Penn State decided to change coaches amid a terrible midseason streak. Even with a huge buyout, the Nittany Lions parted ways with former head coach James Franklin.
While there is no debate that the results weren't reaching even the bare minimum of standards in Happy Valley, there is still debate over whether Penn State can replace Franklin, and upgrade from him at that. There are questions as to whether this decision to fire him will pan out in the way the Nittany Lions hope long-term.
Franklin's Penn State teams continued faltering in big games. However, he is also the reason why the Nittany Lions soared upward as a top program. Franklin brought competitiveness back to a team going through a harsh rebuild. He put together numerous double digit win records, but that ultimately wasn't enough as athletic director Pat Kraft wants even more from this team almost 12 years later.
At first, his ceiling was enough given the tough times the program went through. Being one play away from making the College Football Playoff Championship Game is huge. There's no justification in him not sustaining that, though. Franklin's teams consistently brought in top players and transfers. Not beating top-ranked teams throughout his tenure and not capitalizing on a supposed "all-in" 2025 season is enough now to give him the boot.
Power Ranking Penn State’s head coaching candidates after Week 10
That just means the next head coach has a lot to live up to. The question is: Is there a clear coaching upgrade for Penn State?
The answer is no. At least when considering the number of big-name coaches who were wiped off the table. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule (not that Rhule was necessarily an upgrade from Franklin to begin with) signed extensions with their respective teams. Others unlikely to leave their teams are Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman and Texas A&M's Mike Elko.
While names get crossed off the list, there has yet to be a breakthrough in exactly who seems to be the best fit for the Nittany Lions. After Cignetti and Rhule, especially, there's no one candidate that stands out as almost a given top choice. In fact, there isn't one impressive candidate who seems like they would leave their current team.
This is a sobering reality for Penn State. With more jobs opening and more candidates staying true to their school, the search only gets tougher for the blue and white.
After what is soon to be an offseason of hiring craze, schools will eventually find their future head coaches. It isn't certain if they will all be perfect fits, and that includes the Nittany Lions.
Coach-hungry teams, particularly those with high standards for their next hire, might find themselves in positions where they have to settle for a less established candidate. Some may even have to employ a boss who was just fired from their school, like Franklin. The difference between Franklin and other coaches, though, is that Franklin's ceiling is very high.
Franklin is the perfect fit for schools below Penn State. A lot of candidates will be. So who exactly is the perfect fit for the Nittany Lions? Who is an upgrade from Franklin that isn't a pipe dream?
Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, and Penn State couldn't have predicted that its coaching search would become this difficult. There is a real situation that might come to fruition where the Nittany Lions take a chance on a less established head coach than Franklin was. Now it's about who to take that gamble on.