James Franklin spoke publicly Saturday for the first time since he was fired from Penn State on Oct. 12.
Franklin joined ESPN’s “College Gameday” just three weeks after appearing on the show ahead of the Nittany Lions’ Sept. 27 game against Oregon. At the time, Penn State was 3-0, ranked No. 2 in the National LBM Coaches Poll and was one of the favorites to win the national championship.
What followed was surprising, with an overtime loss to Oregon followed by come-from-behind losses to UCLA and Northwestern in the following weeks. Fifteen days after scoring a fourth-down conversion in overtime to help the Nittany Lions beat Oregon, Franklin lost his job.
This series of events was shocking for the average fan, but it was even more shocking for Franklin. In an interview with GameDay, Franklin said he was fired by Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft 15 minutes before the Nittany Lions’ scheduled team meeting.
“The AD came in and said, ‘We’re going to change it, sorry,'” Franklin said. “Obviously I was in shock. I spent the next 15 minutes letting my kids know so it wouldn’t be on the internet. Then I had a very emotional meeting with my team to tell them I was leaving. That was it, really. It just happened so fast.”
When asked by Kirk Herbstreit if he thought his firing was justified, Franklin dodged the question and focused on fond memories from his time at State University.
“Fairness isn’t for me to decide, is it?” he said. “That’s for other people to decide. The decisions that were made were hard for me to understand at the time, but I want to focus on what I want to do and all the incredible moments. I had a great 12 years there. Penn State was a good school for me and my family. The most important thing is the players. I’m the player’s coach, and always have been. So the hardest thing is to walk away from those young guys. “Locker room, commit adopted by us. A lot of tough conversations. That’s the challenge, and ultimately it’s the people: the coaches, the staff, the families, the kids. I don’t think people realize how many people this affects. A lot of people. That’s where my heart breaks. ”
Franklin was fired after the Nittany Lions lost 22-21 to Northwestern on Oct. 11, their third straight loss to an unranked opponent this season. Franklin had a 104-45 overall record in 12 seasons at Penn State, but it was his 4-21 record against top-10 teams during that span, including a 1-10 mark against Big Ten foe Ohio State, that likely contributed to his dismissal.
The Nittany Lions made their first appearance in the College Football Playoff under Franklin last season, reaching the semifinals. His buyout from Penn State is worth just under $50 million, the second-largest coaching buyout in college football history, according to the financial term sheet he signed in 2022 obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
The coach is still processing the rapid unraveling of Penn State’s once-promising 2025 season and Franklin’s near-successful tenure.
“Honestly, I’m still working through this myself,” Franklin said. “It feels surreal. I got a message from Drew Allard’s father that he’s home-sitting as well. We should both be at Iowa. That’s what we’re used to, that’s how we do it. And I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and 15 years as a head coach. If you think essentially six games ago, we were fighting for a chance to go to the national championship, which is a two-minute drive away.”
