What James Franklin said on ‘College GameDay:’ about getting fired from Penn State, what’s next originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
ESPN’s “College GameDay” was live from Athens, Ga. ahead of No. 9 Georgia’s game against No. 5 Ole Miss on Saturday. The guest picker was country music star JellyRoll, but it did have another interesting guest—former Penn State head coach James Franklin.
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Less than a week after he got fired from Penn State following the Nittany Lions’ losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern, Franklin appeared on the ESPN flagship college football pregame show.
Here’s everything Franklin said on “GameDay,” including what might be next for the longtime head coach.
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How James Franklin found out he was getting fired
Franklin said that at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon after his team practiced, Penn State AD Pat Kraft came into his office and told him “we’re going to make a change, I’m sorry” and Franklin said he let his kids know what happened first before having a “super emotional team meeting” with his players.
He added that walking away from his players and recruits and the “tough conversations” he had to have with them was the hardest part about the process.
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Franklin added that although one of his daughters, a senior in high school, planned to go to Penn State, but those plans have now changed.
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James Franklin wants to coach again
There has been some speculation as to whether or not Franklin, who is set to receive a $50 million buyout from Penn State, will step away from coaching or try his hand at something like broadcasting. Franklin is 53 years old. Franklin made it clear he wants to win a national championship somewhere.
With current vacancies like UCLA, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Oklahoma State and potential openings like Florida or UNC coming in the near future, Franklin is a likely candidate for all of them.
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Nick Saban defends Franklin’s record
One panelist on the show that staunchly defended Franklin was former Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Franklin was asked if his firing was fair, which Franklin responded that it’s not up to him as to whether or not it’s far.
Saban said he didn’t think it was fair, given Franklin bringing his teams to Rose and Fiesta Bowls, in addition to a College Football Semifinal berth:
Herbstreit asked Franklin “how did this happen,” which Franklin couldn’t really answer.
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“To think essentially six games ago we were fighting for a chance to be in the national championship,” Franklin said, referencing last years Playoff semifinal vs. Notre Dame. “A two-minute drive away. So that’s the thing I really can’t answer that Kirk. Twelve years a ton of good moments, a bunch of big wins, but decisions were made, I’m not involved in those decisions. “
Credit to Franklin for having the tough conversations with the panel shortly after getting fired. We’ll see if a team wants to hire him as their new coach—there are plenty of teams that would like to have multiple double-digit win seasons. Franklin had six of them in Happy Valley.
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