Paul Finebaum reflects on James Franklin's unprecedented 'fall from grace' at Penn State

Paul Finebaum called Penn State’s firing of James Franklin “the correct decision,” but it was still wild to see in real time. Following a 3-3 record this year, Franklin did not get a chance to finish his 12th season as head coach of the Nittany Lions.

Following a gut wrenching overtime loss to Oregon at home, Penn State never really recovered. Upset losses to UCLA and Northwestern, plus Drew Allar’s season ending injury, summed up a horrible three games. Franklin was the scapegoat in this situation, just one year removed from the College Football Playoff semifinals.

But Penn State’s performances were an indictment on Franklin, per Finebaum. It’s amazing what can happen in a year.

“It was the correct decision Greeny, but that doesn’t make it any less stupefying,” Finebaum said on Get Up. “You said it, but it’s still hard to wrap your arms around this fall from grace. I have never seen anything like this in nearly 50 years of covering college football, but he had nothing. He had nowhere to go. Losing to Oregon just proved that he can’t win big games. But we already knew that going in, but these last two have been some of the worst coaching (performances) I have ever seen. There was no faith in him. 

“I talked to several people who were at the game Saturday, and the Penn State fans were literally wearing bags over their heads. This is one of the proudest programs in college football, so it was absolutely the right call, and there should be no turning back on that decision at all.”

Franklin leaves State College with a 104-45 record since 2014 when he took the job. He is 128-60 overall as a head coach, which includes his three-year stint at Vanderbilt (24-15). Terry Smith will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season.

A large hurdle to overcome was the buyout of Franklin’s contract, which On3’s Pete Nakos detailed HERE. Franklin signed a 10-year contract extension in November 2021 that was supposed to run through the 2031 season. His agreement did not state how quickly Penn State would pay out the buyout. In most coaching contracts, institutions have the remainder of the contract to pay out the cash owed.

According to Nakos, the buyout is upwards of $48.6 million for Franklin. The buyout would’ve dropped by $8 million after each season moving forward. If Franklin had decided to leave Penn State, following the 2025 season, for a new job, he would’ve owe the Nittany Lions $2 million.

With Franklin now gone, Penn State will have to pivot to a new option that can get them over the jump. Franklin led Penn State to a Big Ten title in 2016, but only made the CFP last season, beating SMU and Boise State in the first two rounds. But, the Nittany Lions fell to Notre Dame in the semifinals, missing out on a chance at playing Ohio State for the title.