Booger McFarland reacts to Virginia Tech hiring James Franklin

It was announced on Monday that James Franklin was set to become the new Virginia Tech head football coach, starting the next chapter of his coaching career. Franklin most recently coached at Penn State for over a decade, but was let go after six games in 2025.

Franklin replaces Brent Pry, who, ironically, worked under Franklin with the Nittany Lions from 2016-21 as the defensive coordinator. Pry was 16-24 as Virginia Tech’s head coach, but was fired after an 0-3 start this season.

Over his 12-year stint at Penn State, Franklin led the Nittany Lions to a 104-45 (64-36) record with an appearance in the 2024 College Football Playoff. When he became an available name on the head coaching market, it was a no-brainer for the program to go after him.

McFarland reveals he ‘loves’ James Franklin to Virginia Tech hire

During the latest edition of ‘Pardon My Take,’ ESPN‘s Booger McFarland revealed that he ‘loves’ the move. Along with this, he also revealed that he believes Franklin was holding out for the Florida State job, but decided on Virginia Tech after realizing it wouldn’t part ways with head coach Mike Norvell.

“Yeah, it’s an interesting thought,” McFarland said. “I want you guys to think about this. Let’s go back to when Scott Frost was at UCF, and Scott Frost (if you remember) had a choice between Florida, Tennessee, or he could go back to Nebraska. Someone told me a quote, I don’t know if it was true or not, but it sure made sense.

“Why would Scott Frost go to Nebraska over Florida? And it simply said this. If you go to Florida, the moment you sign on the dotted line, it’s not if you get fired, it’s when. Because that fanbase expects a National Championship every single year, and that’s hard to deliver. You can go back to your alma mater Nebraska and you can basically be there as long as you want. It turns out that wasn’t true, but you get the premise of the point.”

Booger believes Franklin was holding out for Florida State opening

“I think if you’re James Franklin, the only other job he was looking at was Florida State,” McFarland said. “After Florida State won this past weekend, James got the inclination that Florida State wasn’t gonna open, so he took Virginia Tech. I love it. James has coached in that area. Penn State‘s not too far from Virginia. He’s recruited in that area. That’s where his base is. That part of the country. If you think about it, he was in Nashville, TN. He goes to Pennsylvania and now he’s at Virginia Tech. That area of the country, he understands very well. He knows the high school players and knows all about that area.

“I think it’s a perfect fit, and the SEC is not built for everybody. James has been in the SEC with Vanderbilt and won 8-9 games so he could be successful, but I just think he feels like it’s a better fit for he and his family in Blacksburg. And quite frankly, I can’t wait to see James Franklin in the tunnel when they play ‘Enter Sandman.'”

Since 2012, Virginia Tech has posted just one 10-win season (2016). Prior to that, the program totaled eight consecutive 10-win campaigns from 2004-2011. On the flip side, Franklin has led his programs to six 10-win seasons since 2012, with three nine-win seasons as well. The program, which is thirsty for success in a weakened Atlantic Coast Conference, took a big swing and won big with the hire.