10/18/25 12:16:00
Printable Page
10/18 12:14 CDT James Franklin shocked at Penn State firing him months after
playing for a chance at national title
James Franklin shocked at Penn State firing him months after playing for a
chance at national title
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) --- James Franklin said Saturday he was shocked when Penn
State fired him hours after a loss in which the Nittany Lions also lost
quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending injury but that he cannot wait to
coach again elsewhere.
Franklin said during an appearance on ESPN's "College GameDay" that Penn State
athletic director Pat Kraft visited him ahead of a meeting and practice last
Sunday and told him the university was making a change. Franklin said he had an
emotional team meeting to tell people he was leaving.
"To think essentially six games ago we were fighting for a chance to be in the
national championship, a two-minute drive away," Franklin said. "So that's the
thing. ... Twelve years, a ton of good moments, a bunch of big wins. But
decisions were made. And I'm not involved in those decisions."
Franklin was fired after a 22-21 home upset at the hands of Northwestern all
but ended whatever remote chance the preseason No. 2 team had of reaching the
College Football Playoff with a third loss in six games.
Penn State reached the CFP semifinals 10 months ago, when it fell 27-24 to
Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, then lost at home to Oregon in overtime in late
September. A road setback at previously winless UCLA followed. The final straw
came Saturday at Beaver Stadium, where the Nittany Lions let Northwestern
escape with a victory and lost Allar to injury.
Franklin is 128-60 as a head coach, including 104-45 (.698) at Penn State.
He said Penn State's decision was hard for him to comprehend when it happened,
so he focused on the good times. Franklin said he had a great run there over 12
years and thanked Penn State for being good to him and his family.
Franklin signed a 10-year contract extension worth up to $85 million in 2021.
According to terms of the deal, Penn State has to pay Franklin's base salary of
$500,000, supplemental pay of $6.5 million and an insurance loan of $1 million
until 2031.
But Franklin said he's a coach first and foremost, and that's all he knows as
someone with no hobbies.
"We're just going to go win a national championship somewhere else now,"
Franklin said.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up
here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football:
https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and
https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
|
