Penn State University have fired head coach James Franklin, according to reports.
The decision comes amid a horrific start to the college football season for the Nittany Lions, who have lost three games in a row over the last month.
Their most recent defeat saw them fall to a 22-21 defeat against Northwestern on Saturday evening, where fans voiced their frustrations with coach Franklin.
The defeat also meant that, according to ESPN, Franklin became the first coach in 30 years to lose consecutive games despite being a 20-point favorite pregame.
Meanwhile, it’s also reported that Franklin has a $57 million buyout which Penn State would have had to fork out in order to part ways with the 53-year-old.
Franklin had been in Happy Valley since 2014 but only delivered one Big Ten title since then. He had a 104-45 record at Penn State.
Penn State University have fired head coach James Franklin, according to reports
The Nittany Lions have struggled during the 2025 season and have a 3-3 record thus far
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who broke the news of Franklin’s firing, also revealed that Terry Smith will take over on an interim basis.
Smith had been a long serving assistant manager for the Nittany Lions and had been by Franklin’s side throughout his tenure at Penn State.
More to follow…
