Paul Finebaum calls for James Franklin exit at Penn State after Northwestern loss

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum called for James Franklin to manufacture some sort of exit from Penn State after this last loss. Penn State lost 22-21 at home to Northwestern for their third consecutive loss.

After starting the year No. 2 in the preseason polls, Penn State is unranked and left scratching their heads. Not only that, fans are fed up with Franklin at this point.

But with a near $50 million buyout to get rid of him, Franklin might not be going anywhere just this second. But if Franklin and the admin can come to an understanding, where the coach finds himself elsewhere instead of jobless, it could be better for everyone involved.

“Let’s get something clear, nobody here is suggesting James Franklin be fired,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “He has a tremendous resume. What I am suggesting is that James Franklin meet with the authority, the administration at Penn State, and start planning an exit. Because to me, it feels like he has no credibility remaining. Nobody wants to watch another James Franklin press conference. I mean, I don’t want to … There are a lot of things that if you were giving someone the option of having to pull their fingernails out, or watching another losing James Franklin press conference, it would be a close call which way I would go that would be the most painful. 

“So I just think it’s over for him at Penn State, however the two parties decide that it’s over. His agent should be on the phone right now trying to find him a job elsewhere, and trying to find some common ground on that $50 million because I don’t think anyone, any Penn State fan in this country wants to see or hear another word from James Franklin this season.”

Franklin is 104-45 at Penn State and won the Big Ten back in 2016. He even led the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff last season, winning two games before falling in the semifinals to Notre Dame.

But one conference title out of two appearances and just one trip to the CFP might signal that’s the best Franklin can do at the school. Heck, he was even asked if he still wanted to be in State College.

“Yeah, for me, it’s always been about our players, and those guys are hurting right now,” Franklin said. “And the fans are frustrated, and I totally get it. We have great fans here. We get unbelievable support. I understand their frustration. Trust me. We’re as frustrated as anybody, the guys in the locker room. But to me, ultimately, it’s about the guys. 

“It’s about the guys in the locker room, and they’re hurting in there, and I’d do anything I could to take that hurt away from them. But like I told them, we got to stick together. We got to tune out all the noise, and we got to get to work.”