James Franklin opens up about the emotional ending to his time at Penn State and why he felt completely blindsided by the decision. He shares what that final conversation and team meeting were like, why he still has deep appreciation for Penn State despite how it ended, and why the relationships he built with players matter more to him than wins or losses. Franklin also talks about how his wife and agent pushed him to get back out there, how his College GameDay appearance helped reignite opportunities, and why Virginia Tech became the perfect place for a fresh start and a new challenge.
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On Next Up, Adam Breneman sits down with the most influential names in the game and brings their stories directly to fans, unfiltered and real.
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James has selective memories. Yes it was tough for him, the staff, the players and the fans. The press conferences after the Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern game were alarming. No answers, no energy, no true accountability for the losses, especially UCLA and Northwestern. It seemed he had given up. Pat Kraft made the right call. And James rebounded rather quickly, appearing on GameDay the next weekend all fired up. I don’t think he was as surprised as he claims. Shocked maybe at the timing, but not really surprised
I was the first hire of a company. After 19 years, and the company being sold a couple of times, I was let go in a “downsizing” by a sudden email. My laptop was locked My exit interview was with a kid I’d never met. I didn’t have a guaranteed contract. I was 59 years old and scrambling.
Boo friggin hoo! Good riddance. Go sell your used cars!!
Doesn’t want to turn in to a bitter old ball coach while actin like a bitter old ball coach
As a Penn State fan I’ve never once had a problem with James the person he’s a really good dude & I’ll always give him a TON of credit for bringing Penn State back to a national presence on the field but it got to a point where literally everything felt stale it was the same product on the field almost every year losing every big game & then him hitting us with the same code words & sayings while ultimately never changing what needed to be changed……. I wish him luck & honestly think he has a good chance at turning VT in a playoff contender almost year bc the ACC is straight ass & don’t see it improving as a whole anytime soon
Blindsided is wild. Big game James still is elite at dodging accountability
This interview is the reason why he will never be an elite coach. You’d never see Ryan Day do a boo hoo tour if he ever got fired…… and I hate OSU.
1:05 it affects PENN STATE too James. It affected THE PROGRAM. You think Penn state wanted to do that you nimrod?
It took guts to fire Franklin, and man did it almost not workout for the better. But his ability to always put himself before the program under the guise of being a “players” coach is comical. James will leave VT in a heartbeat the second Florida State calls for him.
Oh, please.
There's no way he didn't see it coming. It seemed like he completely gave up at the end and had no energy. Let's be honest James, everyone including you knew it was coming.
What he failed to mention. I went 4-21 against top 10 opponents in his career, he had 1 win over Ohio State and 3 wins against Michigan in his 12 seasons. In a season in which everything lined up for him to finally win a big game, 25M Roster, Pre-Season Top 5 Ranking a night game white out against Oregon he once again failed to capitalize and that was not the loss that cost him his job, it wasn't even the loss the following week to winless coachless UCLA as 30 point favorites that cost him his job, it was a loss at home to Northwestern in which they were also favored by 4 plus touch downs in which his team showed no life no resilience. "Thought I had earned some grace" – the grace was the entire 12 year run in which it was understood PSU would struggle against top 5 opponents, but once you start losing to far inferior competition the time for a change was necessary. I loved James Franklin, he went to my HS his mom was my hall monitor, but his tenure at PSU had run it's course and regardless of how it was handled or how the coaching search subsequently played out, moving on at that point was 100% the right move. It allowed the players coaches to find landing spots it was the best thing for everyone.
Hold on, I'm going to go for some aged soft cheese with this vintage whine.
Was Adam's goal to show everyone what a narcissistic jerk sounds like?