Virginia Tech, James Franklin nearing deal to make him Hokies' football coach
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The first college football coach opening appears to have filled.
According to multiplereports, including ESPN's Pete Thamel, fired Penn State football coach James Franklin is finalizing an agreement to become the new head coach at Virginia Tech. He will replace Brent Pry in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Franklin was fired by Penn State on Oct. 12 after the Nittany Lions dropped three consecutive games to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern. The Nittany Lions entered the 2025 college football season as the No. 3 team in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll and were considered national championship contenders after bringing back several of their offensive players.
Franklin 104-45 overall in 12 seasons in Happy Valley and led the program to its first trip to the College Football Playoff berth last season. One area where Franklin struggled with at Penn State was against top-10 ranked opponents, as the Nittany Lions went 4-20 against top-10 ranked opponents under him.
Virginia Tech was the first Power Four program to make a head coaching change in 2025, parting ways with Pry after an 0-3 start to the season. Pry went 16-24 at Virginia Tech after being hired away from his defensive coordinator position at Penn State in 2021, where he worked for Franklin.
This story will be updated
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: James Franklin to Virginia Tech: Hokies hire former Penn State coach
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