Penn State fired James Franklin, headlining a chaotic weekend across College Football as the playoff race and coaching carousel heat up.
Penn State has officially parted ways with head coach James Franklin following the program’s third straight loss. A stunning yet perhaps inevitable move given the mounting frustration in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions entered the season with College Football Playoff aspirations but have stumbled into mediocrity, leaving fans asking one question: what’s next?
Franklin’s tenure will be remembered for consistency but not closure. He restored Penn State’s relevance in the Big Ten, posting multiple 10-win seasons and a 2016 conference championship. Yet, his inability to win the biggest games, particularly against Ohio State and Michigan, ultimately defined his ceiling. After another late-season collapse, the administration decided it was time for a new era in State College.
Now the coaching carousel begins. Several intriguing names are already circulating as potential replacements. I’ve compiled a short list of top candidates Penn State should target, each offering a unique path forward for the program.
But here’s the caution I offer to Penn State fans: be careful what you wish for. Change feels exciting, but stability in college football is rare and valuable. Franklin elevated the program from the post-Sandusky rebuild into perennial Top 15 contention. Finding someone who can take Penn State from very good to elite is a monumental task and far from guaranteed.
Honestly, this is a massive moment for Penn State Football. The program stands at a crossroads: it can either become Nebraska after Bo Pelini, Florida after Dan Mullen, or Auburn after Gus Malzahn or it can rise like Oregon with Dan Lanning and Georgia with Kirby Smart.
You can’t fire a coach who delivers 10 wins a year just to end up with less. The only way to justify this move is by finding someone who can make 9 wins the floor and consistently beat Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, and the SEC’s best. That’s the hire you make: the coach who elevates your ceiling without collapsing your foundation.
Look at the track record: Nebraska has only reached 9 wins once since firing Pelini in 2016. Florida hasn’t hit that mark since moving on from Mullen. Auburn hasn’t even posted a winning record since Malzahn’s exit. The grass isn’t always greener but it can be if you find the right guy.
Beyond State College, Week 7 delivered chaos across the college football landscape. Alabama and Georgia both survived gritty road tests, showing the championship DNA that’s defined their dynasties. Ohio State and Indiana earned huge road wins, proving they are legitimate contenders.
Meanwhile, USC finally notched a signature home victory over Michigan, perhaps quieting doubts about the Trojans’ toughness under Lincoln Riley. And in the Red River Rivalry, Texas rebounded in dominant fashion against Oklahoma, reasserting itself as a legitimate threat.
The College Football world is spinning fast, and Penn State just joined the storm. The next hire in Happy Valley will shape not just the program’s future, but potentially the entire Big Ten landscape as conference realignment, NIL battles, and the expanded Playoff converge.
For now, Nittany Nation waits, hopeful that the next era brings the one thing James Franklin never could: a path to national glory.
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Blake Biscardi, a native of Pickerington, Ohio, is The Silver Bulletin’s Senior Editor and the Creator & Host of the Saturday Cadence podcast, a national college football show. As a trusted voice on Ohio State, the Big Ten, and College Football Playoff since 2016, Biscardi is a proud member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and a two-time Graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia.