Franklin “Had to Go…” Here’s Why We Needed Him to Stay

[bbrown]

Compared to acc they look like that. Have they beaten anyone?

Have we?

 

[NitFan89]

2 years. He didn’t make it 2025. That is with 12.i Like how you avoided the 4 team ZERO playoff part:

Nobody outside of Ohio state made the 4 team playoff from the big ten. Although I still think we should have made it when we won the big ten championship in 2016. Ohio state was not the better team that year.

 

[SkiSkiSki]

Tell that to all the haters suffering from Franklin Derangement Syndrome who continue to trash him constantly on this site a year after he was fired. Hypocrisy at its finest dude.

You have got that covered. Me, I am sick of hearing about him. He is D-E-A-D. Dead. F him.

 

[NitFan89]

With Franklin the problem was Franklin. Now the problem is money

I think the problem was money and still is money.

 

[bbrown]

I think the problem was money and still is money.

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

Yet Franklin was vilified when Krafty The Clown handicapped him with the same empty promises and broken commitments (all while negotiating himself a sweetheart 8-Year ironclad guaranteed contract worth $18 million)???? The FDS idiots are so naive and ignorant it's pathetic.

 

[Lion84]

Franklin's record at PSU 104-45. Campbell brings excellence at the highest level? Are we on the right track?
Or experiencing a train wreck?

You are on the wrong track and lost - VT message board is where you need to be to drool over your hero BGJ - he is gone and not coming back no matter what happens at PSU so time to move on for you and bond with your brethren Hokies.

 

[DandyDonII]

I had two big problems with Franklin, one was off the field and one was on the field. Off the field, that guy was never happy with his contract and was always itching for more. A little humility regarding how much money he was making would have probably gone a long way with good will during a very bad stretch. On the field, it drove me crazy that we were running an offense that would maximize a mobile QB when we didn't have a mobile QB.

People forget how quickly Franklin made us competitive despite inheriting a sanction riddled roster. Hell, OSU had to cheat to beat him in year one, damn i miss those days.

You can argue whether franklin should have been fired or not, but what can't be logically argued is that Franklin should have never been fired at that point in the season. It did PSU absolutely no good. And the outcome of that was pretty easy to see, that we would spend multiple seasons being absolute dog #$#.

I have no idea if Campbell will succeed, but I hated the hire,

 

[Lion84]

Franklin had Beaver Stadium sold out and setting attendance records. After the few games this season and seeing what a dolt Campbell is, expect to see A LOT of empty seats Barry. Empty seats = less $ to dear old state.

So you think we will need yellow tarps to cover 99% of the stadium you you need in your rent a stadium when you draw 5 fans a game - idiot.

 

[Chumboshifko1]

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

So you think we will need yellow tarps to cover 99% of the stadium you you need in your rent a stadium when you draw 5 fans a game - idiot.

Your statement verifies you're an idiot. So much so, you earned an ignore. Congratulations!

 

[razpsu]

Nobody outside of Ohio state made the 4 team playoff from the big ten. Although I still think we should have made it when we won the big ten championship in 2016. Ohio state was not the better team that year.

Michigan on the phone.

 

[NitFan89]

Michigan on the phone.

Yep and both of those teams PSU had to play on a regular basis in the same division. He’s being touted as a failure because he couldn’t get past two teams that each won national championships.

 

[razpsu]

Yep and both of those teams PSU had to play on a regular basis in the same division. He’s being touted as a failure because he couldn’t get past two teams that each won national championships.

lol. You said only osu, make up your mind. You have to beat the best to be the best!!

 

[barry j fenchak]

Nobody outside of Ohio state made the 4 team playoff from the big ten. Although I still think we should have made it when we won the big ten championship in 2016. Ohio state was not the better team that year.

Do you guys even watch football except for PSU?

Guess I was imagining Michigan State getting in one year.

 

[Mufasa94]

…Also, PSU has only played the weakest teams in the conference.

This ignorant statement deserves a bump since you ignored Erial Lion’s reply to you in post #59, yet proceeded to make multiple other posts afterwards.

 

[Steelers1]

Introduction


I was in Dublin in 2014 when Sam Ficken kicked that last-second field goal against UCF. After the scandal, sanctions, uncertainty, and years of wondering whether Penn State would ever feel like Penn State again, that moment meant everything to me.


Those players preserved something bigger than themselves. Christian Hackenberg had already helped restore hope, and Franklin’s first game was another step toward normalcy. That’s where my admiration began. Twelve years later, too many fans forget how far he brought us.


Thesis


Firing James Franklin wasn’t a necessary step toward greatness. It was a risky dismantling of a successful program because too many fans confused wanting a national championship with being entitled to one.


I wanted championships, too. But I also valued what we actually had: a respected coach, NFL-caliber talent, national relevance, and the expectation of competing almost every Saturday. Franklin built a foundation that could have supported another decade of success. Penn State discarded it without demonstrating that a better alternative existed.


1. Look at the actual record—not just the losses that hurt


Franklin went 104–45, won the 2016 Big Ten championship, produced multiple 11-win seasons, won major bowl games, and took Penn State to the 2024 College Football Playoff semifinal. That 2024 team finished 13–3, one close loss to Notre Dame away from playing for a national title.


Was he perfect? Of course not. His record against Ohio State and Michigan was a legitimate weakness. Losing to UCLA and Northwestern in 2025 was unacceptable. Those criticisms deserve honest discussion.


But why do those losses erase everything else? How many programs would have traded places with us? How many coaches could have done more? Being consistently excellent without winning the final game is disappointing. It is not the same as failing.


2. Our expectations have become detached from our history


Penn State claims two modern national championships: 1982 and 1986. Joe Paterno became head coach in 1966 and didn’t win his first until his 17th season. Nobody would suggest the eras are identical, but patience was once part of this program’s identity.


We seem to remember Paterno’s championships while forgetting all the seasons when even tremendous Penn State teams fell short. Franklin spent just over 11 seasons rebuilding and then sustaining a national program in a far more commercial, rapidly changing sport.


We were so busy wanting to be Ohio State that we forgot to appreciate being Penn State.


3. Recruiting was a strength, not an afterthought


Think about the players we got to cheer for: Saquon Barkley, Micah Parsons, Pat Freiermuth, Joey Porter Jr., Jaquan Brisker, Abdul Carter, Tyler Warren, and many more. Watch the NFL on Sunday and you’ll regularly see the talent that came through Happy Valley during Franklin’s tenure.


Recruiting means convincing families, building relationships, and making players believe. Franklin had presence, confidence, and credibility. He could walk into a living room and make Penn State feel like somewhere a young star belonged.


That kind of recruiting infrastructure doesn’t automatically survive a coaching change.


4. Winning now requires more than just a good coach


College football has changed. NIL, revenue sharing, the portal, and roster retention are part of the competition. Penn State’s earlier spending figures are disputed, and Franklin himself acknowledged the university went “all-in” for 2025. That makes the collapse fair game for criticism. But a stronger one-year budget doesn’t instantly repair years of roster-building differences.


Franklin kept trying to improve the staff. Joe Moorhead helped transform the offense before leaving for a head-coaching job. Franklin later pursued other accomplished offensive minds, including Andy Kotelnicki. And in 2025 he hired Jim Knowles, the coordinator of Ohio State’s national-championship defense.


Not every hire worked. But bringing in Knowles is evidence of a coach trying to win, not one who had stopped caring.


5. The 2025 collapse was real. It still didn’t justify a panic firing.


I won’t sugarcoat 2025. The Oregon loss was brutal. UCLA and Northwestern were worse. Franklin deserved accountability for those performances, his big-game record, and any questionable roster decisions.


But some criticisms go beyond analysis into character assassination. Where is the evidence that Franklin “quit” on his team? Was it a frustrated press conference? A sideline expression? A losing streak? Those are not proof that a man who devoted more than a decade to this program stopped wanting to win.


Drew Allar’s season-ending injury came during the Northwestern game, so it does not excuse the losses leading up to it. But it does illustrate how quickly an already difficult season can unravel. Losing key contributors and installing a new defensive scheme added complexity—not an automatic excuse, but context worth considering.


And here’s something critics overlook: Knowles’s complex defense can take two seasons or more for players to fully master. Look at Ohio State. Its defense improved significantly in his second season and became truly dominant in his third, when it won the national championship. Penn State was only in Year One of implementing that system in 2025. Franklin had hired one of the country’s best defensive coordinators, yet fans expected immediate perfection from a system that takes time to develop. Instead of allowing that investment to mature, we fired the coach who made it.


A bad stretch should have triggered an evaluation of what needed fixing. Instead, it triggered the destruction of the whole operation.


6. The cost of firing him was never just a buyout


Firing a head coach in October doesn’t merely remove one employee. It destabilizes recruiting relationships, risks transfers, disrupts staff continuity, and tells every prospective player that the program is entering uncertainty.


Franklin had already demonstrated he could recruit, win double-digit games, build staffs, and reach the semifinal. Those are difficult things to replace. Even if a new coach eventually succeeds, you sacrifice years of momentum getting there.


And why not let him finish the season? He deserved a more professional exit, and the program a less chaotic transition.


7. What exactly have we gained?


I wish Matt Campbell well. He knows football, and I hope he wins. But replacing Franklin with Campbell did not establish a higher ceiling just because Campbell was new.


As of October 19, Penn State is 3–4 and 0–4 in the Big Ten. That’s not a complete verdict on Campbell, who inherited a difficult transition. But it is a vivid reminder that sustained success is not guaranteed, and that the replacement deserves to be judged by the same standards used to condemn his predecessor.


Can Campbell recruit at Franklin’s level? Can he sustain 10- and 11-win seasons? Can he make deep playoff runs? Can he restore the momentum lost in the transition—and do it without substantially greater spending?


I genuinely want those answers to be yes. But what evidence did we have when Franklin was fired that the next coach would produce better results?


Meanwhile, a possible expansion of the playoff to 24 teams could make regular postseason appearances more attainable. That possibility makes it even harder for me to understand abandoning a coach who had already reached the semifinal.


8. There was more to Franklin than a spreadsheet


I loved his daring calls, even when they drove me crazy. I loved his confidence, his willingness to gamble, his pride in the program, and the players he brought here. Some decisions were a hair away from brilliance; others failed spectacularly. But he made Saturdays exciting.


I could hear “Seven Nation Army,” “Zombie Nation,” or “Mo Bamba” at the gym and immediately think about Beaver Stadium. I was proud enough of Penn State to make friends and family watch games with me—even people who couldn’t care less about football.


Franklin made me believe we’d show up, compete, and usually win. That feeling isn’t trivial. It’s part of what being a fan means.


I once imagined he’d stay for decades, the way Paterno did, and perhaps eventually bring us a national title. He had years left to build. I thought loyalty and sustained success meant something here.


Conclusion


The popular refrain is, “I liked Franklin, but it was time for him to go.”


Why? What does “it was time” actually prove? Where was the demonstrable recruiting advantage, tactical upgrade, or financial commitment that made firing a winner a smart bet?


To anyone who insists Franklin couldn’t win a national title: you’re entitled to that opinion. But you are not entitled to treat winning one as a routine expectation at a school whose last championship came in 1986. Nor can you dismiss 104 wins, a Big Ten title, NFL stars, and a playoff semifinal as though they were failures.


Maybe Campbell will eventually surpass him. If he does, I’ll cheer as loudly as anyone. But hope is not a strategy, and change is not automatically progress.


I didn’t need Penn State to be Alabama or Ohio State to love Penn State. I loved what we were: a nationally relevant program that clawed its way back from a dark chapter, played meaningful games, recruited extraordinary athletes, and gave us reason to believe every fall.


Franklin helped build that. The fan base should have demanded improvement within that foundation before applauding its demolition.


We may discover that the hardest part wasn’t reaching Franklin’s ceiling. It was realizing how high his floor really was.

Amen!!!! This is perfect

 

[Steelers1]

Nice thesis.
Va tech and franklin will have 4-5 losses this year in the weak acc.
I have landed my plane.
View attachment 1493735

And we will have 5 or 6 losses to an even weaker schedule with more resources and more tradition. There's a strong chance we will not have played a ranked opponent by years end, And will be lucky to be bowl eligible.

 

[Steelers1]

Franklin had a lot of 4th collapses . CMC is on an accelerated pace to catch up to BGJ.

I don't think CMC will have enough leads in games to blow many of them

 

[Chumboshifko1]

This ignorant statement deserves a bump since you ignored Erial Lion’s reply to you in post #59, yet proceeded to make multiple other posts afterwards.

2323 uses his other personalities to try and avoid his stupidity.

 

[Marshall2323]

Yes, it is.

Irrelevant. Penn State hired Matt Campbell based on his coaching accomplishments at ISU in the Big Twelve. His record for 10 years in conference was 50-40. Please tell me what that would translate to in the Big Ten. It's precious that the BWICAC members who sold CMC cool aid are now reduced to hoping that Virginia Tech loses (already won 2 games more than last year) to somehow spin that into a success for the dumpster fire that is PSU Football. LOL
"We lost but it's okay because Virginia Tech did too?" = "Excellence at the highest level?"

 

[Marshall2323]

Obviously

Go mighty Cylions, beat Purdue, Maryland and Rutgers

 

[Marshall2323]

Ok, straight up VT plays PSU on Sat. Who wins?

I don't know who wins to be 100% honest. VT has no defense and PSU has no offense. My guess is the home team -1.5

 

[Marshall2323]

FACT CHECK

We've played 4 Big Ten games so far. Here is where SP+ and Sagarin rate those teams in the conference (probably two of the best publicly available tools for rating team strength)...

USC - 5th in both
Michigan - 8th in both
Northwestern - 9th in Sagarin, 10th in SP+
Wisconsin - 9th in SP+, 10th in Sagarin

So, in a conference with 17 other teams, we've yet to play one of the 7 weakest teams in the conference.

The truth is that we've yet to play one of the weakest teams in the conference...while also being true that we won't play any of the strongest teams in the conference. And note that all 5 of the remaining games are against teams in the bottom 7 (Washington being the strongest of those as they are 11th/12th).

So since PSU has lost to every one of them. Where does that put us? Oh Oh I know. Last place.
Who has the easiest schedule in the Big Ten? Second easiest schedule in the conference?
What other Big Ten team doesn't play Ohio State, Indiana or Oregon?

 

[Marshall2323]

How long was the 12 team playoff in place? Oh that’s right 1 year. He made it to the playoffs the first year it was implemented.

Don't confuse him with the facts. He's busy organizing the parade for when PSU makes the 24 team playoff. That will be excellence at the highest level.

 

[Chumboshifko1]

Go mighty Cylions, beat Purdue, Maryland and Rutgers

 

[Marshall2323]

You and several other fanboys have ensured that Franklin's tenure will not be forgotten soon. It is fun to watch you chase your tail in defending him. He got what he deserved when the fans turned on him. One thing to lose your job, another to be publicly humiliated and openly hated by thousands. Karma is a *****.

Karma= James Franklin contract= 5 years 41.75 million fully guaranteed, plus 9 million buyout from PSU.
10 million per year average annual compensation for 5 years. We "showed" em.

 

[Marshall2323]

Two

Let’s get Howard back first let him get going. Then In bowl game we crush them

Unless he opts out.

 

[Chumboshifko1]

Karma= James Franklin contract= 5 years 41.75 million fully guaranteed, plus 9 million buyout from PSU.
10 million per year average annual compensation for 5 years. We "showed" em.

Obsessed .

 

[Marshall2323]

I don't think CMC will have enough leads in games to blow many of them

Well he did provide us with 2 out of the 4 games he's coached. More impressive is the uptick in in game coaching, second half adjustments and time management,

 

[Marshall2323]

2323 uses his other personalities to try and avoid his stupidity.

2323 uses his other personalities to try and avoid his stupidity.

and every one of them sees PSU in a long-term tailspin. 
Excellence at the highest level?

 

[Chumboshifko1]

and every one of them sees PSU in a long-term tailspin. 
Excellence at the highest level?

 

[PSUHarry]

Franklin's record at PSU 104-45. Campbell brings excellence at the highest level? Are we on the right track?
Or experiencing a train wreck?

I know, like, we are gonna be tired of winning soon.

 

[PSUHarry]

Line would be pretty close...most likely PSU a small favorite on a neutral.

Maybe we will get a chance in the Pinstripe Bowl?

 

[Wilbury]

Irrelevant. Penn State hired Matt Campbell based on his coaching accomplishments at ISU in the Big Twelve. His record for 10 years in conference was 50-40. Please tell me what that would translate to in the Big Ten. It's precious that the BWICAC members who sold CMC cool aid are now reduced to hoping that Virginia Tech loses (already won 2 games more than last year) to somehow spin that into a success for the dumpster fire that is PSU Football. LOL
"We lost but it's okay because Virginia Tech did too?" = "Excellence at the highest level?"

And you hire Bob Chesney because of his records at Assumption, Holy Cross and 2 years at ODU? Or Sitake who's 90-45 (including this year) at BYU where he lives in a bubble and can largely avoid the NIL issues that dominate college football at the highest level?

It's all a shot in the dark, but hey, it's fun to second guess and try to position yourself as an expert after the fact.

 

[Erial_Lion]

Irrelevant. Penn State hired Matt Campbell based on his coaching accomplishments at ISU in the Big Twelve. His record for 10 years in conference was 50-40. Please tell me what that would translate to in the Big Ten. It's precious that the BWICAC members who sold CMC cool aid are now reduced to hoping that Virginia Tech loses (already won 2 games more than last year) to somehow spin that into a success for the dumpster fire that is PSU Football. LOL
"We lost but it's okay because Virginia Tech did too?" = "Excellence at the highest level?"

James Franklin had a losing record in the SEC when we hired him, and yet he had a really good resume. Winning at places like Vanderbilt and Iowa State needs to be viewed through a different lense. You know that, but for whatever reason you’ve now gone off the deep end like a jilted girlfriend.

And I’m personally rooting for VT.

 

[Erial_Lion]

So since PSU has lost to every one of them. Where does that put us? Oh Oh I know. Last place.
Who has the easiest schedule in the Big Ten? Second easiest schedule in the conference?
What other Big Ten team doesn't play Ohio State, Indiana or Oregon?

 

[dcf4psu]

Nice thesis.
Va tech and franklin will have 4-5 losses this year in the weak acc.
I have landed my plane.
View attachment 1493735

With plenty of former Penn State players!

 

[dcf4psu]

True. You forgot that Va Tech won 3 games last year. When the season is over, which fanbase will have reason for optimism when considering the future. I think we both know.

How long did it take in his VTech tenure to take a tough loss and exacerbate it with an inexplicable loss? At one point I thought he had gotten over that hump at PSU but he ended up doing himself one better last year taking a tough loss, exacerbate it it with an inexplicable loss and then taking the inexplicable loss and exacerbating it with a 2nd straight inexplicable loss. He was the one who could have lessened the blow for this by not doubling down on the pre-season hype.

 

[PSUFBFAN]

And would have made it in probably 5 or 6 of the prior 10 years he coached had it been a 12-Team Format rather than 4 (he did make the CFP Controlled Bowls those prior years which define the current 12-Team Format). Meanwhile, the Format has been expanded to 24 and Campbell & Co. aren't even sniffing competitiveness for a 24-Team Format with zero visibility as to if we ever will again! That is how far Krafty The Clown has downgraded this franchise - the most laughable part is, is that he is paying Campbell and the Roster MORE $$$ than Franklin and his teams were ever paid! Not just uncompetitive, but Krafty The Clown PAID UP to make us uncompetitive - it's just laughable that anyone would defend this utter $***show and trainwreck.

Not just uncompetitive, but Krafty The Clown PAID UP to make us uncompetitive

That's actually one of the best lines I've ever seen on this board. It is so true!