KRAUT: After promotion, spotlight shines on Franklin

As first-year defensive coordinator Don Brown stood in front of a camera and read a scripted welcome message for the Terrapin football team's website at Monday's media day, offensive coordinator James Franklin watched attentively.

After Brown finished, Franklin congratulated his coaching colleague and potential future underling for his performance, yelling "Donnie!" as Brown took a seat at a nearby table.

That charismatic and outgoing nature, as well as the Athletics Department's desire to keep Franklin from taking a head coaching gig at another school, was cited as a factor for officially naming Franklin as coach Ralph Friedgen's successor at a press conference in February.

In theory, the move makes sense. Franklin has paid his dues. He's a hard-working, self-made guy who has worked in a number of different coaching capacities at spots ranging from the Danish American Football Association to the Green Bay Packers.

He's affable, provides a fresh face for the program and is regarded as a good recruiter. Before rejoining Friedgen's staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last year, he was the Terps' wide receivers coach from 2000 to 2004, a period of unprecedented success for the team.

Friedgen, on the other hand, is 62. Despite the improved condition of his health after losing more than 100 pounds since last October, he's admittedly in the final stretch of his coaching career. His contract expires after the 2011 season, and Athletics Director Debbie Yow and Friedgen himself decided Franklin should be the man to take his place.

But while naming a "head coach in waiting" is the fashionable thing to do in college football these days and Franklin seems to fit the mold, questions remain.

The one that has seemingly gone unasked so far is just how good of an actual coach is Franklin?

While Franklin pointed to the Terps' No. 3 conference ranking in total offense last season, the unit ranked in the middle of the pack nationally in all major offensive statistical categories.

Sometimes effective but at other times limited despite the presence of a superior athletic talent in receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, Franklin's West Coast-style offense was defined by inconsistency in 2008.

The Terps were shut out by a 1-3 Virginia team in October, a week after the Cavaliers allowed 31 points against Duke. With a shot at the Atlantic Division title in November, the Terps scored just a field goal at home against a Florida State defense that proved too dominating.

The offense averaged 21.8 points per game. By comparison, former Terp offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe's option-oriented attack averaged over 30 points a game from 2001 to 2003, when Friedgen and the Terps took the ACC by storm, winning 31 games and a conference title.

It's safe to say the Terps' offense hasn't been the same since. The program has been a step or two away from repeating the lofty achievements of the early part of Friedgen's tenure partially because of that fact.

Hopes were high when Franklin came back into the picture last year, this time taking over the play-calling duties from Friedgen. Entering year two of his system, Franklin declared the transition period over.

"Everybody in the organization is just so much more comfortable with what we're doing, why and how we're gonna do it," Franklin said before the Terps opened preseason camp Monday. "Everybody wants you to play a fast style of game, but playing fast is not just recruiting great players. It's allowing kids to understand what they're doing in play without thinking. I think that's what we have a chance to do this year."

There's reason for optimism. In Franklin's second season as offensive coordinator at Kansas State in 2007, the Wildcats made dramatic improvements, scoring 35.2 points per game and enhancing Franklin's reputation as an up-and-coming offensive strategist.

But there Franklin had two NFL-caliber players, quarterback Josh Freeman and wide receiver Jordy Nelson, at his disposal, plus the advantage of facing Big 12 North opponents known more for their own explosive offenses than for pass rushing or pass defense.

While last season's mixed results might have been expected, 2009 could prove once and for all that Franklin is not in Kansas anymore.

With three new offensive linemen to break in, an inexperienced receiving corps and the title of head coach in waiting weighing over him, Franklin faces a difficult task as the Terps approach their Sept. 5 opener, when they face off against a nationally ranked Cal team.

After losing the personnel the Terps did in the offseason, the expectations for Franklin's offense and the team as a whole are low. So the truth is, despite the return of quarterback Chris Turner and running back Da'Rel Scott, it'd be unfair to make a final judgment on Franklin's coaching ability based on this season alone.

But what happens if in January 2012, after two more years of a middling Terps offense under Franklin's direction, Friedgen decides he wants to coach a couple more seasons?

That leaves Franklin, Friedgen and the administration in a potentially difficult situation. According to a report by the Baltimore Sun this summer, Franklin has a clause in his contract that will force the school to pay him an extra $1 million if he's not made head coach after the 2011 season.

Yow played down any impending controversy by citing Franklin and Friedgen's strong personal relationship. It's a reasonable stand to take. On Monday, Franklin talked of his appreciation for Friedgen, who said he's always made it a goal to groom assistant coaches.

During the summer, that process picked up for Franklin, who started to learn more about the head coaching activities other than game planning. He followed Friedgen to various speaking engagements and took over some administrative tasks while Friedgen was on vacation.

There's little doubt Franklin, with his strong personality and enthusiasm, will excel at those elements of the job.

But to fully validate both the financial and philosophical commitment the program has made to him for the future, Franklin must also begin to solidify his worth through on-the-field results.

akraut@umdbk.com