The dejected look on James Franklin’s face was telling Saturday night, as were the looks on the faces of his family and friends.

Penn State’s 22-21 loss to Northwestern was devastating, coming on the heels of a 42-37 defeat at UCLA.

The Nittany Lions’ fall from leading in the first overtime against Oregon to now has been stunning.

It begs the question: How much longer will Penn State keep Franklin as the head coach?

The fans at Beaver Stadium expressed their opinions when Northwestern ran out the clock, booing loudly and chanting, “Fire Franklin!”

Their frustration and disappointment about this suddenly lost season are understandable, but they don’t make coaching decisions.

Director of athletics Pat Kraft does, in consultation with other Penn State administrators and probably the department’s wealthiest donors. And he has much to weigh.

Franklin has a $48 million contract buyout, which isn’t chicken feed even for a major university. The total cost of firing Franklin, buying out his staff and hiring a new coach and a new staff would probably be more than $100 million.

Then Kraft has to decide who succeeds Franklin, and there are few, if any, candidates who are slam-dunk choices.

If Kraft has decided to fire Franklin, then he should do it as soon as possible so that he’s not a lame-duck coach. If he doesn’t make the move before noon Monday and Franklin appears at his weekly press conference then, it would be wise to wait until after the Iowa game this coming Saturday.

Northwestern defensive back Ore Adeyi intercepts a pass in the end zone that was intended for Penn State wide receiver Liam Clifford in the first quarter Saturday at Beaver Stadium. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

Longtime assistant coach and former Penn State wide receiver Terry Smith would be the obvious choice to serve as interim coach for the rest of the season.

According to some researchers, it’s the first time that a college football team has lost consecutive games when favored by at least 21 points.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the first time or 10th time; it will be very, very difficult for Franklin to overcome those two losses and win back Penn State fans. It would take nothing less than winning a national championship, and that’s not going to happen in the foreseeable future.

Franklin has been a very good coach for the Lions with six 10-win seasons in the last nine years, seven New Year’s Six bowl appearances, four wins and their first trip to the College Football Playoff, which ended in the semifinals last season.

The black mark on his record has been his 5-21 record against top 10 opponents, including eight straight losses to Ohio State. Penn State has mostly beaten underdogs like UCLA and Northwestern during his tenure, which is why the last two weeks have been so shocking.

Franklin has built his program upon his relationships with the players.

“I love those kids,” he said softly Saturday night. “I am committed to those players in that locker room, and I’ve been that way for 12 years (at Penn State). I’ve been that way for 15 years of my head coaching career. I’ve been that way for 30 years (since he began coaching as a graduate assistant at Kutztown in 1995). That won’t change.”

That’s genuine, based on what the players and parents have said about him over the years.

“I love Coach Franklin,” said offensive lineman T.J. Shanahan, who transferred this year from Texas A&M. “I think he’s an amazing coach and I’m here for him every step of the way. Today wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but I’m still right behind Coach Franklin like I know the rest of our team in that locker room is.

“My relationship with Coach Franklin has been great. He’s been nothing but positive with me. I love him as a person, as a guy and as a coach.”

Perhaps him being too nice to the players has been Franklin’s greatest flaw. Maybe he isn’t demanding enough. Maybe he doesn’t hold them accountable enough for their mistakes.

Dani Dennis-Sutton and several others from the highly rated 2022 recruiting class returned this year to win a championship. He was asked if something is missing or amiss internally.

“Nothing glaring to me,” he said. “I would point it out if I was aware of what’s exactly going on. We just have to take responsibility and accountability. I don’t know. I don’t know how we ended up in this position, man.”

It’s difficult to predict Franklin’s future, whether he will be allowed to stay, negotiate a settlement or force Penn State to fire him.

All coaches have a certain shelf life. Look at Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles or Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots. They’re Hall of Famers whose time ran out with those franchises. It doesn’t make them bad coaches.

James Franklin is a good coach and a good person who has represented Penn State well, but his shelf life there might be at its expiration date.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/10/12/james-franklins-shelf-life-at-penn-state-might-be-expired-opinion/