James Franklin Fired By Penn State In Monster College Football Shakeup

Penn State had made the decision to fire James Franklin. 

After losing to Northwestern on Saturday afternoon, the school was left with no choice, given the state of the football program. 

This was the Nittany Lions third consecutive loss, after being embarrassed by UCLA, followed up by the loss to Northwestern that led to the crowd escorting Franklin out of the stadium to a chorus of boos. 

The biggest hurdle was the monumental buyout that the school would owe Franklin, which was $49.7 million, though some of that could be mitigated. 

The payments will be spread out over time, with the school working to get the finances completed into the early morning hours, before informing Franklin on Sunday morning. 

Right now, Penn State finds itself at a crossroads, with the current NIL era of college athletics putting schools in awkward positions when it comes to finances, but the athletic department felt it was the right time to move on. 

After opening the season as the No. 2 ranked team in the AP Top 25, Penn State dropped out of polls last week. After meeting with trustee members and discussing the buyout, AD Patrick Kraft made the decision it was time to move on, and not hold off until the end of the season. 

"Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power," said AD Patrick Kraft. "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 at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships." 

Who Will Penn State Go After? Clark Lea, Matt Rhule?

There will be plenty of conversations about where the school will go from here, but one name to keep an eye on is Nebraska coach Matt Rhule. 

Remember, Rhule is a former Penn State linebacker, and has a good relationship with athletic director Patrick Kraft. There will also be conversations around Indiana's Curt Cignetti, though he seems perfectly content in Bloomington.

There has also been a lot of chatter around college football about whether Vanderbilt's Clark Lea could be enticed to move on from Nashville. Currently, 5-1 on the season, Lea has turned the Commodores program around over the past number of years, and will be a hot name during this coaching cycle. 

Penn State Will Owe Franklin Over $49 Million. 

Franklin had signed a 10-year contract extension in 2021, which would run through 2031. Now, the school will pay Franklin, but he will also have to look for another job that would mitigate the buyout. 

There have been plenty of conversations about whether Penn State would pull the trigger during the season, but athletic department officials tell OutKick that they thought the timing was right to do it now. They will begin their search for a new head coach immediately. 

"I am grateful for all that Coach Franklin has done for Penn State football and the University over the past 11-plus years. We thank him for his dedication, and we extend our best wishes to him and his family as they move forward into their next chapter," said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. 

"Our commitment to excellence extends across every facet of our institution, including athletics, and I am looking forward with great anticipation to this exciting new chapter for the Nittany Lions as we continue to build on that standard."

After starting the season 3-0, the loss to Oregon obviously deflated this football team, leading to the losses to UCLA and Northwestern. 

Simply put, there was no coming back from Saturday's loss, and talks of how to handle the buyout were actually taking place last week following the trip to Los Angeles. 

In this case, Franklin would've owed Penn State $2 million if he were to have left on his own, but there was no way he was walking away from a substantial amount of money. 

Moving forward, cornerbacks coach Terry Smith will be the interim Penn State head coach.