What's the latest on Razorbacks coaching search involving Franklin?

Fired Penn State coach James Franklin will certainly be a top candidate for Power Four job openings across the country.

With his former program looking for a new head man alongside Florida, LSU, Arkansas, UCLA and Oklahoma State the candidate pool for quality coaches is only so deep.

That means the market cost for a coach will be higher than ever which will force schools to overpay.

For Arkansas, its dream of landing James Franklin shouldn’t be out of reason being in the SEC, but according to multiple sources say the Razorbacks are further down his list of interest as conference affiliation doesn't matter.

Of course Franklin is represented by Creative Artists Agency, also known as Jimmy Sexton, who has an extensive list of clients among coaches and athletic directors.

"[James] Franklin definitely wants to coach again, sooner than later," One source tells Arkansas Razorbacks on SI. "He hasn't been linked to Arkansas by anyone i trust or find reliable.

The source also tells us Franklin is very interested in Virginia Tech's opening after firing his former assistant Brent Pry after three games into his fourth season at the helm.

Should Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith decide to up and leave East Lansing and move back out west at an opening such as UCLA, then Franklin might have interest in the sputtering Spartans' program.

Former Penn State Nittany Lions coach James Franklin stands on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

There are potentially other ACC jobs bound to open over the next month alongside Virginia Tech's as Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Boston College and potentially North Carolina State. Stanford is currently open at the moment as the school parted ways with Troy Taylor before the 2025 season began.

Multiple programs across the country, including Arkansas, could end up hiring coaches who have been fired at their latest institution, which is a decision boosters must live with moving forward.

Even tenured Georgia coach Kirby Smart had comments about the coaching carousel beginning earlier each year.

"It's the world we live in," Smart said. "At this time in the middle of the season, I think there's so much built around the playoffs. It's like everything is boom or bust, and you can't have a normal season."

The Razorbacks fired coach Sam Pittman following a no-show performance at home against Notre Dame, which capped his tenure with an overall record at 32-24 (14-29 SEC).

Pittman served as offensive line coach at Georgia before taking the Arkansas job following the ouster of Chad Morris, who won just 4-18 in nearly two seasons as coach from 2018-2019.

Kirby Smart on LSU firing Brian Kelly:

"There's so much built around the Playoffs, everything's boom or bust."

"I coached at LSU, guy once told me, 'That office you are in. That's not your office. You are borrowing it.'

"I knew right then, if you didn't win, you wouldn't be… pic.twitter.com/ny6zzepa28
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 27, 2025

For the Razorbacks, the candidate pool isn't deep for what many fans would call "big name" or "big time" coaches at this point in the search.

There have been reports of athletics director Hunter Yurachek interviewing various coordinators for the job, but head coaches aren't usually going to speak with school's until closer to the end of the season unless they're fired before then such as Franklin's situation.

• Ryan Silverfield, Memphis
• Rhett Lashlee, SMU
• Dan Mullen, UNLV
• Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
• Jeff Brohm, Louisville
• Jon Gruden, Raiders
• Deion Sanders, Colorado

Other sitting coaches to keep tabs on to be considered in the Razorbacks' search later this month include Alex Golesh (USF), Matt Campbell (Iowa State), PJ Fleck (Minnesota) and Jon Sumrall (Tulane).

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