A month after he was fired by Penn State, James Franklin has found another gig, becoming the next head coach at Virginia Tech, the school announced Monday.
Franklin, 53, boasts a 128-60 record over 15 seasons at the helm of Penn State and Vanderbilt. He took the Nittany Lions to the 2024 College Football Playoff and won the 2016 Big Ten championship.
However, Franklin was dismissed on Oct. 12 after Penn State — No. 2 in the AP preseason poll — lost 22-21 to visiting Northwestern and fell to 3-3 on the season and 0-3 in the Big Ten. Terry Smith was named interim coach and is 1-3 since Franklin was let go.
Yet Franklin’s 104 wins in 12 seasons at Penn State were second-most in school history, and he is one of just three active FBS coaches with a winning percentage at 68% or higher over the past 14 seasons.
“James Franklin embodies the spirit, vision, and relentless pursuit of excellence that will elevate Virginia Tech Football back on the national stage where it belongs,” director of athletics Whit Babcock said. “This is a landmark moment for our program — made possible by the unwavering commitment of our Board of Visitors, the Search Committee, University leadership, and donors, who share a bold ‘Invest to Win’ mindset.
“James is a dynamic leader, a relentless recruiter, and a coach who has proven he can build and sustain elite, championship-caliber programs. We are thrilled to welcome him and his family to Blacksburg and to entrust him with the future of VT Football.”
Franklin succeeds Brent Pry, his former defensive coordinator at Penn State, who went 0-3 this season and 16-24 over four seasons with the Hokies.
To help entice potential coaches to come to Blacksburg, Va., the Hokies’ Board of Visitors passed a plan designed to add $229 million to the athletics budget over the next four years following Fry’s dismissal.
Meanwhile, Penn State, which initially owed Franklin $49 million for his contract, is expected to now only pay Franklin a lump sum of $9 million due to offset language in his contract, according to multiple reports (including CBS and NBC).
Franklin presided over back-to-back nine-win seasons in rocketing the Vanderbilt program to unexpected highs to begin his career in 2011-13.
Arriving in Happy Valley in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal in 2014, Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl appearance as the program worked to resurrect its reputation.
Franklin’s main difficulty at the helm of the Nittany Lions was winning the big game, as he finished 4-21 against AP Top 10 opponents. He guided the program to six double-digit win seasons, including three straight from 2022-24.
Virginia Tech last won 10 games in 2016. Frank Beamer led the Hokies to 10 or more wins in each season from 2004-11.
Franklin, who served as an assistant at Maryland and James Madison, heavily recruited the I-95 corridor while at Penn State, including the DMV area — a major recruitment area for Virginia Tech.
–Field Level Media
