Stephen A. Smith provides strong reaction to Penn State firing James Franklin

On Sunday, Penn State fired longtime head coach James Franklin after the Nittany Lions suffered their third consecutive defeat, a 22-21 loss to unranked Northwestern. On Monday’s episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith weighed in on Penn State’s decision to fire Franklin in the middle of the season.

“It hurts me to say it because I’m incredibly supportive of Black coaches, particularly in college football, but I know this was 100% completely justified,” Smith said. “You cannot be 4-21 against top-10 opponents if you are the coach at Penn State. You cannot be 1-18 against top-10 Big Ten teams. You cannot be 3-17 against Ohio State and Michigan combined. I mean, my God, you just can’t do that.

“I know that you made it to the national College Football Playoff last year. I know they came into the season with the expectation that they were going to position themselves to win a third national championship, their first since 1986. I get all of that, but when you’re losing as 20-point favorites in back-to-back games, when you lose on your home turf to Northwestern — I mean, you have really, really, really sunk.”

After several years of struggling to break through into the upper echelon of college football, the Nittany Lions appeared to be entering a new era last season after reaching the CFP semifinals. In turn, Penn State entered this season as the No. 2 team in the AP Top 25.

Early on, Penn State looked the part, winning its first three games of the season. However, things took a turn when the team suffered a loss to Oregon in double-overtime at home.

Fans expressed their frustration during the game, chanting for Penn State to fire Franklin. After the Nittany Lions failed to bounce back from the loss, PSU ultimately gave fans what they asked for.

Per On3’s Pete Nakos, Penn State will pay Franklin’s enormous buyout in monthly payments. While some analysts claim Penn State was foolish to fire James Franklin due to his buyout, Stephen A. Smith believes the school’s decision sends an important message.

“Not only was the firing appropriate, here’s where I want to applaud Penn State for making this decision,” Smith said. “It says a lot when you letting the cat go and you still willing to give him $49.7 million. What you’re saying is, ‘Listen, damn it, we ain’t there. And you know what? We can’t accept this. And no matter how much money it cost us, we’re gonna correct this error.’

“Now, I’m not saying that who they hire, who they bring in, will be a better coach than James Franklin or whatever. …But, I can’t knock them for it. I really can’t, because if you’re if you’re trying to send a message… You do it by letting go of somebody, you still owe damn near $50 million. I mean that sends a message.”