Several years ago, David Williams, the athletic director at Vanderbilt, was approached by Kansas State’s offensive coordinator at a gathering for young minority assistant football coaches.
“He came up to me,” Williams recalled, “and said, ‘Hi, my name is James Franklin, I’m an assistant coach, and I just wanted to meet you because I wanted you to know who I am and for me to know you, because one day I’m going to be a head coach.’ ”
A few years later, Williams hired Franklin to be Vanderbilt’s head football coach. After a three-year run, during which Franklin’s Commodores were 24-15, he was named the coach at Penn State.