Marcus Freeman reacts to James Franklin firing

Less than a year ago, Marcus Freeman and James Franklin were coaching head-to-head in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Freeman’s Notre Dame would win that game. Now, Franklin is out of a job, having been fired by the Penn State Nittany Lions.

It was a move that sent shockwaves throughout college football. Now, with a little bit of time to reflect on the news, Freeman has shared his reaction to the firing.

“Let’s start with James Franklin,” Marcus Freeman said. “Again, I have a lot of respect for any coach, but what he’s done for college football has been tremendous. You never want to see somebody fired.”

For Marcus Freeman, his thoughts go beyond James Franklin, though. They also extend to his staff. After all, that is a group that is going to be turned over by the coaching change too. Oftentimes, those are also people who are less secure financially than the head coach and are now going to need to find a new job and move their families.

“As a head coach, right — I’m a head coach — you’re going to be okay, right? You’re gonna be okay. You feel awful for the people that come and join you that are going to be out of a job too. There’s a lot of people affected, a lot of families affected. Like if Pete [Bevacqua] said, ‘Marcus, you’re gone’ tomorrow, it stinks cause I love what I do, and I love coaching these young people,” Freeman said. “But I’m going to be okay. But you feel awful for the people that have joined your program, and their families that don’t have a job at the end of the year. That’s what’s challenging about that.”

James Franklin got to Penn State in 2014. At the time, the program was dealing with massive sanctions and facing some amount of a rebuild. He successfully did rebuild that program, going 104-45 there and finishing with six double-digit win seasons and five finishes in the AP Top-10. However, the narrative was long that he couldn’t win the proverbial big game, and it crashed down by losing three straight games in a year the Nittany Lions expected to compete for a national championship.

That all crashed down a season removed from winning two College Football Playoff games and coming up just one score shy of getting past Notre Dame to play for a national championship. That quick collapse, ultimately, is a reminder to Marcus Freeman that he needs to avoid getting comfortable.

“And it’s a reminder to — listen, don’t ever get too comfortable. I mean, you’re just in the college football semi-finals last year,” Freeman said. “And had a heck of a team. I don’t know what’s going on with Penn State. I don’t watch any of their games, and you lose three, and that’s it. So, it’s a challenging profession. It’s a reminder to be grateful for the opportunities you have. But again, each administration will make their own — Penn State made their own decision and every administration makes decisions based off what they think’s important.”

Penn State will pay James Franklin a buyout of around $48 million. However, if he gets a new job, Penn State will only need to pay the difference on his $8 million salary. On top of that, his contract requires that he at least try to find a job in coaching or broadcasting. So, Franklin could be back in coaching very soon.