Penn State has sacked longtime football coach James Franklin, bringing an end to his once-glittering 11-year run with the program.
Franklin, 53, was fired by the school on Oct. 12, following the Nittany Lions‘ third straight loss of the season, with ESPN reporting that associate head coach Terry Smith will step up to take on the role as interim head coach for the remainder of the year.
The Lions’ most recent 21-22 loss to Northwestern—a team that they had been expected to steamroll—came days after they fell to the UCLA Bruins, another team that they were supposed to claim an easy victory against.
“We hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships,” Penn State’s athletic director Pat Kraft said of the decision to fire Franklin.
Franklin, who is originally from Langhorne, PA, signed a six-year contract with Penn State in January 2014, having spent the previous three seasons serving as the head coach for Vanderbilt.
He received a first-year salary of $4.3 million, with a guaranteed $100,000 pay increase for every year that he remained with the team. Franklin then signed a 10-year extension worth $75 million in 2021.
According to ESPN, he has $49 million left from that deal, which the school will have to pay him after terminating his role six years early.
The question on everyone’s lips now is, what will Franklin do next? Having started his coaching career in 1995 at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, just a few miles down the road from Penn State, he has become a longtime presence on the sidelines of collegiate football.
He seemed delighted to have returned to Pennsylvania from Nashville—putting his former Tennessee abode, where he lived while coaching at Vanderbilt, on the market the same month that he signed on as the coach for Penn State.
That property zoomed off the market in a matter of weeks, selling for $1.3 million, just shy of Franklin’s $1,325,000 asking price, in February 2014.
Interestingly enough, however, that property recently came back on the market for the first time since Franklin sold it—for more than double what he offloaded it for.
It was initially listed in July of this year for $3.5 million, before that price was reduced to $3.25 million in August. This means that Franklin could return to the dwelling should he wish to settle back into a home he is familiar with.
Described in its listing as a “meticulously maintained traditional brick home,” the property features five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and is located in the tony Nashville suburb of Green Hills.
In total, the property offers more than 5,400 square feet of living space and, while it does not yet boast a swimming pool on its half-acre lot, the listing notes that the backyard has been “fully prepped” for one to be installed.
“With a new roof in 2025, striking curb appeal, sidewalks, and a peaceful no-through-traffic setting, this exceptional home blends timeless character with modern functionality in the heart of Green Hills,” the description continues.
Though elegant, Franklin’s former Tennessee dwelling pales in comparison to his Pennsylvania home, which he and his wife, Fumi Franklin, purchased for $1.48 million in an off-market deal in July 2014, just a few months after their Nashville property was sold.
Located on a 2.14-acre parcel, the dwelling is situated at the end of a long, gated driveway, providing ample privacy, while four bedrooms ensure there is ample room for Franklin, his wife, and their two daughters—Shola and Addison.
The Pennsylvania property, which is located in Matilda, is just a 12-minute drive from Beaver Stadium, where the Nittany Lions train and host their home games.
It is unclear whether Franklin will immediately list the property and move on, or whether he will continue to reside in the home until he has secured his next job.
