Nittany Sports Now can confirm that Penn State has fired James Franklin midway through his 12th season.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported this Sunday afternoon.
This news comes on the heals of two of the most embarrassing losses in Penn State football history, with the first being last Saturday at UCLA and the second being this past Saturday at Northwestern.
Nittany Sports Now can confirm that Penn State had been discussing Franklin’s future in the aftermath of Saturday’s loss.
If Thamel’s report is true, it would be the end of a successful, yet polarizing coaching tenure.
Franklin’s final record at Penn State would be 104-45, with one Big Ten Championship, one College Football Playoff appearance and no national titles.
THE BUYOUT
The biggest concern many people had with firing Franklin was the buyout.
While it’s unclear yet if Penn State has renegotiated anything, Franklin’s buyout had been $56 million.
One must also take into account what it would cost to buy out offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki ($5.7 million) and Jim Knowles ($6.2 million).
Not to mention, Penn State is still funding a $700 million dollar revitalization of Beaver Stadium, which is set to be complete in 2027.
It’s a lot of money, but at this point, a lot of Penn State fans don’t care about the cost.
THE FRANKLIN LEGACY
What James Franklin’s legacy at Penn State is is subjective, there was certainly a lot of good regardless of the undoubtedly bitter way things ended up.
He is tied for the second-winnigest coach in school history with Rip Engle, and took over at a time when the program was still healing from the fallout of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
With that sad, Franklin’s 4-21 record against top 10 teams is something many fans will fairly point out as well.
Nittany Sports Now will continue to break down the Franklin legacy in the days and weeks ahead.
