Penn State Fires James Franklin

Written by: Chase Wiley

October 14, 2025

Photos courtesy of: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 21: Penn State head coach James Franklin scowls as he looks up at the replay video board form the side line. The Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Michigan Wolverines 42-13 on October 21, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in State College, PA. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Following Penn State’s 22-21 loss to unranked Northwestern on Saturday, October 11th, Penn State fired head coach James Franklin.

Franklin joined back in 2014 after coaching at Vanderbilt for 3 season and posting a 24-15 record. He coached for 12 years at Penn State and recorded a 104-45 record. This season, the Nittany Lions are 3-3 and 0-1 against ranked teams.

After firing Franklin, they still owe him a little over $49 million making it the largest buyout in NCAA history.

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