James Franklin has been fired as head coach at Penn State, amid a disappointing 2025 campaign just over nine months after the Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff semifinal appearance in 2024.
The university announced its decision a day after a 22-21 loss to Northwestern dropped the Nittany Lions to 3-3 on the season.
Penn State enjoyed its best season under Franklin in 2024, going 13-3 and advancing to the Big Ten Championship Game. Despite a loss to Oregon in that one, it made the Playoff field for the first time in program history, knocking off SMU and Boise State before falling to Notre Dame in the CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl.
With Heisman Trophy hopeful Drew Allar behind center, expectations were high for the Nittany Lions in 2025. But after a 3-0 start to the season with wins against Nevada, FIU, and FCS Villanova, they suffered a double-overtime loss to Oregon in Week 5.
Then the bottom fell out. Penn State fell to previously-winless UCLA 42-37 before losing to Northwestern, a game that saw Allar sustain a season-ending injury.
That loss sealed the fate of Franklin, who is out at Penn State midway through his 12th season.
James Franklin’s overall record at Penn State was 104-45, including a 64-36 mark in Big Ten play.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
