Former Penn State football head coach James Franklin was fired midway through the 2025 season due to a 0-3 start in the Big Ten despite having one of college football's best rosters in the preseason.
While he fell short of expectations, Franklin remains a solid program builder, as proven by his tenure with the blue and white. He brought the Nittany Lions back from the ashes of the scandals that set the program back decades.
Franklin navigated the storm during this time, and while his reputation in State College remains plagued by his record in ranked games, he solidified himself as a top coach for whatever right program is.
There are clear coaching gigs that could entice the former Penn State boss, given the opportunity, as it would allow him to find success like he did at times in Happy Valley and at Vanderbilt. So where would the head coach fit best? What ceiling does he provide that would exceed another program's expectations?
Wisconsin is having a tough season, It is on par with the Nittany Lions as one of four winless teams in Big Ten play. Head coach Luke Fickell seems to be on the chopping block after a 15-19 record with the Badgers.
If Fickell is fired, which is likely given the number of coaches nixed from their programs midseason so far, Wisconsin presents Franklin with a great opportunity. It wouldn't be a significant step down, he remains in the Big Ten, and it can enable him to create his own legacy without being in anyone's shadow.
Also, having the opportunity to avenge the Nittany Lions might be a bittersweet factor in convincing him to join the Badgers. Franklin could be the one to boost morale at Camp Randall and thrive on the great fan energy in Madison just as he did in Happy Valley.
While this is the lone team on the list to have found success this season, there is reason to believe that a reunion for the Commodores and Franklin could still happen.
Vanderbilt is currently led by coach Clark Lea, who once attended and played fullback for the team, but now he's brought them to 7-2 on the season and an AP ranking while at the helm.
There's little reason to believe that Lea would want to leave Vanderbilt, but with so many high-profile teams looking for coaching this offseason, it's almost guaranteed that he will be fielding calls from them, potentially even from Penn State.
If Lea decided to take a job at a school like LSU, Florida, Auburn, or even Penn State, Vanderbilt might just swap with the Nittany Lions.
There's likely to be at least one established coach to depart for a Power Four job. Franklin should be a top candidate for whatever school has a newfound vacancy. He already proved that he can go deep into the college football playoff.
Suppose Vanderbilt isn't one of those schools where a bigger program takes its coach. In that scenario, other possible teams with coaches who might consider calling Franklin if they face a similar situation include Georgia Tech, Louisville, or Missouri, where he would join forces with former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula.
For Franklin, this move makes total sense for pride and prestige. For the Hokies, it presents an opportunity to take a big swing for the future.
Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry after a 0-3 start to this season, as he already faced criticism for consecutive 6-6 seasons.
Pry worked with Franklin at Vanderbilt and then at Penn State before joining the Hokies in 2022. He was also the outside linebacker coach at East Stroudsburg when Franklin was the quarterback.
The Hokies demonstrated their openness to hiring from the Commonwealth. Franklin could be an immediate upgrade with ties to the previous coaching staff. This is significant because since Pry worked under Franklin for most of his career, they probably share similar philosophies, which Virginia Tech aimed to promote with Pry's hiring.
Franklin could bring this ethos to Blacksburg, where he can build the program by leveraging the East Coast recruiting pipelines he has already used successfully at Happy Valley.
The program has a successful history under former coach Frank Beamer, and this reputation might attract Franklin to Virginia Tech, as he can bring them back to prominence, as he did at Penn State.