Three weeks ago, Penn State was #2 in the country. A three-game losing streak later, James Franklin, who led the program back to prominence from the depths of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, is out as the head coach.
“We hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships,” said Patrick Kraft, who has the title vice president of intercollegiate athletics at Penn State.
Back on Sept. 27, that #2 Penn State team lost 30-24 in double-OT to #6 Oregon, the 21st loss in 25 games against Top 10 teams in the Franklin era.
That got folks whispering about whether Franklin, who led Penn State to the College Football Playoff for the first time just last year, could win the big game.
Last week’s 42-37 loss to previously winless UCLA was a whole ‘nother matter, and then the 22-21 loss to Northwestern on Saturday, in which starting QB Drew Allar was lost for the season with a fourth-quarter injury, was the nail in the coffin, as it turns out.
Franklin, 104-45 in parts of 12 seasons at Penn State, is owned more than $49 million, per the details of his contract.
He’ll be OK, is what I’m getting at there.
Associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season, as the school gets itself into place to launch a search for a new permanent guy.
“We have the best college football fans in America, a rich tradition of excellence, significant investments in our program, compete in the best conference in college sports and have a state-of-the-art renovated stadium on the horizon. I am confident in our future and in our ability to attract elite candidates to lead our program,” Kraft said.
Translation: it ain’t gonna be anybody from the staff.
Smith, a 1991 Penn State alum, was a star receiver in his college days, before getting into coaching in 1996, bouncing around the high school, FCS and mid-tier FBS ranks before Franklin added him to his Penn State staff in 2014.
He’ll be polishing up his resume, as will two UVA Football alums on the staff that is about to be spread to the winds – Anthony Poindexter, who has been the safeties coach for the past five seasons, and Marques Hagans, who worked on the staffs of Mike London, Bronco Mendenhall and Tony Elliott for 11 seasons before leaving to take the job as wide receivers coach and offensive recruiting coordinator on Franklin’s staff ahead of the 2023 season.
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Chris Graham
