The College Football Coaching Carousel is in full swing as 11 jobs have already come open before the end of October. Arguably the best job to open up is Penn State as the Nittany Lions fired James Franklin after his 0-3 start in Big Ten play. While Penn State is one of the most interesting jobs to open up, James Franklin is one of the most interesting names looking for a job.
While Penn State soured on James Franklin, there are plenty of schools that would kill for what he built at Penn State. Franklin can be an appealing option for several schools, but he also comes with some clear downsides.
James Franklin's thought process vs UCLA is a red flag
One of the losses that cost James Franklin his job came against the UCLA Bruins who were 0-4 at the time. In the first half it became clear that Penn State was in trouble as the Bruins held a 24-7 lead, but the Nittany Lions had a chance to drive down and cut the lead. Instead, James Franklin and his staff appeared to be okay with settling for a field goal, running clock.
The issue is that the runs put Penn State in a terrible spot with a 3rd and 4 and a 4th and 2 which led to a turnover on downs before UCLA kicked a field goal to take a 27-7 lead into the half. After the loss, James Franklin tried to explain his rationale, but it only made his thought process sound worse.
"To me you can't say 'we should have used the timeouts,' but then also criticize us for leaving time for them to go down the field and kick a field goal."
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 6, 2025
James Franklin on not using timeouts on final first half drive vs UCLA ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/J4RQ4wUMkA
James Franklin is great at all the things you need to be successful in College Football off the field as he's highly regarded as a recruiter and a program builder. The biggest issue is that in moments where Franklin needs to elevate and out coach his counterparts he's failed which is why he has the reputation he does in big games.
Franklin will certainly get another opportunity whether it comes this offseason or down the line based on all the great things he did for Penn State. The issue will be that he needs to find a way to get better when things aren't going his way otherwise, the narrative will never escape him.