Penn State fired James Franklin on Oct. 12, a day after a loss to Northwestern dropped the Nittany Lions to 3-3 and just nine months after the program’s first College Football Playoff berth.
In the five weeks since, several of the Nittany Lions’ rumored coaching targets — Texas A&M Mike Elko, Indiana‘s Curt Cignetti, and Nebraska‘s Matt Rhule — have all signed lucrative extensions to stay put.
On Monday, Franklin landed at Virginia Tech, where local and national media instantly celebrated his hire. Franklin and the Hokies are already trending with multiple big recruits, including several from Penn State’s 2026 class.
Did Penn State pull the trigger on Franklin too soon? Was his exit inevitable? And is there growing concern inside the program about how the coaching search is unfolding? Team insiders share the latest sentiment from Happy Valley.