State College, Pa. -- Penn State University has fired head football coach James Franklin. The announcement was made official by Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics, Patrick Kraft.
“Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” said Kraft. “He won a Big Ten Championship, led us to seven New Year’s Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. However, 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.”
In addition to Kraft, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi released a statement offering praise for Franklin's tenure as coach, while eagerly looking forward to the future of Nittany Lion Football.
“I am grateful for all that Coach Franklin has done for Penn State football and the University over the past 11-plus years. We thank him for his dedication, and we extend our best wishes to him and his family as they move forward into their next chapter,” said Bendapudi. “Our commitment to excellence extends across every facet of our institution, including athletics, and I am looking forward with great anticipation to this exciting new chapter for the Nittany Lions as we continue to build on that standard."
Franklin was hired as Penn State Football coach in January of 2014, after Bill O'Brien left to become head coach of the NFL's Houston Texans. In November of 2021, Franklin signed a 10-year contract extension worth approximately $85 million dollars.
ESPN College Football reporter James Thamel, who was the first to break news on the firing, is reporting that Penn State University will pay James Franklin (in the neighborhood) of $48 million dollars to buy out the remaining years of his contract.
With Franklin's exit, Kraft has named Associate Head Coach Terry Smith as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Kraft also sent a message to Penn State fans expressing his confidence in the program's ability to attract top level names to be the teams next head coach.
“Penn State Football is an integral part of our University and is an important part of the lives of our millions of fans, community members and alumni around the world,” said Kraft. “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.”