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James Franklin set to become major college program's next HC after Penn State firing

Joe Cox|
Penn State coach James Franklin is heading to his next job, per recent reports
Penn State coach James Franklin is heading to his next job, per recent reports | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

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Virginia Tech Hokies

Unemployment did not last long for vanquished Penn State coach James Franklin. Fired from the Nittany Lions in October, Franklin reportedly has his next job already in line in November. Pete Thamel is now reporting that Franklin is finalizing an agreement with Virginia Tech to become the next head coach of the Hokies.

Tech's vacancy

Tech parted ways with fourth year coach Brent Pry earlier this fall. Pry was just 16-24 at Tech. Former Memphis coach Justin Fuente likewise struggled there, putting up a 43-31 mark. Tech climbed the college football mountain under the leadership of Frank Beamer, who was the head coach at the school from 1987 to 2015. Under Beamer, Tech climbed from an irrelevant team without a conference to a team with eight top 10 national finishes.

Franklin's resume

Meanwhile, Franklin has been doing similar acts of massive improvement at Vanderbilt and Penn State. Franklin went 24-15 at Vanderbilt and in winning nine games in 2012 and 2013, set a new program standard for excellence. At Penn State, Franklin won 104 games, including five top 10 national finishes in 11 full seasons. But he won just one Big Ten title and never led State beyond the College Football Playoff semifinals.

While various figures were quoted in regard to Franklin's potential Penn State buyout, consensus generally pegged the total around $50 million. (Pete Nakos has subsequently reported that Franklin and Penn State reached a settlement for $9 million). Franklin had been linked to several major coaching jobs, but had been frequently cited as the favorite in the Virginia Tech search.

Tech's reported other candidates

For their part, Tech had reportedly considered other candidates including Bob Chesney of James Madison and Jon Sumrall of Tulane. But in picking off the first major coaching hire of the 2025 cycle, Virginia Tech has found their new coach and stayed ahead of the rest of the field. Franklin is 53 years old and spent a season in Virginia as the wide receviers coach at James Madison in 1997.

Beamer
Franklin will seek to return Virginia Tech to an era similar to its glory days under former coach Frank Beamer. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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