by Kyle Golik
The worst-kept secret in college football is Florida head coach Billy Napier is a “dead man walking.” Unless Florida has a major turnaround, which is unlikely, Napier will be fired at some point. That point could be imminent considering that since 2021 Herm Edwards (Arizona State), Clay Helton (Southern California), Karl Dorrell (Colorado), Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech), Scott Frost (Nebraska), and Paul Chryst (Wisconsin) all were fired within the first five weeks of the season. Also, Bryan Harsin (Auburn) was fired prior to Halloween.
While Napier’s fate seems to be all but determined, who replaces him seems to be all over the map but Penn State head coach James Franklin’s name continues to be floated.
In my colleague Mike Huessman’s recent column about potential Napier replacements at Florida, he also mentions Franklin’s name. His take is the following
“Every year we hear rumors about Franklin leaving and contract talk; one of these years it’ll actually happen. I don’t know if this is it, but it could be the job that finally pulls him away from the Nittany Lions. He has them a consistently Top 10 squad, recruits well, and wins the games that he should win. Florida would take all three of those things in a second. Like Lane Kiffin, he might decline the opportunity.”
While Huessman feels Franklin would decline, he still believes Franklin will walk from Penn State prematurely one day.
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I got the sense at Big Ten Media Days back in July in Franklin’s response to my question about where Penn State was nationally.
The part of Franklin’s response that triggered my senses was: “You’re talking about a program that you can win 10 or 11 games, and people are not happy or satisfied. That’s inside the Lasch building and that’s outside of the Lasch building. We totally get that and embrace that.”
The question is, how long will Franklin be willing to embrace the lack of appreciation for what he has accomplished?
Typically, Penn State beats everyone they should, and their only hiccups come against the elite teams in the Big Ten or nationally. That’s where Penn State fans clamor for better results. I’ve compared what Franklin has done for Penn State to what Mark Richt accomplished at Georgia.
Richt is a Hall of Fame coach. The reason Georgia parted ways with him wasn’t because he didn’t win enough—he won 73.9% of his games—it’s because he didn’t win enough of the big games that mattered and moved the needle. During Richt’s tenure, Georgia watched LSU, Alabama, Florida, and Auburn all win national championships – considering Georgia plays two of those teams annually and frequently sees the other two, it added to the fire.
Franklin has seen Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State all make the College Football Playoff. Ohio State and Michigan have won national championships—teams Franklin just can’t seem to vanquish.
We all know about those outside the Lasch Building, but we must wonder, in Franklin’s reply, who inside Penn State’s program isn’t happy? As Huessman pointed out, Florida is one of many college programs in the last decade that would love to exchange spots for Penn State’s results and they cannot lose sight of that fact.
Franklin will continue to push for more resources, with NIL becoming a major factor, coaching staffs expanding exponentially, and facilities being part of an ongoing ‘cold war.’ This could be his way of securing what he needs to stay competitive.
If Franklin can’t satisfy the unsatisfied, how long before his patience runs thin? That’s a factor hardly mentioned about when discussing why his name keeps coming up. I don’t believe Franklin would leave for a situation where boosters couldn’t even pay quarterback Jaden Rashada, and where he lacks firm control.
That’s a big reason why Napier is struggling, but the main reason Franklin’s name will keep coming up is that he feels his work isn’t being appreciated internally. Franklin may have unintentionally shown part of his hand. That appreciation might be about more than just resource allocation or compensation; it could be about recognizing that Franklin has the program on the verge of becoming elite, instead of seeing Penn State as stuck in mediocrity. After all, Florida and many other schools would trade their coach for Franklin in a heartbeat to get those kinds of results.
