Penn State fires Franklin amid 3-game skid

Penn State has fired longtime head coach James Franklin, the school announced Sunday.

Franklin's buyout is more than $48 million, according to On3's Pete Nakos. He was under contract through the 2031 season after signing a 10-year extension in '21.

The 53-year-old built a competitive team after joining Penn State in 2014. He leaves the program with a 104-45 record highlighted by a Big Ten title in 2016. The Nittany Lions, who began this year's campaign as the nation's second-ranked team, made the College Football Playoff last season and beat SMU and Boise State before losing to Notre Dame in the semifinal.

Franklin's Nittany Lions notably fell short in their biggest games, going 4-21 against top-10 opponents under his watch. The team started the 2025 campaign 3-0 but has since lost three in a row.

"Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to coach Franklin, who rebuilt our football program into a national power, Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft said in a statement. "He won a Big Ten championship, led us to seven New Year's Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. However, we hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships."

Penn State's losing streak began against top-10 foe Oregon at home. Franklin's outfit followed that by dropping its matchup with then-winless UCLA and most recently falling to Northwestern 22-21 on Saturday. The Nittany Lions also lost quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending injury versus the Wildcats.

Associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as Penn State's interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The team will visit Iowa next in Week 8.