James Franklin's New Job Would Have Major Implications for Penn State

Franklin reportedly will become Virginia Tech's next head coach. That would impact the future of Penn State football.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin exits the team bus prior to the game against the Nevada Wolf Pack at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

This story was updated Nov. 17.

James Franklin's five weeks of unemployment are ending. According to multiple reports, the former Penn State football coach will become the next head coach at Virginia Tech.

At Virginia Tech, Franklin would take over a program that has had two winning seasons since 2018. He also would replace his former defensive coordinator, Brent Pry, who was fired in his fourth season as Virginia Tech's head coach.

Penn State fired Franklin on Oct. 12 after a 3-3 start that included three straight Big Ten losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern. The Nittany Lions lost those games by a combined total of 12 points, including a double-overtime loss to Oregon, but had far greater ambitions for the season.

"Football is our backbone," Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft said at an Oct. 13 press conference. "We have invested at the highest level. With that comes high expectations. Ultimately, I believe a new leader can help us win a national championship, and now is the right time for this change."

Virginia Tech's decision would affect Penn State in positive and potentially negative ways. As Penn State continues searching for its new coach, here's a look at how Franklin going to Virginia Tech would impact his previous institution.

RELATED: How long should Penn State wait to hire a football coach?

Penn State would pay Franklin less buyout money

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

By firing Franklin in October, Penn State triggered buyout language in his contract that would have paid him $48 million plus the remainder of his $8 million guaranteed salary in 2025. While Penn State remains on the hook for the 2025 salary, the buyout would have been substantially reduced if Franklin is at Virginia Tech next season.

However, Penn State already has negotiated a buyout of the remainder of Franklin's contract. According to Jon Sauber of the Centre Daily Times, Penn State will pay Franklin "roughly $9 million" as part of an agreement. That differs substantially from what might have occurred.

According to Franklin's contract, obtained by Front Office Sports, Penn State's buyout payments would have been mitigated by any salary he makes at his next job in football. Which means that Penn State would have paif only the difference between Franklin's guaranteed $8 million salary at Penn State and his new salary at Virginia Tech.

That would have represented a huge savings over the total buyout or even mitigate it entirely. Franklin signed a 10-year contract at Penn State in 2021 worth a guaranteed $8 million (plus incentives) annually.

Franklin would target Penn State players in the transfer portal

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks off the field following the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Franklin would begin (and probably already is considering) populating his first roster with players familiar to him. Current Nittany Lions have been hearing from other programs about potentially transferring since Franklin was fired. A good number of Penn State players could choose to join Franklin in Blacksburg.

Franklin built strong relationships with his players and their families, which would transfer easily to Virginia Tech. The university also indicated that its next football coach would be better resourced to build a roster.

In September, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved $229 million of new investment in athletics over the next four years. The plan, according to a news release, is meant to position Virginia Tech "to compete with top athletic programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference."

The plan includes funding for a new football "front office" to manage recruiting and development and more resources to attract and retain coaches. If Franklin can build a budget for revenue sharing and NIL, he would be able to import multiple players from Penn State. Franklin used the transfer portal strategically at Penn State but would be required to take a much deeper step in building his first Virginia Tech roster.

Further, Franklin likely will bring in a large cohort of his staff, some of whom have been working with him since their days at Vanderbilt. Atop that list is strength coach Chuck Losey, who said this summer that. "James Franklin is my guy. I don’t want to work for anybody else in this profession."

James Franklin becomes a recruiting foe

Penn State football coach James Franklin greets recruits and their families following the 2025 Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Franklin and his staff recruited over Virginia Tech in the DMV, consistently pulling top players from the region to Penn State. With Franklin and more resources in place, Virginia Tech would become a formidable recruiting presence in the region.

As merely an example, some of Penn State's top players this year are from Virginia, including running back Kaytron Allen, linebackers Amare Campbell and Tony Rojas and offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh. And that's just Virginia. Franklin has significant recruiting pipelines to Maryland and Delaware as well.

Penn State's 2026 recruiting class already is looking elsewhere. Seven former commits have committed to other schools, while others would begin looking at Virginia Tech if Franklin's hiring becomes official this week.

On ESPN's College GameDay, Pat McAfee noted the recruiting surge Franklin would bring to Virginia Tech, and Nick Saban seemed thrilled at the potential hire.

"This would be a great hire for Virginia Tech," Saban said. "They would get a class guy and a class coach who who would be very successful, I'm sure."

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