need to further explanation at this point in time.
Franklin said from the very start how loyal he was to his guys on the staff. There is also something to be said for that, and perhaps that played a role in the process as well. Franklin is not going to hold any of his guys back from taking the next steps in their careers, but avoiding seeing coaches leave for what amounts to the same job with a higher paycheck is important.
Consider this a big win for Franklin and Penn State.
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