James Franklin breaks silence on Penn State firing, reacts to decision

James Franklin broke his silence following his firing at Penn State and revealed his reaction to the decision from AD Pat Kraft. Franklin was let go after nearly 12 years at the helm following a 22-21 loss to Northwestern, dropping the Nittany Lions to a 3-3 record.

Penn State was a drive away from the national championship game last year, but the team seemed to have imploded in recent weeks. Despite a lot of success, it wasn’t enough for Franklin to keep his job through the 2025 season.

But he opened up and was very honest about the entire situation over the course of the last week. He joined College GameDay Saturday to explain the “surreal” feeling.

“We were a Sunday practice team … and we have a team meeting at 1:45,” Franklin said. “About 1:30 the AD walked in and said, ‘we’re going to make a change. I’m sorry.’ I was in shock, obviously, really took the next 15 minutes to let my kids know so they wouldn’t find out on the internet. And then walked down and had a super emotional meeting with the team to tell them I was leaving, it really, that was it. It was that quick, obviously, pretty much in shock as that was going on.”

Franklin was then asked if he was treated fairly during his time and ultimately during Kraft’s decision. He left that up for other people to decide and debate.

“Well, fair is not for me to decide, right,” Franklin said. “That’s for other people to decide. A decision was made that was hard for me to comprehend at the time. But what I want to do is I want to focus on all the unbelievable moments. I had a great run there, 12 years. Penn State is good to me and my family. Most importantly, it’s about the players. 

“I’m a player’s coach. I always have been, so that’s the hardest part, is walking away from all those young men in that locker room, the recruits that were committed to us, a lot of tough conversations. So that’s the challenge. It’s the people at the end of the day, the coaches, the staff, their families, the kids. What I don’t think people realize is how many people this affects a ton of people. That’s where my heart breaks.”

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.