After losing their third straight game, the Penn State Nittany Lions had to make a change. Losing to Oregon, UCLA, and Northwestern in three straight games was unacceptable. James Franklin ended up being the fall guy for the brutal season the program has had.
Entering the 2025 college football season, Penn State was expected to be a top-tier national championship contender. Last season, the Nittany Lions were one of the top four teams in the country. Falling off so aggressively immediately brought up the rumors about a head coaching change.
Franklin is officially out and Penn State will begin searching for a new head coach. However, the future of Franklin is also a storyline worth keeping a very close eye on.
Read more: Penn State Could Replace James Franklin With Big Ten Head Coach
Looking around the nation, there are quite a few programs who are making coaching changes. There are also a lot of teams who could opt to make a change by the end of the season.
Keeping that in mind, Franklin has already been connected to a top SEC team as a potential landing spot.
Billy Napier is on an extremely hot seat with the Florida Gators. Similarly to the Nittany Lions, the Gators have been unable to take the expected next step under Napier. That seems likely to lead to a change.
Should Florida make the decision to move on from Napier, could Franklin become a target for the program?
As shared by Chris Hummer of CBS Sports, one agent has already brought that possibility up.
“There’s no way he goes to Florida, right?” the agent questioned.
Hummer also weighed in with his thoughts about the potential option for the Gators to land Franklin. He thinks the move would make a lot of sense.
“Franklin is exactly the type of head coach Florida should consider,” Hummer wrote. “He’s the ultimate floor-raiser. Vanderbilt has only two nine-win seasons post 1915. Both came under Franklin’s direction, and he did in just three seasons with the Commodores. For all of Penn State’s advantages, it lagged Ohio State and Michigan in terms of resources for most of Franklin’s tenure. That wouldn’t be the case at a Florida, a program that invests at an annual national championship level. Given Franklin the type of talent that’s already present on Florida’s roster, and the Gators will instantly be in the SEC conversation, a place they haven’t been in at least half a decade.”
Read more: Former Ohio State HC Urban Meyer Linked to Big Ten Coaching Job
Since taking over as Penn State’s head coach back in 2014, Franklin led the program to a 104-45 record and went 64-36 in Big Ten conference play. Overall, his record was a success, but he had trouble beating top teams throughout his entire tenure.
Florida bringing Franklin in would be an immediate step in the right direction from Napier. Would he be the guy that could take the Gators back to being a national championship contender? That would be the major question.
Whether it’s Florida or another high-profile school, Franklin shouldn’t be without a job for long. He’s a highly respected head coach that simply had shortcomings that couldn’t be overlooked with the Nittany Lions. It will be interesting to see where he lands.
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