Less than a year removed from a College Football Playoff appearance, Penn State has officially parted ways with head coach James Franklin following a disastrous 3–3 start to the 2025 season.
The decision came swiftly after the Nittany Lions suffered back-to-back losses to UCLA and Northwestern, both games in which Penn State was favored by more than 20 points.
The loss to Northwestern, a 22–21 heartbreaker at Beaver Stadium, marked the first time in over 30 years that a top-tier FBS program lost consecutive games as such heavy favorites.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Sources: Penn State has fired James Franklin.</p>— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) <a href=”
https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1977433450673258678?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October
12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8”></script>
Penn State entered the season ranked No. 3 nationally, with championship aspirations and a roster stacked with returning talent.
But after a double-overtime loss to Oregon, followed by a shocking defeat to winless UCLA, the wheels came off.
Fans erupted in chants of “Fire Franklin!” as the team exited the field against Northwestern, and boos echoed through the stadium.
Quarterback Drew Allar’s season-ending injury late in the Northwestern game only deepened the crisis. The team committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half alone, and Franklin’s postgame remarks—taking full responsibility—did little to calm the storm.
Franklin’s buyout was a major hurdle. His contract, which runs through 2031, included a staggering $49 million buyout.
Franklin leaves Penn State with a 104–45 record over 12 seasons, including a Big Ten title in 2016 and a CFP semifinal appearance in 2024. However, his 4–21 record against AP Top 10 teams and 15–31 mark against Top 25 opponents became a persistent criticism.
Despite his success in building a consistent winner, Franklin’s inability to win marquee matchups, including one victory over AP Top 10 teams was a black eye.
Once the Nittany Lions started dropping games against struggling programs, it quickly led to his dismissal as Penn State’s coach. The Penn State leadership have not announced tentative plans for an interim coach.
Penn State joins Power Four programs such as Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA with head coaching openings.
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