Long, 3 a.m. talk sells James Franklin on new coordinator

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- James Franklin knew he found the right offensive coordinator just before 3 a.m. late last week, when the Metro-North had already shut down in the city that never sleeps.

The two talked several times a day before that New York meeting, maybe 30 or 40 telephone conversations in all. Franklin would ask Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead about his background; Moorhead would tell him how he planned to put the ball in his playmakers’ hands. Franklin said his excitement level rose after every talk – but it was that long, face-to-face conversation that really clinched it.

Franklin gathered with several of his staff members around 10:15 p.m. one night, after about a four-hour flight…