End of an Era: James Franklin Out as Penn State Head Coach
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After a 12-year tenure in Happy Valley, Penn State will officially be turning the page on the James Franklin era after firing him following three consecutive losses on the season.
Franklin was fired on Sunday, just hours after Penn State suffered a 22-21 loss to Northwestern, a team that it was favored to beat by three scores. Under Franklin this year, the Nittany Lions sit 15th in the Big Ten with the 70th-ranked total offense in the country and 27th in total defense.
He leaves with an overall record of 104-45, tying him for the second-winningest coach in Penn State football history. Of course, Franklin was notorious for coming up short in bigger games, as he went 4-21 against teams ranked in the top 10 during his tenure.
“Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to coach Franklin, who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” said Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft 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.”
Assistant coach Terry Smith will take over as the Nittany Lions’ interim head coach, per the school. Smith has been a member of the programs’ coaching staff since 2014 where he started as a defensive recruiting coordinator and cornerback coach.
Smith is originally from Aliquippa and also lived in Monroeville, where he starred at quarterback for Gateway and led the Gators to back-to-back WPIAL championships in 1985 and 1986.
When Franklin was asked during postgame media if he felt that staying in Happy Valley was the best move for his career amid Penn State’s collapse, he deflected the question but had this to say in place.
“I take full responsibility for what’s happened tonight,” Franklin said. “I take full responsibility for what’s happened this season and I’m committed to the guys in that locker room.”
There were also problems off the field. Pine-Richland star receiver Khalil Taylor was part of a mass exodus of recruits in the Class of 2026, as he announced Friday he had decommited from Penn State. After news of Franklin’s firing Sunday, McKeesport star running back Kemon Spell followed suit.
In his time at Penn State, Franklin racked up 104 wins with the Nittany Lions — a mark that ties with Rip Engle and trails only Joe Paterno (409). He’s led Penn State to five 11-plus win seasons in his time with the program, a Big Ten championship in 2016 and most recently, led Penn State to its first College Football Playoffs in program history in 2024.
Despite being fired, Penn State will still have Franklin on its payroll for the foreseeable future, owing him over $49 million dollars, according to an ESPN report.
“Penn State football is an integral part of our University and is an important part of the lives of our millions of fans, community members and alumni around the world,” Kraft said in the statement. “We have the best college football fans in America, a rich tradition of excellence, significant investments in our program, compete in the best conference in college sports and have a state-of-the-art renovated stadium on the horizon. I am confident in our future and in our ability to attract elite candidates to lead our program.”
Kraft and Smith will hold a press conference Monday at noon.
Marist Liufau Involved in Pregame Skirmish With Panthers Staff
The action is underway for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6. The team is on the road with hopes of winning their second straight game of the season against the Carolina Panthers.
Many probably wouldn't expect things to get chippy between these two teams; however, comments made by former Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle earlier this week may have changed that.
Dowdle mentioned that the Cowboys' defense may want to "buckle up" for this game, and it appears the unit heard those comments.
Before the game, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reported that Cowboys linebacker Marist Liufau got into a dust-up with someone on the staff with the Panthers.
According to Watkins' tweet, Cowboys offensive lineman Brock Hoffman was also involved in the pregame scuffle.
It may have just been a little moment to get the juices flowing prior to kickoff. During pregame workouts, Dowdle was greeted by some former teammates in moments that appeared to be all love.
However, things are different after the game begins. Dowdle is no longer a member of the Cowboys, and it appears this defense wants to set the tone earlier.
Game Update
After a solid opening drive by the Panthers, the Cowboys used the bend-don't-break mentality to hold Carolina to a field goal.
