James Franklin to Make Decision on Taking ACC Job in Coming Days

Franklin was fired earlier this season during his 12th year at Penn State.

James Franklin was fired by Penn State earlier this season after upset losses to UCLA and Northwestern. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

James Franklin was expected to compete for a national title with Penn State this year, but his season quickly turned sour and after an overtime loss to Oregon snowballed into back-to-back massive upsets at the hands of UCLA and Northwestern, he was dismissed.

The firing was one of the first seismic moves of what promises to be the wildest coaching carousel in modern history, and as a result, Franklin is a prime candidate to immediately land another prominent head coaching job, even after how his 2025 turned out. The program that has been most closely connected to Franklin early on in the hiring season: Virginia Tech, which fired Brent Pry (a longtime Franklin assistant in Happy Valley) after an 0–3 start to the season.

Franklin is 128–60 as head coach, with a 104–45 record at Penn State with one Big Ten title. He led the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff semifinal last season, falling to Notre Dame 27–24.

FREE. SI College Football Newsletter. Get SI's College Football Newsletter. dark

According to multiple reports, Franklin and Virginia Tech have been engaged in discussions and the two sides are heading towards a decision in the coming days.

The basic read on James Franklin and Virginia Tech: after serious discussions over a considerable period of time, Tech is pushing for an answer from its clear top target. We should see if the Hokies get him or move on to Plan B relatively soon.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) November 15, 2025

During College GameDay Saturday morning, ESPN’s Pete Thamel confirmed that Virginia Tech is still running a full search and engaged with other targets, should Franklin opt against taking the job with the Hokies.

James Franklin and Virginia Tech are engaged in the early stages of talks about him becoming the football program's next head coach, per @PeteThamel. pic.twitter.com/qbCkHnWSgC

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 15, 2025

Virginia Tech would be one of the country’s best job openings most years, but this year the Hokies have to compete with top SEC jobs like Auburn, Florida and LSU, as well as UCLA in the Big Ten and Oklahoma State in the Big 12, with the possibility of more to come. If Franklin, who had a very successful run in the SEC at Vanderbilt, believes he can land a top-flight job, it makes sense that he may hold out and the Hokies may not want to wait on him much longer.

If not, Franklin—a former Maryland assistant with deep ties to the mid-Atlantic Region—could be a very strong fit with the Hokies.

---

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s new college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.

feed