After a second straight disappointing loss in as many weeks as a double-digit favorite, Penn State fired head coach James Franklin. Losses to winless UCLA on the road and to Northwestern at home caught up with Franklin.
It was not surprising that athletic director Pat Kraft made the move on Sunday. The huge buyout that came with it didn’t matter. Penn State fans had been calling for it since losing to the Bruins in the Rose Bowl on October 4.
Franklin’s tenure is over in Happy Valley, and one college football analyst had some strong takes on the move. Greg McElroy had a strong take as to why the move had to be made.
Greg McElroy Explains Why James Franklin Was Fired
On his weekly Always College Football podcast, the ESPN analyst didn’t beat around the bush on why it had to be done.
“There was buzz in talking to some of my Penn State folks over the last couple days,’’ said McElroy. “There was buzz that it would be trending in this direction, but none would have assumed it would come after the loss to Northwestern because none assumed that they would actually lose at home to Northwestern.
“So, what had to be done was done. James Franklin is out, and now Penn State becomes by far the most desirable opportunity on the open market for a possible head coach move.”
It felt like Franklin’s job status was in question after Penn State lost a double overtime home game to Oregon on September 27. Losing to UCLA didn’t help, and the final straw was losing at home to Northwestern. Franklin was 104-45 in his 12 years at Penn State, including 3-3 this year. It was hard to ignore the lack of success the Nittany Lions had under Franklin against ranked teams.
“This was a move bound to happen at some point this season,” McElroy continued. “One takeaway from watching this game is that things are not going to get better in Happy Valley. This team, for whatever reason, is riddled with issues.
“The performances against AP top 5, the performances against AP top 10 teams, plus knowing the financial commitment that the university made to not just him, but his staff, the financial commitment was too significant to ever consider a scenario this team would start the year 3-3 with back-to-back 20-point favorites resulting in losses.’’
Penn State Becomes the Top Current Opening This Coaching Cycle
There is no debating that Penn State is the top opening right now, and it’s going to be hard to top it. The only way it could be topped is with a big-name coach bolting their current job for Happy Valley.
There are going to be several names linked to it. It is a desirable job, and with the right candidate, winning won’t take long. Penn State was in the College Football Playoff semifinals in January before losing to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.
Schools might have to wait until this position is filled. They will also have to see what opening is next to fill the spot. It’s going to take time, but this will likely be the first domino to fall in the coaching cycle.
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