If football was really just about wins and losses, James Franklin says he'd coach in the NFL
You don't have to know James Franklin on a personal level to understand how deeply he cares about his players. It's quite obvious in everything that he (and his staff) does.
On his speaking tour in Baltimore yesterday, Franklin was asked about the formula for wins and losses, and how it football partners with education to provide a big picture element for players and he wasted no time in getting philosophical.
"I'm a big believer in having the discipline to do all the little things right, that have nothing to do with football, will allow you to be successful in football because you're teaching the discipline, which I think is important, and making a sacrifice to be disciplined day in and day out."
"But I would also make the argument that this isn't professional football, and there is a big part of our job that has nothing to do with wins and losses and it's about the total development of the student athlete, and why a lot of people in my business, or in the athletic administration business would say that using athletics is an unbelievable opportunity to accent the education that they're getting in the classroom, and our educational system would not be the same without it." Franklin explained.
"I don't ever want to become one of those coaches, or people, who are completely consumed by just the wins and the losses." Franklin later noted. "It's so much more than that, and I truly believe that."
"I think that a lot of people probably say that, and talk about it in the interview process, and talk about it with the media, and the fans, but their behaviors day in and day out don't really align with that. We truly believe that, and I truly believe that."
"If I didn't, I'd coach in the NFL - and that's no sleight to coaching in the NFL - but to my point, that's the purity of the sport and not using the sport as part of the educational system, and that's how I truly view it."
