Penn State Fires Head Coach James Franklin
Penn State head coach James Franklin was fired on Sunday, according to multiple reports.
Franklin is coming off a third straight loss with the Nittany Lions, falling at home to Northwestern 22-21. The first two losses were a double overtime loss to Oregon 30-24 on Sept. 27, and a 42-37 loss to UCLA on Oct. 4.
The loss on Saturday dropped the Nittany Lions to 3-3 on the season with all three losses coming in their first three Big Ten contests.
Franklin’s buyout was reported to be roughly $50 million, and it didn’t drop much after the season — going down to $48.6 million according to Pete Nakos of On3 — so it’s not too much of a surprise to see the Nittany Lions make the move midseason.
Penn State came into the season as one of the national championship favorites and Franklin was unable to take advantage of an experienced team that he called the best that he has had in his 12 seasons with the program. The team had many starters return, along with senior quarterback Drew Allar — who will now miss the rest of the season with a leg injury — and haven’t been able to take advantage of the experience brought back.
Franklin was asked about his status with the program immediately after the loss to Northwestern.
“Yeah, for me, it’s always been about our players,” Franklin said. “And those guys are hurting right now. And the fans are frustrated. And I get it. I totally get it. I totally get it. We have great fans here. We get unbelievable support. And I understand their frustration, trust me. We’re as frustrated as anybody, the guys in the locker room.
“I love those kids. I am committed to those players in that locker room. I’ve been that way for 12 years. I’ve been that way for 15 years of my head coaching career, and I’ve been that way for 30 years. That won’t change. That won’t change.”
Franklin led the Nittany Lions to an appearance in the CFP semifinal last season, losing to Notre Dame, after downing SMU and Boise State in the first two rounds.
But the team’s chances at the College Football Playoff were likely gone after the loss to the Bruins and are almost certainly zero after falling to the Wildcats. Associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the year.
Franklin finishes his tenure with the Nittany Lions with a 104-45 record and a 4-21 mark against top-10-ranked teams. His tenure with Penn State was defined by his inability to beat conference rivals Ohio State and Michigan, with a 4-17 combined record against the two teams in his time in State College, Pa. He only beat the Buckeyes once in 2016
He has an overall record of 128-60 as a head coach, including a 39 game stint at Vanderbilt from 2011-13.
This story is breaking news and will be updated