James Franklin went from being minutes away from a national championship appearance to being unemployed just ten months later.
Franklin’s well-documented big-game failures and Penn State’s disappointing season forced athletic director Pat Kraft to make a decisive, career-defining move about the future of Penn State football.
“Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin, who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” Kraft said in a statement. “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 to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships.”
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi echoed that sentiment.
“I am grateful for all that Coach Franklin has done for Penn State football and the University over the past 11-plus years,” Bendapudi said. “Our commitment to excellence extends across every facet of our institution, including athletics, and I look forward with great anticipation to this exciting new chapter for the Nittany Lions.”
The gratitude is deserved. During Franklin’s tenure, Penn State produced 18 All-Americans, 32 national award winners or finalists, and 59 NFL Draft picks. He restored the program’s national credibility after the darkest chapter in its history.
But this is a results business — and the results weren’t good enough.
Relieving a coach of Franklin’s stature is a bold, risky, and potentially career-defining decision for Kraft.
Yet it’s one that was necessary.
Since Pete Giftopolous’ game-sealing interception in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, Penn State’s other athletic programs have won 40 national championships across six different sports. That success has underscored a harsh truth — football, once the flagship, has fallen behind.
Penn State’s standard has always been championships, not “almosts.” Franklin brought stability, but never broke through the ceiling. In big moments, his teams folded. Kraft’s decision signals that “good” is no longer good enough.
From the day he arrived in 2022, Kraft made it clear that he wanted Penn State to be the premier athletic brand in college sports. He’s backed that up with aggressive investment and unflinching ambition.
It was Kraft who went all-in with Franklin to lure Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator.
It was Kraft who opened the checkbook to fuel Franklin’s transfer portal push in pursuit of a national title.
And it’s Kraft who’s overseeing the $700 million Beaver Stadium revitalization project — the largest capital improvement effort in Penn State history — meant to make the venue the envy of college football.
But what unfolded at Beaver Stadium Saturday night was anything but enviable.
The stands were barely two-thirds full. The atmosphere was toxic — boos, profanity, and even objects hurled onto the field. It was a low point that clashed violently with Kraft’s vision for Penn State athletics.
And that’s when the line was crossed. Kraft pulled the plug.
Now comes the hardest part.
Firing Franklin was the career-defining decision. Hiring his replacement will be the career-defining test.
Kraft cannot afford to go small or safe. This cannot be another “up-and-coming” coordinator or mid-major flavor of the month. This hire must be a no-doubt, moonshot home run — a statement that Penn State intends to reclaim its place among college football’s true elites.
Kraft will surely canvas the nation and make calls to every coach with a pulse and a pedigree. Expect big names to at least pick up the phone. But splash alone isn’t the answer — fit, identity, and credibility all matter just as much.
Penn State is one of the sport’s crown jewels: elite facilities, a massive fan base, deep donor pockets, and a recruiting footprint that stretches coast to coast. It’s a top-five job. But that prestige comes with pressure — and history shows what happens when powerhouse programs miss on hires.
Just ask Nebraska, Tennessee, USC, Miami, or Texas. Each fumbled the post-legend transition, each cycled through mediocrity, and each burned through athletic directors who made the wrong choice.
Pat Kraft can’t be one of them.
Franklin’s firing is about more than a disappointing season. It’s about reclaiming a standard. Kraft has proven he’ll spend, he’ll build, and he’ll take big swings. But this next swing must connect.
Because make no mistake — Kraft’s legacy now hinges entirely on this hire.
If he nails it, he’ll be remembered as the athletic director who restored Penn State football to national prominence.
If he misses, he risks joining the long list of administrators who lost their jobs trying.
There are moments in every athletic director’s career that define their tenure. For Pat Kraft, this is it.
The decision to fire James Franklin was bold.
The next decision must be brilliant.
Because at Penn State, “almost” isn’t the goal anymore. It never was.
