The 2025 season is in ashes. The program is burning. Let’s breakdown what happened in State College…

Reality One: This wasn’t an overreaction to losing three straight or two in a row as 20+ point favorites. These were the stakes set for the 2025 season since the final whistle against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Frankin… at a minimum… needed to reach the College Football Playoff Semifinal or stack up multiple wins against elite opponents along the way to keep his job. Penn State didn’t all-of-a-sudden panic and fire the program’s second winningest coach on a whim. This was several years in the making. Franklin had to win big games this season or he was out. The three losses sealed Penn State’s elimination from playoff contention and the opportunity to win big games went with it, so Franklin was shown the door.

Reality Two: I’ve heard so many national media folks ask the question… Why did Penn State have to do it now? First, you have to understand Reality One. If Franklin didn’t win multiple big games this season, he was going to be out. The season ended Saturday. There were no games left with meaningful playoff implications for Penn State. Franklin didn’t live up to his end of the bargain, so why even give him a chance to beat Ohio State or Indiana in a meaningless situation and claim it as a big win while fighting to stay employed. From Athletic Director Pat Kraft’s perspective, you can’t. Franklin didn’t win the big games. He hadn’t beaten Ohio State since 2016. He failed time and time again. He failed again this year against Oregon and then let his team collapse. Recruits were jumping ship. The bleeding had to stop. It had to happen now.

Reality Three: Franklin is not a victim here. He spent several years criticizing Penn State for being behind the times and not giving him all the tools needed to compete for a National Championship. Franklin was correct in this assessment of the program, by the way. Penn State obliged and gave Franklin everything he asked for and more over the past few seasons. He had the big budget; he had the NIL money to keep his rosters intact, he was given the expensive, big-name coordinators to elevate the team. And still Franklin failed when it mattered most. Franklin wasn’t exactly a loyal servant either. Several times he leveraged other job-openings for a raise, which is totally normal in college football, but for some to pretend that Franklin “didn’t deserve” the axe forget that this is a business. Franklin treated it as such and sealed that massive buyout back in 2021. He even asked for another extension this past offseason.

Reality Four: Franklin brought Penn State back to national relevance. Bill O’Brien brought the program back from the dumps, but Franklin returned it to prominence. It’s unquestionable that Franklin left the football program better than he found it. In fact, due to his high demands and criticism of the athletic department, the entire university is in a better place thanks to James Franklin. Franklin is public enemy number one right now, but hopefully as time passes and wounds heal, Franklin will be welcomed and remembered as a great program builder who made Penn State what is it today. Yes, he got an insane amount of money when fired, and yes, he never really won the big games, but I think it’s safe to say Penn State got more from Franklin than we gave him.

Reality Five: Firing a coach off a College Football Playoff Semifinal appearance is insane. No, it’s not. Yes, Franklin and Penn State cannot be blamed for how the schedule broke their way, but you’d have to be an idiot to pretend like Penn State beat anyone of note on their road to the Orange Bowl a season ago. SMU and Boise State are not elite programs. Not even close. Penn State avoided Oregon, Texas, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson and Tennessee. They also lost to Ohio State in the regular season and Oregon in the Big Ten Championship. Again, zero big time wins. This had been the trend year in and year out. Winning ten games most years is nice but those wins don’t matter as much if you’re always stuck below the summit. It could not continue.

Reality Six: Oregon broke James Franklin. Franklin poured all he could into this season. He got the most expensive defensive coordinator. He got many of his best players to forgo the draft and return. He went to the transfer portal for big play receivers. He even got the biggest game on his schedule into the prime time white out slot. It all broke right for Franklin and Oregon still won. Franklin had nothing left. You could see it on his face after the UCLA loss. He no longer had the resolve of a fighter determined to get it right. He made excuse after excuse. The season was still very much alive but Franklin had nothing left to give. He was done. It was over. Northwestern was a mercy kill.

Reality Seven: This will be a tough one for Penn State fans, but moving on from Franklin isn’t a guaranteed upgrade. Franklin was a poor game day coach but he was an elite recruiter and a great program director. Newer isn’t always better, just ask Florida or Auburn or Michigan (before Jim Harbaugh) or Texas A&M (before Mike Elko) or Miami (before Mario Cristobal) or Florida State or Wisconsin. There are no guaranteed upgrades. There’s a 50/50 chance Penn State goes backward and we’re right back here in two or three years.

Reality Eight: Penn State isn’t Alabama or Michigan. It’s an appealing job, but not a premiere job. The job is good enough where just about any coach will take the call, but it’s not so good that any coach will leave where he’s at to come to Happy Valley. The reality of Penn State is you’re the ugly stepchild of the Big Ten. You’re never going to out-recruit Ohio State and Michigan or even Oregon, and probably not USC most seasons. While we think of ourselves as in the ranks of the Texas’, Alabama’s, Geogia’s and Ohio State’s, they think of us with the Iowa’s, Auburn’s and Missouri’s.

Reality Nine: It was the right move. It was time. Hope is definitely more enjoyable than a resignation to fail under the brightest lights. However, disaster is out there. Pat Kraft has the pulse of the fan base and his standard is the moon. Let’s hope he lands us there.