As of Sunday, October 11th, 2025, James Franklin is no longer the head coach for the Penn State football team. In his place, Terry Smith, who was originally his associate assistant coach, will take on the head coach role.
Franklin was fired in less than 24 hours following the team’s 22-21 loss against Northwestern, destroying Penn State’s hope for the playoffs.
Many people originally were speculating that the firing had to do with the current 3 game losing streak Penn State is on. They had lost at the White Out, their biggest game of the season against Oregon, then UCLA, and most recently Northwestern.
Fans were also saying that the team’s inability to beat the major BIG10 teams was a big reason.
The Penn State athletic director, Pat Kraft, however has said that he let Franklin go mainly for the future of the program. In an interview with Fox Sports, Kraft had said, “how do I give my student-athletes the best chance to win, how do I continue to build this to a place where we are the best program in the country? That’s the motivation.”
Fans however are questioning the timeline of all these events. Franklin had all the money, endless possibilities with his back pocket full of transfer players, and everyone’s support going into this 2025 season. So why would the athletic director all of sudden decide he wasn’t enough for the program?
Franklin had signed another 10 year contract in 2021, causing the college to owe him over 50 million dollars in his buyout.
Although there was a struggle to win against major BIG10 teams, Franklin had managed to pull the Penn State football team out of a funk and brought them back to their original glory. He managed to gain a 128-60 record for the 12 seasons he had with them.
Ultimately, there were a multitude of reasons for Franklin’s termination. Whether it’s for the future of the program or because he couldn’t beat the big teams he needed to beat, it’s safe to say he’s going to be missed by the Penn State football program and their millions of fans.
