Former Penn State football coach James Franklin to lead Virginia Tech, reports say

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It took James Franklin just more than a month — barely time for his former Penn State football team to win a game without him — to land a new head coaching job.

Franklin is finalizing a deal to take over the Virginia Tech program, according to multiple national reports, including ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He’ll fill a vacancy left by his longtime friend and former defensive coordinator.

It’s been a most unexpected series of events that led to Franklin becoming the head coach of the Hokies just six weeks after he was fired at Penn State.

Virginia Tech started the season with three defeats, prompting the dismissal of its head coach, Brent Pry, in September. (Pry was Franklin’s longtime assistant and defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt and Penn State).

Of course, Penn State was in the midst of its own unexpected struggles, too. Once the Lions lost three straight games of their own, caving under national championship expectations, Franklin was fired Oct. 12.

Since, the Lions lost three more times before finally breaking through at Michigan State on Saturday. That snapped the team’s longest losing streak in 21 years.

Franklin, 53, appears to be a big score for Virginia Tech, which has struggled in recent years in the ACC. The Hokies are 3-7 this fall and have just two winning seasons and a 44-53 record since 2018.

Franklin should be well-suited for the 370-mile coaching move from State College to Blacksburg, Virginia. He should continue to thrive recruiting the talent-rich Delaware-Maryland-Virginia areas and figures to attract some transfers from Penn State — players he brought to the program in recent years.

The Penn State football career of James Franklin

Certainly, Franklin is known for program-building, recruiting and consistent winning, especially against opponents he is expected to beat. He was 100-45 record in 12 seasons at Penn State, which included a Big Ten championship in 2016, three New Year’s Six bowl victories and two playoff wins.

He is tied with Rip Engle for the second-most head coaching victories at Penn State, behind Joe Paterno’s major college football record 409.

He led the Lions to the College Football Playoff semifinals last January and appeared to have his best team yet entering 2025, starting the season ranked No. 2. His Lions won their first three non-conference games before losing to Top 10 Oregon in double overtime in a Beaver Stadium White Out.

Then, the team appeared to suddenly collapse, losing as a huge favorite at UCLA and against Northwestern on homecoming, culminating with starting quarterback Drew Allar breaking his ankle.

Franklin was fired the following day.

“I thought we were going to win a national championship there, we were close,” he said about his 12 seasons with Penn State football during a mid-October ESPN interview. “That goal hasn’t changed. We’re just going to go win a national championship somewhere else now.”

The firing also is unexpected and intriguing because of this: Franklin was reportedly due nearly $50 million in buyout money if he was fired this year, according to Penn State’s latest public contract details.

It’s uncertain what university officials actually paid to let Franklin go. The sides could have negotiated a more inexpensive parting of ways, especially coming in the middle of a season.

Franklin was criticized most harshly for his Penn State teams rarely ever winning marquee match-ups. They were just 15-29 against ranked opponents — and a desultory 4-21 against Top 10 teams.

Nonetheless, he seemed adamant about coaching again as soon as possible. He said this during that mid-October ESPN interview, previewing his next job:

“I don’t know anything else, I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I don’t have hobbies, I don’t golf, I don’t fish. This has been such a big part of my identity, such a big part of my family, we love it. So it’s take a deep breath … then it’s, ‘Hey, we got to get back to doing what we do, which is help young people achieve their dreams …

“I can’t wait for that next challenge, and we’re going to go win a national championship at the highest level.”

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at  fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Virginia Tech to hire former Penn State football coach James Franklin

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