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James Franklin issues heartfelt message to retiring East Stroudsburg head coach

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Over the weekend, a football coaching legend decided to call it a career after 45 years in the business. With two games left in the season, East Stroudsburg head coach Denny Douds retired from his post.

Douds was the head coach at East Stroudsburg when current Penn State head coach James Franklin was a player. He also coached the defensive back on Douds’ staff in 1996, just his second year in the coaching profession.

After learning of the retirement, Franklin issued a heartfelt statement to his former coach and mentor via Twitter.

“So much more than a COACH to me,” Franklin wrote. “Been a major part of my life for almost 30 years! For a kid who grew up largely without a father figure, Coach Douds filled that role as well as a mentor and friend! Love you coach and appreciate you more than I can ever express! We all understand the importance of wins in this business, but I hope I can make the same type of impact you made on young people and on the community.”

Franklin also shared a photo in his post.

Douds was the NCAA’s active leader in career wins (264) and games coached (471). He ranks 16th in all-division NCAA wins and seventh in games coached.

He had spent 45 years as the head coach but spent 53 seasons with the program overall.

Franklin was a quarterback at East Stroudsburg from 1991-1994.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB