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Why Penn State fired James Franklin, who could replace football coach? Details here
Penn State announced on Sunday that they've fired coach James Franklin, a day after they lost at home to Northeastern.
Penn State, in a shocker, has announced that they're parting ways with coach James Franklin. The announcement came on Sunday, October 12, after the Nittany Lions lost the home game to Northeastern with a 22-21 score.
This marked the third-consecutive loss for Penn State after a 3-0 start. Ahead of the season's start, it was widely expected that Penn State would return to College Football Playoff and contend for the national title.
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Two of the defeats were especially tough on Penn State, which went as high as No. 2 this season in the US LBM Coaches Poll. After the double-overtime loss to Oregon, Penn State lost to UCLA and Northwestern – two of the worst teams in the Big Ten, that too in back-to-back weeks.
Who could replace James Franklin?
Johnny McGonigal of PennLive suggested that Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti should replace Franklin.
“This will be the top option for a lot of people, and it should. Cignetti has proven at every stop that he’s one of the best coaches in college football. But what he’s done with Indiana is particularly impressive,” he wrote, adding, “In 2024, he took them to the CFP in his inaugural season. This year, he has the Hoosiers undefeated after a massive win at Oregon. Cignetti has no reason to leave Indiana. He’ll be treated like a king there for as long as he wants, and he has serious NIL backing that’s paid off the last two offseasons. But the 64-year-old is also a cocky, serial winner — and he might want a crack at a traditional, blueblood program.”
Cignetti is in his second season of coaching with Indiana and is having the team look like a proper national championship contender. Meanwhile, Franklin during his time with Penn State has managed a 104-45 record, including 64-36 in Big Ten conference play. However, his drawback is the inability to win big games against the top-ranked teams.
