James Franklin fired as Penn State head football coach

(WHTM) – James Franklin has been fired as Penn State’s head football coach.

The news was first reported on Sunday afternoon by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who says Franklin is owed more than $49 million.

Associate head coach and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith will serve as the interim head coach.

“Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Patrick Kraft. “He won a Big Ten Championship, led us to seven New Year’s Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. However, we hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships.” 

The Nittany Lions had entered the season with championship aspirations and started 3-0 and as a top team in the AP Top 25 Poll. However, after a White Out 2OT loss to Oregon, followed by a road loss to a winless UCLA and a Homecoming Game loss to Northwestern, Franklin is out at Happy Valley.

Following the 22-21 Homecoming Game loss on Saturday, Franklin was booed off the field by students.

“I am grateful for all that Coach Franklin has done for Penn State football and the University over the past 11-plus years. We thank him for his dedication, and we extend our best wishes to him and his family as they move forward into their next chapter,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “Our commitment to excellence extends across every facet of our institution, including athletics, and I am looking forward with great anticipation to this exciting new chapter for the Nittany Lions as we continue to build on that standard.”

The Bucks County native Franklin was named as Penn State’s 16th head football coach on January 11, 2014, and was in his 12th season with the Nittany Lions after taking over for Bill O’Brien. The program was still recovering from the shadow cast by the Jerry Sandusky scandal and the sanctions that were implemented.

In 2024, Franklin won his 100th game as Penn State’s head coach and, with a 104-45 record, he leaves as the second-winningest coach in the history of Penn State football.

Under Franklin’s tenure, Penn State went to back-to-back New Year’s Six bowls in 2016 (Rose) and 2017 (Fiesta) for the first time since 1985. While moments like the 2016 win over #2-ranked Ohio State were a crowning achievement in Franklin’s tenure, he leaves with a 4-21 record against opponents ranked in the AP top 10.

Kraft will lead the national search for the next head coach.

“Penn State Football is an integral part of our University and is an important part of the lives of our millions of fans, community members and alumni around the world,” said Kraft. “We have the best college football fans in America, a rich tradition of excellence, significant investments in our program, compete in the best conference in college sports and have a state-of-the-art renovated stadium on the horizon. I am confident in our future and in our ability to attract elite candidates to lead our program.”

The Nittany Lions’ next game is on the road against Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 18. The team will face Ohio State on November 1.