James Franklin breaks silence on Penn State firing
James Franklin’s goal of winning a national championship hasn’t changed — even if he wasn’t able to accomplish it at Penn State before getting fired Sunday.It’ll just need to happen with another program, a defiant Franklin said during a “College GameDay” interview Saturday in his first public comments since getting canned after three consecutive losses.“I thought we were gonna win a national championship there,” Franklin said. “We were close. That goal hasn’t changed. We’re just gonna go win a national championship somewhere else now.”Franklin was in shock after finding out about Penn State’s decision, which followed a loss to Northwestern on Oct. 11 and the two other defeats — against Oregon and previously winless UCLA — leading into that game.The Nittany Lions always practice on Sunday, so Franklin was getting ready for their team meeting at 1:45 when Penn State’s athletic director walked in and said, “We’re gonna make a change, sorry.”“Really took the next 15 minutes to let my kids know so they wouldn’t find out on the internet,” Franklin said, “and then walked down and had a super emotional meeting with the team to tell them I was leaving. Really, that was it. It was that quick.”Franklin opted to take the high road during his interview, saying that it’s not up to him to determine if Penn State treated him fairly, even as former Alabama head coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban called it “unfair as hell.”He was in his 12th season with the Nittany Lions, had $49 million remaining on his contract and watched his team open the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the country.The Nittany Lions were close to a national championship last season, too, after defeating SMU and Boise State in the College Football Playoff before falling to Notre Dame, 27-24, in the semifinals.“I can’t answer that,” Franklin said when asked how everything got to this point. “To be honest, I’m still working through it myself. It feels surreal. … To think essentially six games ago we were fighting for a chance to be in the national championship — a two-minute drive away. So that’s the thing, I really can’t answer that. Twelve years, a ton of good moments, a bunch of big wins, but decisions were made. And I’m not involved in those decisions.”Penn State promoted associate head coach Terry Smith to head coach for the rest of Penn State’s season, which continues with a road matchup against Iowa on Saturday as the Nittany Lions adjust to life without Franklin and without quarterback Drew Allar — who underwent surgery for a season-ending ankle injury this week, according to ESPN.And for Franklin, that meant a trip to Athens, Ga., for “College GameDay” — where he made it clear his coaching days aren’t done yet.“I can’t wait for that next challenge,” Franklin said, “and we’re gonna go win a national championship at the highest level.”
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