Stephen A. Smith reacts to Virginia Tech hiring James Franklin as next head coach

Former Penn State coach James Franklin wasn’t in the unemployment line long after agreeing to become Virginia Tech‘s head football coach on Monday, just five weeks after his Oct. 12 firing. Franklin joins the Hokies following a complicated 12-year tenure in which he went 104-45 with the Nittany Lions.

Reaction to Franklin’s move to the ACC came quick, including from ESPN firebrand Stephen A. Smith, who gave it an apathetic shoulder shrug on Tuesday’s First Take on ESPN.

“Eh, he was just at Penn State, you know what I mean? Penn State, Virginia Tech. A little different, you know what I’m saying. I’m happy the man is employed. Just because of what happened to him at Penn State in the end, that doesn’t mean that by and large he hasn’t been a damn good coach,” Smith said on Tuesday morning’s First Take. “(Franklin) couldn’t win the big game. Alright, you can’t be in the Big Ten (if) you can’t beat Ohio State, can’t beat Michigan, going 3-17 against the both of them. Can’t do that. Going 1-10 against Ohio State, can’t do that. That’s absolutely true.

“And this year, stuff nosedived because of the money they threw into the program, and you got the defensive coordinator from Ohio State and (made him) the highest paid coordinator in the game. You’ve got to win. You’ve got to win. You got them to spend that money (in) NIL and the transfer portal, you’ve got to win. And he didn’t do that. But in the same breath, I’m looking at it and no shade on Virginia Tech, but I mean, when you think about the powerhouses in college football, you know, it’s a little different. It’s not a bad thing. James Franklin, his credentials, his resume says he deserves it. And there is the 12-team Playoff now, so obviously you can be in the picture. I get it.

“I just, because of what just happened at Penn State, … I could be wrong, but you almost find yourself saying, ‘Dang, you got what is it, a $49 million buyout? $49 million, and Penn State stunk. Could you take a year off for $49 million?'” Smith concluded. “I’m just looking at it like, and I’m going, ‘Yo, could you take some time off? Could you take a breather?’ But who am I to say somebody shouldn’t take a job opportunity if the opportunity was available to them? And I guess, it’s not like (he) was going to get an even bigger opportunity after what happened at Penn State. It just didn’t knock me off my socks.”

As Smith suggests, Franklin was fired mostly due to his inability to win the big game, particularly against fellow Big Ten powers Ohio State and Michigan. But Franklin’s issues went beyond just the Big Ten. Penn State was just 4-21 against AP Top-10 teams during Franklin’s tenure in Happy Valley.

And when the Nittany Lions opened Big Ten play this season with a three-game losing streak, beginning with a disappointing 30-24 home loss to Oregon, Penn State fans had enough of Franklin. That included “Fire Franklin” chants at the end of the Oct. 11 loss to Northwestern. The next day, Franklin was let go.

Franklin replaces Brent Pry, his former Penn State defensive coordinator, who went 16–24 in four seasons. Frank Beamer built Virginia Tech up to a destination job in the ACC, winning seven league titles and playing for a national title in 2000. But the Hokies have not played for an ACC championship since 2016.

— On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.