Penn State coach James Franklin is staring down his first autumn Saturday of unemployment in decades—but it appears he intends to make the most of it.
Franklin will supply ESPN with his first interview since his Sunday firing on Saturday's episode of College GameDay, the network announced Friday morning.
The Nittany Lions dismissed Franklin, 53, on Sunday after Penn State lost 22–21 to Northwestern Saturday. That followed a shocking loss to a poor UCLA team, which itself followed a double-overtime loss to Oregon.
Franklin went 104–45 in 12 years coaching the Nittany Lions, and nearly led Penn State to the national championship in 2024; his team beat SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff and Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl before an Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame. He also spent three years at Vanderbilt, where he went 24–15.
Had Franklin stuck around and won one more game, he would've passed Rip Engle to become the program's second-winningest coach behind Joe Paterno.
The Nittany Lions—now without quarterback Drew Allar after a season-ending injury against the Wildcats—visit Iowa Saturday evening. After a bye week, Penn State is scheduled to visit No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 1.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 'College GameDay' Teases Exclusive Interview With James Franklin After Firing.
