Penn State Football: With New Head Coach, Nittany Lions May Finally Go From 'Great to Elite'

After 12 years at the helm of the Penn State Football program, head coach James Franklin was fired on Sunday, as reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Just after the seven-year anniversary of Franklin‘s infamous “great to elite” speech, Penn State will be looking for a new head coach to hopefully finally break through into that elite category.

Penn State Football, James Franklin — Penn State fired former head coach James Franklin amid three-game slide. (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images)

Under Franklin, the Nittany Lions were great.In Franklin’s 12-year tenure, Penn State finished with double-digit wins six times. Penn State won the 2016 Big Ten championship and finished the season ranked in the top 10 five times, including an appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2025.

However, under Franklin, the Nittany Lions butted up against the “great to elite” ceiling multiple times, failing to ever break into the elite category.

Franklin finished his Penn State tenure 4-21 against top 10 opponents.

Penn State Fires James Franklin: Nittany Lions’ Top Target List for Next Head Coach

While Franklin and the Nittany Lions did break through into the college football playoff for the first time in 2024, the season ended with yet another top 10 loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.

To follow that up, the Nittany Lions sit at 3-3 in the 2025 season losing another top 10 game to Oregon in double overtime and two horrendous upsets as three touchdown favorites to UCLA and Northwestern. Franklin’s wining percentage against top 10 teams at Penn State is tied for third-worst in college football history at a single school.

Going forward there are no guarantees Penn State improves under a new head coach. However, given the resources put into the program (thanks to Franklin over his tenure), the next head coach at Penn State is set up for success on paper. In 2026, Penn State will make the switch from Nike to Adidas, a move that adds valuable NIL money into Penn State’s war chest. Over Franklin’s tenure, the Nittany Lions also upgraded Penn State’s football facilities to compete with the rest of the top teams around the country.

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Finally, athletic director Pat Kraft has fully committed Penn State to success across the entire athletic department. Kraft has overseen a major renovation to Beaver Stadium, signing the new deal to name the field at Beaver Stadium for West Shore Homes, and made the decision to move on from Franklin.

The most important decision in Pat Kraft’s tenure as Penn State’s athletic director will the decision to fire James Franklin and hire a new head coach. If he makes the right decision and brings in a homerun hire, Penn State may finally go from great to elite in the near future.

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Robert Shields

Penn State Football Reporter at NittanyCentral

Robert Shields covers Penn State Football for Nittany Central. As a Penn State graduate, Robert has covered Penn State football since 2019, but had been a fan of the Nittany Lions for well over a decade. During his undergraduate education, Robert was a manager in the athletic department of a division III school, working in various aspects of athletic management at football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse games.

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