Is James Franklin to UNC as Bill Belichick’s Replacement the Best Case Scenario for Both Schools?
Penn State Football’s barrier to moving on from head coach James Franklin is well documented, with a buyout for terminating Franklin’s contract estimated between $48 to $56 million.
However, Franklin’s buyout to move to another head coaching job is only $2 million, which Penn State may even waive if Franklin wanted to move to another program after the season.
With that in mind, the University of North Carolina’s situation with Bill Belichick may give both UNC and Penn State exactly what they both need if Franklin wanted to move to Chapel Hill after the 2025 season.
Here are a few reasons why.
James Franklin Makes Sense to Replace Bill Belichick at UNC
Fresh Start for Franklin in Rebuilding Program
James Franklin’s strength as a head coach has been building a program from the bottom into a winning team.
At Vanderbilt, Franklin delivered the school’s first two nine-win seasons since 1915 in his final two years with the Commodores. Then, at Penn State, Franklin took a team reeling from sanctions to a perennial double-digit game-winning program.
Franklin’s struggles have been to maintain the success at the top and break through the ceiling into the elites.
However, with a reset in Chapel Hill, Franklin would have the opportunity to take a struggling program and do what he does best, rebuild the school into a winning program again.
UNC has only produced one double-digit winning season this century, but it has the resources to build back into a winning program.
Franklin could be an excellent fit for UNC and have time to reset in a new program devoid of top end expectations at the beginning of his tenure.
Recruiting prowess
Franklin has been a good recruiter throughout his Penn State tenure.
However, moving to the ACC and not fighting with Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Michigan for every top-end recruit could help Franklin recruit even better at North Carolina.
Competing with NC State and Wake Forest to keep recruits in the state of North Carolina could be good for UNC, and something that Penn State has thrived at in Pennsylvania under Franklin.
Why the move could be good for UNC
North Carolina thought it was getting a Hall of Fame coach who would improve the Tar Heels program under Belichick.
For whatever reason, however, the half-season of the Belichick era has been surrounded by unprofessionalism and distractions.
Franklin would give UNC a seasoned professional who could right the ship and improve UNC’s discipline and image of the program immediately. Franklin’s position as the 7th longest tenured head coach in college football would give UNC the stability the program needs after the half of a year in the Belichick era.
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Why the move could be good for Penn State
Franklin choosing on his own to leave would save Penn State a massive buyout and give the program the chance to move on from the Franklin era.
If athletic director Pat Kraft believes that Franklin has hit his ceiling in Happy Valley, Franklin choosing to leave would give Kraft the opportunity to hire a head coach that he believes could raise the ceiling of the program without breaking the bank with an exorbitant buyout.
While the Belichick era has yet to officially end in Chapel Hill, the writing on the wall is there for UNC to be hunting for a new head coach for the second straight offseason.
Both North Carolina and Bill Belichick released statements reaffirming their commitments to one another late Wednesday evening, but in this era of college football, things can change quickly, especially if the results don’t change quickly.
If Franklin sees the writing on the wall after a disappointing 2025 campaign in Happy Valley, the UNC job could be the perfect fit for both Franklin and Penn State to reset heading into 2026.
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