James Franklin ( American football coach ) James Franklin ( born February 2 , 1972 ) is an American football coach . He is currently the head coach at Vanderbilt University . Prior to accepting the job at Vanderbilt , Franklin was the offensive coordinator and " head - coach - in - waiting " at the University of Maryland . Early years . Franklin was born in Langhorne , Pennsylvania on February 2 , 1972 . He attended college at East Stroudsburg University where he played as a quarterback all four years . In that position , he set seven school records and was a Division II player of the year nominee in 1994 . " Sports Illustrated " named him a National Player of the Week that season . He earned a Bachelors of Science degree in psychology in 1995 . Coaching career . He began his coaching career in 1995 as a wide receivers coach at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania . The following season , he took over as the secondary coach for his alma mater , East Stroudsburg . That year , he was also the offensive coordinator for the Roskilde Kings of the Danish American Football Federation . In 1997 , he became wide receivers coach at James Madison , and , the following year , became tight ends coach at Washington State . In 1999 , he served as wide receivers coach at Idaho State . That year , the Bengals recorded 29 touchdowns , 258 receptions , and in excess of 3 , 300 passing yards for one of the best statistical seasons in school history . Idaho State ranked ninth nationally in total offense that year . Franklin has also held internships at several National Football League ( NFL ) franchises : the Miami Dolphins , Philadelphia Eagles , and Minnesota Vikings . Maryland . Franklin first served at Maryland as the wide receivers coach starting in 2000 . In November 2000 , head coach Ron Vanderlinden was dismissed and replaced by Ralph Friedgen , a Maryland alum and former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator . Friedgen retained Franklin as the wide receivers coach , one of only two assistants to be kept on the new coaching staff ( running backs coach Mike Locksley was the other ) . In 2003 , Franklin ' s duties expanded to include the position of recruiting coordinator . Since then , he has been considered a top recruiter . His geographic areas of concentration for recruiting were Baltimore ; Prince George ' s County , Maryland ; and public schools in Washington , D . C . In 2005 , Franklin departed Maryland to serve as the wide receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL . From 2006 to 2007 , he worked at Kansas State as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach . Franklin returned to Maryland for the 2008 season as the offensive coordinator . He assumed duties from Friedgen himself , who had made offensive play calls since the departure of Charlie Taaffe in 2005 . There , Franklin implemented a West Coast offense . On February 6 , 2009 , the University of Maryland officially designated Franklin as the head coach - in - waiting . Vanderbilt . Vanderbilt considered Franklin a candidate for its head coaching position vacated with the forced resignation of Robbie Caldwell after the 2010 season . " The Washington Post " reported other candidates for the job were Al Golden of Temple and Larry Coker of UTSA ( and formerly Miami ) , and that Franklin was not the frontrunner . After Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn turned down the job , Vanderbilt began talks to hire Franklin as its head coach . On December 17 , Vanderbilt announced Franklin had been hired as head coach . Franklin is the first African American to be head coach of a major sport at Vanderbilt , and the third to be a head football coach in the Southeastern Conference ( after Sylvester Croom , formerly at Mississippi State , and former Kentucky head coach Joker Phillips ) . Convinced of the strength of Southeastern Conference football , Franklin in the final regular - season coaches poll for 2012 ranked three SEC teams — Alabama , Georgia , Florida — ahead of the consensus Number 1 team , Notre Dame . Interestingly enough , after a blow - out loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game , Notre Dame finished the season ranked 4th in the AP Poll , providing validation for Franklin ' s " controversial " ballot . Franklin led Vanderbilt to a bowl game in both of his first two seasons as head coach . Vanderbilt had never previously participated in a bowl game in consecutive seasons . In his second season ( 2012 ) , the Commodores finished 9 – 4 and ranked in both the Associated Press and USA Today end - of - season coaches ' top 25 for the first time since 1948 ( and the first ranking in any week since 2008 ) . It was just the third nine – win season in school history . Additionally , Vanderbilt ' s fifteen combined wins in Franklin ' s first two years in charge was the Commodores ' highest total since 1926 – 1927 .