Penn State announced they were moving on from coach James Franklin on Sunday, sending seismic shockwaves across the college football world.
Franklin, who was six games into his 12th season with the Nittany Lions, had just suffered his third straight loss this season against Northwestern and his second straight one as a 20-point favorite. Penn State entered the 2025 season ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25, and the team had national championship aspirations following a campaign that bitterly ended with a 26-23 loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff.
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Franklin hadn't lost to an unranked team since 2021 prior to this season, and the team's latest string of losses naturally drew some scrutiny. When asked whether he still wanted to be the coach for Penn State during Saturday night's press conference, Franklin responded with a strong quote about his "commitment" to his players.
"I love those kids," Franklin said. "I am committed to those players in that locker room, and I've been that way for 12 years, I've been that way for 15 years of my head coaching career, and I've been that way for 30 years. That won't change. That won't change. It's always been about the players for me. ... That's what it's all about for me. My commitment is to the guys in that locker room and all the guys that have been in that locker room in the past. That's where my commitment is."
Tonight I asked James Franklin if he still wants to be the head coach for Penn State Football & if he has confidence in this group to turn it around after the Nittany Lions lost their third game in a row. pic.twitter.com/aTayc1sDXb
— Allie Berube (@allieberube) October 12, 2025
"For me, it's always been about our players," Franklin said. "Those guys are hurting right now. And the fans are frustrated, and I get it. I totally get it. .. But to me, ultimately it's about the guys, the guys in the locker room, and they're hurting in there. I'd do anything I could to take that hurt away from them, but like I told them, we gotta stick together, we gotta tune out all the noise, and we gotta get to work."
Franklin, 53, signed a 10-year contract extension in 2021 that would have run through the 2031 season. Penn State reportedly owes Franklin a buyout of roughly $50 million after firing him.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as James Franklin’s ‘Committed’ Quote About His Job Recirculates After Stunning Firing.
