$41.7 million head coach predicted to lead unexpected program to 10-win season

A coach at a Power Four college football program has been predicted to guide it to a 10-win season.

Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin during the press conference at Cassell Coliseum. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

The 2025-2026 college football coaching carousel was one of the busiest on record. In the Power Four level, close to 20 different programs underwent coaching changes from late September into late December of 2025.

One of the earlier decisions to part ways with a head coach came from Penn State. The Nittany Lions decided to move on from head coach James Franklin following a three-game skid to open Big Ten play in 2025.

Penn State hired Franklin away from Vanderbilt in the 2014 offseason. The Commodores were coming off one of their better runs in program history at that point, stacking consecutive nine-win seasons in 2012 and 2013.

Franklin inherited a Penn State program that had been marred by NCAA sanctions from the end of the Joe Paterno era. The Nittany Lions' rise under Franklin was not immediate, but an 11-win season highlighted by a Big Ten Championship victory in 2016 catapulted Penn State back into national relevance.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin stands on the field following the game against the Northwestern Wildcats | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

2016 was one of six seasons the Nittany Lions won 10 or more games in Franklin's tenure in State College. All of Franklin's success made him an attractive candidate for the multitude of openings in the 2025-2026 coaching carousel.

Virginia Tech made the decision to hire Franklin in November 2025. The Hokies were ahead of the curve in the cycle, firing head coach Brent Pry on Sept. 14 so they could decide upon their next move. Franklin actually hired Pry back to Virginia Tech as his defensive coordinator; Pry worked under Franklin at Penn State for eight seasons prior to taking the head coaching job at Virginia Tech.

Since the ACC is a relatively open conference in football, there is a strong belief that Franklin can make the Hokies prominent again. Cody Nagel of CBS Sports released a list of bold predictions for each team in fellow CBS college football reporter Brandon Marcello's way-too-early top 25.

Virginia Tech was listed at No. 24 in the rankings, and Nagel's prediction was that Franklin would lead the Hokies to their first 10-win season since 2016.

"James Franklin arrives in Blacksburg with a chance to awaken a sleeping giant. The pieces are already in place for Virginia Tech to start fast, and the ACC schedule offers real opportunity for early momentum," Nagel wrote. "If the Hokies stack wins in September and October, 10 victories suddenly feel attainable."

Old Dominion is the only team Virginia Tech faces in September that had a winning record in 2025. Maryland and Boston College are both on the road, but both programs are trending toward parting ways with coaches in 2026.

The Hokies will face teams that were closer to the middle of the ACC pack in 2025 in Pittsburgh, California, Georgia Tech and Clemson, the Panthers and Yellow Jackets being the best of the group. Three of the four teams on Virginia Tech's November schedule finished atop the 2025 ACC standings in SMU (second), Miami (third) and Virginia (first).

Bud Foster, Frank Beamer and James Franklin after the press conference at Cassell Coliseum. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images