Photo by Middle Tennessee Athletics
I can still remember the Saturday afternoon when I got a call from then Mercer County High School football coach Tony Franklin asking if he could bring me some information on what he thought would be a perfect coaching candidate at Kentucky.
The Wildcats had already announced Bill Curry would not be back as coach and Franklin asked me to be open minded and look at the resume and numbers but not the name or school at first.
Turns out the information he brought me was about Hal Mumme, a coach at Division II Valdosta State. But the more I read it — and stayed open minded as Franklin asked — the more I thought Mumme’s high powered offense might be perfect to re-energize Kentucky football. I wrote a column suggesting as much that was ridiculed by most.
However, Franklin, then Danville High School coach Sam Harp and some other high school coaches lobbied then UK athletics director C.M. Newton to hire Mumme. It eventually happened and the Air Raid offense did light a fire in the Bluegrass. Mumme helped get Commonwealth Stadium expanded and was a big reason spring football practice came back in the state.
Mumme hired Franklin and he was at UK for three years as running backs coach and then offensive coordinator for one year before he was fired when the Mumme regime fell apart because of NCAA infractions (Franklin was never implicated in any wrongdoing).
Since then Franklin survived being blackballed for writing a book about his UK experiences — he’s finishing another book now — and has since coached at Troy, Auburn, Louisiana Tech, California and now Middle Tennessee as offensive coordinator.
The Western Kentucky native will be back in Kentucky Saturday when the Blue Raiders take on Kentucky in Kroger Field.
“I’ve gone through all the emotional cycles — anger, hatred, all kinds of stuff,” Franklin said. “I went through survival and not being able to get a job and being out of college coaching for five years before I was able to get back.
“I always knew what was going on at UK. I always kept up with Kentucky regardless of who was coaching. It never really mattered to me that much what happened until people I really cared about — Neal Brown, Chad Scott, John Schlarman — started coaching there. Since then I’ve kept up with Kentucky even more.”
Brown, a former Boyle County High School standout, is now the head coach at Troy where he worked under Franklin at one time. Schlarman continues to be UK’s offensive line coach despite battling cancer.
Franklin’s daughter, Caitlin, babysat Schlarman’s children when he was working under Franklin at Troy. Franklin says his wife, Laura, “loves” Schlarman’s wife, Lee Anne, and is his wife’s “all-time favorite” among all the coaches he’s worked with.
“I love him. I think about him every day,” Franklin said. “Of all the humans who could endure what he’s doing and do it, it is him. I remember Bill Curry saying John Schlarman was the toughest player he had ever seen. I never forgot that quote about John. He is very unique and such a good man and fun guy.”
Franklin still remember driving to Marshall to watch Brown play for Massachusetts after he transferred from Kentucky.
“He caught five or six balls that game. He played for me when I coached the Lexington Horsemen (indoor football league team). I hired him to work a camp with me at Kentucky Wesleyan and I knew then he would be a good coach. When I had an opening at Troy, I basically paid him nothing to come. He was an assistant coach getting married and maybe making $30,000.
“But he worked his butt off. He made his own game plan every game and gave it to me. He was great in the (press box) booth calling plays during games. He planned everything. I was happy when he got to come home to Kentucky as offensive coordinator and I’m thrilled with what he’s done at Troy as head coach. I still talk to him at different times during the season and he’s done a phenomenal job this year.”
Dusty Bonner played quarterback at Kentucky under Franklin. He’s now part of the UK Radio Network pregame show and said this week he “loves” Franklin. When Mumme ran Bonner off, it was Franklin who helped Bonner land on his feet at Valdosta where he set national records.
“I have not seen or heard from Dusty in a couple of years but he’s another one of my all-time favorite human beings,” Franklin said. “He was unbelievably tough and just a great guy. We had so much fun that one year together with the Horsemen. That was probably still the most fun I had in coaching was that year (in 2003).”
Franklin says his wife and children are excited about coming back to Lexington.
“All my girls graduate high school in Lexington. They have beautiful, and horrible, memories from Lexington. There are things I never realized my kids knew and thought about from then until just recently,” Franklin said. “Still, I am excited about coming back. It’s something I feel good about it. I didn’t quit. I didn’t allow people that wanted to bully me to do it. It was not easy. But I am excited to get back to the place where I grew up.
“I still remember the first Kentucky game I went to. There will be a lot of nostalgia for me at 61 years old and I near the end of my career to get to come back.”
