Riding with Philly Rob | Sports Daily Newsletter

Sports Daily touched a nerve among our readers yesterday when we asked whether the Phillies should move on from Rob Thomson. A sampling of the many responses appears later in this newsletter, and the readers clearly were split.

John Middleton and Dave Dombrowski have made up their minds, though. With one year left on his contract, Thomson will be back to manage the Phillies next season, a major-league source confirmed to The Inquirer.

Questions arose about Thomson’s job security last week after the Phillies lost in the NL Division Series for the second year in a row. Thomson, 62, is the fourth manager in major league history to steer a team to the postseason in each of his four years on the job. It’s possible he’ll return to the dugout as a lame duck — and with potential changes to his coaching staff.

Now it’s time for Dombrowski, the team’s president of baseball operations, to huddle with his inner circle, meet with team owner Middleton, and come up with a plan to make the Phillies better. There are huge decisions to make about Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. And how about promoting a few promising prospects? Scott Lauber offers an offseason primer.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓With Rob Thomson returning, what do the Phillies need most to get over the hump next season? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Penn State went from a No. 2 ranking to three straight losses and James Franklin was shown the door — with a parting gift of nearly $50 million. But Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said Monday that “this is not just a three-game thing. Looking at where the program was and where we want to be, I just felt there was no other course. I felt it was time.” Associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season.

Devin Jackson sizes up a few candidates for the Penn State job, including Camden’s Fran Brown and a former Nittany Lions linebacker, Matt Rhule.

There are plenty of questions about how Franklin’s firing will affect Penn State and the college landscape. Here are some reactions from the national media.

Penn State alums, fans, and critics are chiming in after James Franklin’s firing. Can you tell who said the above about it all? Check your answer and read more reactions.

The Eagles had a weekend to digest their second straight loss and coach Nick Sirianni came away with this: “We’re not in the business of assigning blame. We’re in the business of finding solutions.” Sirianni indicated that one of the solutions will not be changing who calls the plays for the sputtering offense. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo will remain in that role, Sirianni says.

A.J. Brown is one player who is not a problem for the offense, even with his off-field antics, Marcus Hayes writes.

On the other side of the ball, edge rusher Za’Darius Smith announced his retirement at age 33 after 11 NFL seasons. In five games with the Eagles, Smith notched 1½ sacks, which led the team’s edge rushers.

As Olivia Reiner writes, if the Eagles didn’t need to add another edge rusher last week, they certainly do now. She offers five trade targets for Howie Roseman, from Trey Hendrickson to Jermaine Johnson.

Next up for the Eagles is a road game with Carson Wentz and the Vikings. Jeff Neiburg takes a look inside the numbers in the matchup.

The Eastern Conference is wide-open and the 76ers are in position to capitalize. Still, they remain a mystery, with offseason surgeries for Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Jared McCain clouding their outlook. With that in mind, The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey attempted to take on your preseason mailbag questions, including inquiries about the health of Embiid and George, the start of VJ Edgecombe’s career and more.

Led by captain Sean Couturier’s two goals, the Flyers’ home opener was a success. A 5-2 win over the defending champion Florida Panthers gave Rick Tocchet his first win as the head coach.

With Cam York sidelined, that created an opportunity for defenseman Emil Andrae, who was called up for the home opener.

Who holds the record for ejections by a Phillies manager with 41? First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

A) Charlie Manuel

B) Gene Mauch

C) Jim Fregosi

D) Larry Bowa

We asked: Do you think the Phillies should move on from Rob Thomson? Among your responses:

It’s past time for Thomson to go. This makes four consecutive years of team collapse in the postseason. Much of that can be directly attributed to puzzling and infuriating decisions (or inexplicable failure to act, as with Tajuan Walker) by Thomson. But the bottom line is the lack of performance in the playoffs, year after year after year after year. This is an outstanding team that would have several World Series titles by now, with steady, fearless, competent guidance. A bungling manager has held them back. — Dirk D.

No they shouldn’t get rid of Thompson. He is a good manager. The problem wasn’t managing. The problem is that the players who are the offensive force on the team: Harper, Turner, Schwarber etc. failed the team. — Phil C.

... Rob did not fail to drive in one run that would have beaten the Dodgers, nor did he load the bases, and certainly did not throw the ball past JT to end the team’s chances to advance to the NLCS, but I think it is time for change. I would strongly recommend hiring Jimmy Rollins as the Phillies new manager. — Everett S.

Absolutely not. The knee-jerk reaction is always fire the manager. In this case, Rob hasn’t lost the clubhouse. The players are to blame. You want to fire someone, how about Harper, Turner, Schwarber, and Bohm for not meeting the terms of their contracts. This is a player problem and unless the players figure it out, the Phillies will be just like Embiid and the Sixers. — Dan D.

They should have dumped him last year! The word “strategy” does not exist in his vocabulary. When you make the same moves and get the same results 3 straight years, it’s time to move on. Having someone like Chase Utley manage the team would be good for starters. — Ronald R.

Of course he should remain the manager of the club. He is best manager I have seen in a Phillies uniform. ... This past season he won 96 games and instituted a very effective platoon system in the outfield. He lost Wheeler, Nola, Turner and Alvarado for long stretches and yet put the Phillies in position to go far in the playoffs. His players — the ones paid to do so — simply did not hit when it mattered and the club lost to the best team in baseball. — Andy G.

Thanks to Bill B., Barry M., Barbara P., John K., Donna K., Steven L., D.W.S, Kathy T., Mike S., Nick B., Diana S., Joel G., Tim D., Tom G., Bob A., John S., Michael R., and Gary W. for chiming in on this hot topic.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Marcus Hayes, Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Keith Pompey, Gabriela Carroll, Jackie Spiegel, Devin Jackson, Greg Finberg, Sean McKeown, Jonathan Tannenwald, Isabella DiAmore, and Ryan Mack.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading. Bella will be at the newsletter controls on Tuesday. — Jim