By Matthew Weatherby
What if Penn State’s next head coach is worse? For fans celebrating James Franklin’s firing, that question should loom large. In college football, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. For every Georgia that went from Mark Richt to Kirby Smart or Indiana striking gold with Curt Cignetti, there’s a Texas post-Mack Brown or Tennessee replacing Butch Jones with Jeremy Pruitt. Coaching changes aren’t guarantees — they’re gambles.
Recruiting Fallout
In today’s NIL-driven recruiting landscape, volatility is the rule, not the exception. Penn State has already lost six recruits since Franklin’s dismissal, including several from the 2026 and 2027 classes. The biggest blow? Five-star running back Kemon Spell — the top-ranked back in the 2027 class.
The real concern lies beyond the immediate fallout. Pennsylvania and the DMV area have long been Penn State’s recruiting pipeline, and Franklin’s deep ties there trace back to his time as Maryland’s offensive coordinator. Whoever Athletic Director Pat Kraft hires next must be able to recruit the DMV at the same level Franklin did, or the Nittany Lions could lose ground fast.
The “Why” vs. “Why Not”
The “why” of Franklin’s firing seems simple: he hadn’t won the biggest games. But he consistently won the ones he was supposed to, maintained a strong recruiting presence, and built a stable culture after the program’s darkest chapter. Still, cracks began to show this season. The Nittany Lions underperformed against weaker opponents, lost to Oregon, then suffered back-to-back defeats to UCLA — which hadn’t led a single second of football in 2025 before that game — and Northwestern, a perennial Big Ten bottom feeder. Those two games likely sealed Franklin’s fate.
Timing and Optics
Then there’s the timeline. It took Penn State’s leadership just fifteen days to decide that a coach who went 104–45 over 11 seasons and resurrected the program after the Sandusky scandal no longer fit their vision. That’s not a decision rooted in logic — it’s one driven by emotion.
Bill O’Brien may have steadied the ship for two years, but Franklin rebuilt the brand. Firing him after two bad games (and Oregon doesn’t even qualify as one) feels reactionary and shortsighted.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t to say Franklin was untouchable or that fans don’t have a right to be frustrated. But emotional decision-making rarely leads to stability. Not every school can replicate Georgia’s succession plan or Indiana’s turnaround. Penn State has neither a clear successor nor the luxury of being at rock bottom — they were in striking distance of national contention.
Add reports of a divide between AD Pat Kraft and Franklin, and the drama may just be beginning. Don’t be surprised if Franklin’s upcoming appearance on College GameDay brings a few fireworks.
Penn State wanted change, but they may have just set their program back to find it.
