Penn State finally fires Franklin ... now what?

Love the drama. Love the passion. Most of all, love the speculation that has followed the firing of James Franklin after 11.5 heavily scrutinized seasons in Happy Valley with the “who’s gonna replace him” storylines.

With apologies to all the action that took place on the field during Week 7 of the 2025 college football season and those who took part in it, nothing tops what Penn State AD Pat Kraft both did and triggered by letting his football program’s longtime HC go on Sunday.

Less than 24 hours earlier, the vibes had gone from bad to toxic as the Nittany Lions lost at home to Northwestern, capping off a 15-day run that included a double-OT loss to then-No. 6 Oregon and a five-point loss at previously winless UCLA. The Lions entered that stretch 3-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country, poised for another berth in the sport’s 12-team playoff.

As Northwestern took a knee inside the PSU 5-yard line to run out the clock Saturday, the Lions were staring at a 3-3 record, no ranking and no chance to the return to the CFP … and listening to fans’ displeasure loud and clear as chants to can the coach rained down on all of them.

A move had to be made. The fracture between Nittany Nation and Franklin was complete. It was a relationship that was never rock solid. Franklin always had a cloud of “is he the right guy to lead this program” hanging over his head from the moment he was hired after a rather amazing, albeit brief, HC stint at Vanderbilt.

Sure, some believed in him, or at least backed him. But, for far too many, it was merely a case of tolerating him.

He won. He won a lot. His teams were ranked. Heck, the Lions made the CFP just last season. Even made it to a national semifinal.

But those who questioned him did question on merit. They asked why his teams failed in big games, against ranked opponents. Time and again. Away and home.

There were no acceptable answers or rationales to those queries.

Then came the last three weekends, when not only did Franklin fail again in a big spot, but also in a couple gimme games – his finale at Beaver Stadium to boot.

So, now, we get the litany of names … and an “atta guy” tip of the cap to Terry Smith, the assistant now charged with steering this debacle to this season’s finish line under the promise that he’ll be given a shot at the full-time gig before being ultimately let go or, worse, placed in a reduced role under the new HC’s regime.

Have heard and seen them all: Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Marcus Freeman, Brian Kelly, Ryan Day. Am waiting for Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Bear Bryant and a return of Joe Paterno to be mentioned next. Or maybe Paterno-to-Franklin go-between Bill O’Brien, who was No. 2 on the probable odds list first put out by BetOnline after Kraft dropped the hammer on Franklin.

Thing is, the generally accepted assumption out there, both in house and around the globe, is that Penn State is a top-5 program, or should be, and, thus, just about any big-time HC still breathing must want the job.

Gotta be honest, not sure why.

Yeah, the Lions finished fifth in the country after losing to Notre Dame in that semifinal, but that’s the only time they got that far under Franklin … and look at what followed this season. In the last 30 years, they’ve finished in the top 5 twice: In 2024 and 2005, when they ultimately ended up third.

Paterno’s reign of sustained excellence, which included national titles in 1982 and ’86, ended in 1994 with his greatest team stylistically and in terms of draft-board status finishing second. That Ki-Jana Carter-led Lions squad topped off a 27-year stretch in which PSU finished in the top 5 a dozen times.

Truth? Paterno’s last 12 seasons did not match Franklin’s. In short, the vision many have of what Penn State is, or could be, may be a bit, umm, off.

So …

Why would Day leave Ohio State for PSU?

Why would Freeman leave Notre Dame for PSU?

Why would Kelly leave LSU for PSU?

Why would Mike Elko leave Texas A&M for PSU?

Why would Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss for PSU?

Why would Curt Cignetti leave Indiana for PSU?

Why, even, would PSU alum and former Lions LB Matt Rhule leave Nebraska for PSU? (For that matter, why would PSU want him? He’s a mirror image of Franklin in regard to big-game results.)

Hey, they all could have their reasons, personal, professional, family, compensation or otherwise. But the reality is, they all have HC gigs that currently pay them more or comparable money and they lead programs that are, well, better than PSU is right now.

Former Lions DC Manny Diaz, currently at Duke, may be able to claim the latter, too.

To me, the most viable candidates for the Penn State job are veteran coordinators with a history of success like Southern Cal DC D’Anton Lynn (a former PSU cornerback) and Ohio State OC Brian Hartline or young up-and-coming HCs such as Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham and South Florida’s Alex Golesh (although not sure why he’d leave Tampa for State College).

Ironically, the best fit for PSU – to me – just may be Franklin … if the slate could be wiped clean and he could start there anew.

INDIANA IS BEST

Cignetti not only is in a better situation in Bloomington than what he’d have in State College, he has the best team in the sport right now.

What about No. 1 Ohio State?

The defending national champion Buckeyes are great. No doubt.

But teams have matched up against them to some degree, even stood toe to toe with them. Heck. Illinois actually outgained Ohio State just this past Saturday, losing mainly due to turnovers and mistakes.

That same Fighting Illini squad got obliterated by the Hoosiers earlier in the season. It wasn’t just the 53-point drubbing Indiana put on its visitors that evening. It was the physical pounding.

Oregon, which has received raves for how physical it is ever since Dan Lanning took over there, got mauled at the line of scrimmage by the Hoosiers.

GAME OF WEEK 7

Shout out to the Group of 5 teams everywhere. Two of your own from the American Athletic Conference put on the best show when Navy visited Temple.

The Midshipmen have two truly special talents in QB Blake Horvath and WR Eli Heidenreich, and they needed everything those guys bring to the table to beat the Owls, 32-31, as homestanding Temple was the better team for almost the entire game.

But it couldn’t hold off Navy in the final minute as Horvath busted one up the middle for a 51-yard score with 39 seconds remaining and then added a two-point conversion pass to RB Alex Tecza, Heidenreich’s high school teammate, for the victory.

Horvath rushed for 155 yards on the day and passed for 141 more, including a 50-yard TD to TE Cody Howard. Heidenreich added 72 yards receiving and 34 rushing.

Temple QB Evan Simon was brilliant, throwing for 345 yards and a TD. The Owls even held a 34 to 26 minutes time of possession advantage over the ball-control Middies … and still lost.

UNI WATCH

Just a few observations:

-Like the normal blue grill on Auburn’s white lid with blue and orange trim, including the logo. But Saturday night’s orange grill was nice change of pace, and a common one in Bo Jackson's day.

-Clemson should always wear the orange-white-orange attire when it is on the road, as it did at Boston College (which looked great itself in the classic gold-burgundy-gold).

-Michigan at Southern Cal was a super sharp matchup playing out in front of a cool LA Coliseum backdrop. USC went classic cardinal-cardinal-yellow, Michigan blue-white-blue.

-A&M’s helmets looked positively lame thanks to the stripped-down de-beveling of their logo.

-Toledo’s matte blue helmet stole the show over the weekend.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Which of the current top 25 unbeatens will lose first: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Indiana, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 12 Georgia Tech, No. 15 Brigham Young, or No. 22 Memphis?

The American is expected to procure the Group of 5’s spot in the CFP, but which team from the conference is likely to do it: Memphis, No. 19 South Florida, 6-0 Navy or 5-1 Tulane?

How is the Big Ten considered the country’s best conference when it only has half as many ranked teams as the SEC’s 10?

Is Penn State a better coaching job than Florida and/or Florida State, as both are likely to come open in the coming weeks?

HEISMAN HYPE

A good week to highlight the defensive guys.

-Colorado State’s Owen Long, wildly undersized for a D-I LB at 195 pounds, had 17 tackles, 1 sack and 2 tackles for the loss in the Rams’ stunning 28-point win against Fresno State. He currently leads the nation in tackles by a wide margin.

-Indiana LB duo of Aiden Fisher, the Big Ten defensive player of the week, and Rolijah Hardy combined for 26 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in the win at Oregon.

-Texas LB Colin Simmons had 2.5 sacks and DB Malik Muhammad 2 INTs as the Longhorns throttled then-No. 6 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

-Pittsburgh freshman QB Mason Heintschel threw for 300 yards again in his second straight start, as well as two TDs, as the Panthers ambushed No. 25 Florida State in Tallahassee.