Franklin: We'll win title 'somewhere else' after Penn State firing
It won't be with Penn State, but James Franklin still has aspirations on winning college football's biggest prize less than a week after being fired as the Nittany Lions head coach.
"I thought we were going to win a national championship there," Franklin said Saturday, according to ESPN's Jake Trotter. "We were close. That goal hasn't changed. We're just going to go win a national championship somewhere else now."
Penn State parted ways with Franklin after a stunning 0-3 start in Big Ten play. He revealed that he was "in shock" following his dismissal last weekend on the heels of back-to-back losses as massive favorites to UCLA and Northwestern. Athletic director Pat Kraft informed the coach that he was being fired prior to a team meeting last Sunday.
Franklin established a 104-45 record after coaching Penn State from 2014 to 2025. The 53-year-old guided the program to six double-digit win campaigns across 11 seasons.
The Nittany Lions entered the 2025 season with heightened expectations after making it to the College Football Playoff semifinal last season. Penn State began 2025 ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press' Top 25 preseason rankings. Yet, the team fell slightly after an overtime loss to Oregon on Sept. 27 before plummeting out entirely with the losses to the Bruins and Wildcats.
A major point of criticism during Franklin's tenure at Penn State was his 4-21 record against top-10 opponents, but he previously had won 34 straight games against unranked opponents. That ended with the UCLA and Northwestern setbacks.
Franklin is owed $49 million from his buyout, the second largest in college football history behind Texas A&M's $75-million payout to Jimbo Fisher.
Despite his unceremonious exit from Penn State, Franklin is seeking another opportunity as soon as possible.
"I don't know anything else," Franklin said. "I've been doing this for 30 years. I don't have hobbies. I don't golf. I don't fish. This has been such a big part of my identity, such a big part of my family. We love it."