Penn State, among the most storied and decorated teams in college football, has fired head football coach James Franklin following a lackluster start to the 2025 season.
Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Penn State, among the most storied and decorated teams in college football, has fired head football coach James Franklin following a lackluster start to the 2025 season.
The move came after a one point Saturday loss to Northwestern Saturday. Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft issued a statement that said the school holds the team and its coaches to the highest standards.
"Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power," Kraft said in the statement. "He wont a Big Ten Championship, led us to seven New Year's Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year.
Kraft said he is confident that, based on the school's past success and rich tradition, Penn State will be able to attract candidates to the high profile coaching job.
Penn State notched a 2-1 record in last year's College Football Playoff, leading to expectations that the team should be contending for a national title this year, but the 3-3 start greatly undermined those chances, and led to Franklin's firing.
The Nittany Lions got off to a 3-0 start beating lesser opponents, but an overtime loss to Oregon, an upset at the hands of UCLA and the one-point stumble to Northwestern dropped the team from the national rankings, and left Franklin without a job. Associate Head Coach Terry Smith, a former Penn State player, was named interim head coach.
Franklin, in the middle of his 12th season with the team, departs the school with a 104-45 record.
Category: General Sports
