The pressure surrounding Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft in the coaching search has intensified following former head coach James Franklin’s swift move to accept the head coaching position at Virginia Tech.
Enter Franklin: Virginia Tech Expected to Hire Former Penn State HC James Franklin
In what has become a strategic chess match, Franklin’s hiring represents a direct countermove to Kraft’s decision Oct. 12 to fire the veteran coach midway through his 12th season in Happy Valley.
“At Penn State we hold all our programs to the highest standards in our shared pursuit of excellence,” Kraft said during the press conference announcing the separation. “My job is to evaluate everything and make hard decisions for what’s in the best interest of our athletes, our program, and our department. Football is our backbone. We have invested at the highest level. With that comes high expectations. Ultimately, I believe a new leader can help us win a national championship, and now is the right time for this change.”
Kraft believes Penn State needs a new direction. Franklin’s rapid reemployment, and his landing spot, are not surprising. With deep roots in the Mid-Atlantic region, Virginia Tech was a logical fit.
But Franklin’s move has dramatically increased the urgency surrounding Kraft’s search.
By accepting a job before the season concludes, Franklin now holds a two-week competitive advantage.
Within hours of news breaking, Franklin’s camp issued a mass communication announcing a major recruiting weekend for Virginia Tech’s senior day matchup with Miami. He now has a two-week window to evaluate the roster, assess portal needs, and begin rebuilding.
Penn State, meanwhile, sits in limbo.
Every day Franklin spends getting ahead only intensifies the spotlight on Kraft, who must now hire someone capable of competing with his former head coach from day one.
Kraft is aiming high in this search. He firmly believes Penn State is a national brand capable of attracting virtually any coach in the sport. The job is undeniably attractive: patience from administration, elite resources, strong natural recruiting pipelines, national recognition, and a stated goal of winning a national title. It is difficult for any top coach not to at least consider it.
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko very well may have. A South Brunswick, New Jersey native, the idea of returning closer to home with a major program appealed to him. But Texas A&M extended Elko and thus took another major name off Kraft’s list.
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Meanwhile, Penn State fans are still emotionally riding the high of Saturday’s 28–10 win over Michigan State, particularly the emotional moment when players carried interim head coach Terry Smith off the field. That emotion carried into Monday’s press conference, where Smith became overwhelmed describing what the victory meant to him.
“People are super proud of me… I get it; it’s very humbling,” Smith said, visibly emotional. “So many people in my life speak life into me. I’m just so blessed. God has been so good to me through everything in my life. I have the opportunity to be the head coach at Penn State. I don’t think anything has made me or my family happier. Saturday… I can’t even tell you how I felt. I’ve never been lifted off the field in my career. It was just a great moment.”
That moment has fueled a growing contingent of supporters calling for Smith to have the interim tag removed.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.It would not be unprecedented. Clemson famously elevated Dabo Swinney from interim to full-time coach after a 4-3 finish in 2008. The decision paid extraordinary dividends: nine ACC titles and two national championships. If Smith were to win out and win the bowl game, he would also finish 4-3.
However, the comparison has limits. The biggest question surrounding Smith is not his passion or loyalty to Penn State, it is whether he can serve as a true CEO of a major Power Five program. That responsibility now includes managing multimillion-dollar operations, NIL infrastructure, donor relations, and high-pressure recruiting cycles.
Brent Pry’s struggles at Virginia Tech illustrate this risk. Pry was, and still is, admired as a defensive mind, but he failed in areas Franklin excelled at: player development, talent pipeline management, and broader organizational leadership. No one yet knows whether Smith can shoulder those responsibilities long-term.
And that brings the conversation back to Kraft. He can’t make this decision on emotion alone. Emotional decisions are temporary. Major hires have decade-long consequences. Critics claim Kraft fired Franklin emotionally. Time will reveal whether that is true, but he deserves the opportunity to execute his vision for elevating the program.
Complicating matters, the fallout has already begun.
Recruiting momentum is fading, with four-star Harrisburg offensive lineman Kevin Brown announcing his de-commitment Sunday.
After years of Top-10 recruiting classes, Penn State must now heavy rely on the transfer portal to restock talent.
Programs like Indiana have used the portal effectively. Others, like Florida State, have stumbled. There is no guarantee Penn State’s brand alone can overcome instability in the short term.
Still, it’s too early to label Kraft’s decision malpractice. What is clear is that the pressure on him is increasing daily. Franklin has already begun rebuilding elsewhere. Recruits are wavering, and every day without a hire gives Franklin and other programs more time to poach players, staff and momentum.
Kraft took a bold swing by firing a coach with a .680 winning percentage who delivered consistent Top 12 finishes: Penn State was one of four programs that finished in the Top 12 seven times between 2016-2024 (Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama). That decision has created an inflection point for Penn State football, one that will define Kraft’s legacy.
If he lands a transformational leader, he will be celebrated for refusing to settle.
If he misses, he will own one of the most consequential missteps in modern Penn State athletics.
For now, all anyone can say with certainty is this: Pat Kraft lit the match and started the Penn State coaching search. James Franklin just turned up the flame.
