Six days after being fired as Penn State’s head coach, James Franklin made his first public comments on Saturday’s episode of College Gameday.
Appearing on the desk with the entire panel, led by host Rece Davis, Franklin said he was informed by Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft he was being fired about 30 minutes prior to the team’s scheduled practice on Oct. 12.
“That was it. It was that quick. I was in shock,” said Franklin.
Despite the abrupt nature of his firing after 12 seasons, Franklin was very complimentary toward Penn State while acknowledging how many people were impacted by the decision.
One thing Franklin did make clear is that he wants to coach again because he doesn’t “know anything else” and never had any hobbies to occupy his time.
Things shifted dramatically for Penn State in a 14-day period from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11. The Nittany Lions were 3-0 and ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll with Happy Valley hosting College GamedayÂleading up to their game against No. 6 Oregon on Sept. 27.
Oregon won a 30-24 double-overtime thriller on the road. It was a disappointing result for the Nittany Lions, but hardly one that suggested anything worth panicking about because the Ducks are a terrific team.
Things really started to go south the next week against a then-winless UCLA team that fired head coach Deshaun Foster after an 0-3 start. Penn State fell behind by 20 at halftime and failed to pull off the comeback in a 42-37 loss that knocked Franklin’s squad out of the AP Top 25.
The final straw that broke things for the Nittany Lions was a 22-21 home loss to Northwestern last week. They became the first FBS program in at least 30 years to lose back-to-back games as a 20-point favorite.
There were certainly extenuating circumstances that led to Penn State’s fall from grace. Quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending broken ankle in the fourth quarter against Northwestern.
Franklin’s overall resume is with Penn State is impressive. He went 104-45 in 12 seasons, tied for 11th in wins among all FBS programs during that span.
The primary issue, though, was Franklin’s struggles against top-tier teams. He had a 4-21 record against teams ranked in the AP top 10, including one win in 19 such matchups against Big Ten opponents.
Kraft cited that mark as one of the factors in the decision to make a coaching change.
Franklin absolutely deserves credit for putting Penn State back on the map after the wayward two-year run with Bill O’Brien as head coach. Franklin led the program to at least 10 wins six times in eight seasons from 2016 to ’24, matching its total over a 21-year period from 1994 to 2015.
The two parties were able to move on in a manner that was less than ideal for each side, but it at least gives them both time to plan out their next steps for the 2026 season.
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