Penn State AD Pat Kraft fired James Franklin. What’s next will define his legacy

Pat Kraft began his Monday press conference by praising James Franklin, not for who he was as Penn State’s football coach, but for who he is as a person. And then he quickly pivoted, because the purpose of the presser wasn’t to praise Franklin. It was, in part, to explain why Kraft fired him.

Such rationales aren’t always that necessary when college football coaches are kicked to the curb. Plenty before have been canned for controversies or consistently bad performance and occasionally both. But Franklin was fired for being .500 this year — nine months after leading his team in a College Football Playoff semifinal.

That kind of firing requires more explanation. And Kraft gave it.

“At Penn State we hold all our programs to the highest standards in our shared pursuit of the excellence,” Kraft said, reading from a prepared statement. “My job is to evaluate everything and make hard decisions for what’s in the best interest of our athletes, our program, and our department. Football is our backbone. We have invested at the highest level. With that comes high expectations. Ultimately, I believe a new leader can help us win a national championship, and now is the right time for this change.”

And that’s the crux of why Franklin is no longer Penn State’s coach. He was very good — arguably great — but his teams never ascended high enough to be in the ranks of the elite, leaving Kraft and plenty others wondering if he could ever get it there. And with the firing, Kraft deemed he couldn’t.

And now the Penn State athletic director will make a hire that defines his legacy and the next era of Nittany Lion football.

The decision to make that change is not an easy one. Franklin is one of the better coaches in college football. He will almost assuredly have another head coaching job this offseason if he wants it. He will be coveted by other athletic directors in search of becoming very good — or great. There are not many coaches who can do better than Franklin’s track record.

And in order to fire him, it must be to hire someone better. And Kraft clearly laid it out — the new leader will need to be the level of coach who can lead Penn State to a national title. There’s a lot that it takes to get there, and the athletic director made it clear the hire will have to do it all, all while being someone who closely aligns with his perception of Penn State.

“Our next coach will be someone who embodies everything Penn State stands for: Integrity, accountability, toughness, humility, and an elite motivator,” Kraft said. “We’ll find a coach who can achieve excellence at the highest level, doing with it confidence and conviction. Recruiting will always be a pillar here. We want someone who will attract elite talent, retain players in the NIL era, and make Penn State a destination.”

Those attributes aren’t dissimilar with who Franklin was as Penn State’s head coach. Which is part of why this search will be so hard — and why the decision to fire him is a bold one.

And while the three straight losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern took their toll, the Penn State AD said it was about more than just the results of games. It was about college football’s evolving landscape and hiring someone well-equipped to handle it. But it wasn’t one he took lightly, or made haphazardly.

“I’m going to be very transparent with ya’ll,” Kraft said, “this was extremely, extremely difficult. It’s been a very difficult 48 hours. I felt after Saturday and sitting down and looking at everything that where we were and what was in the best interest of my my student-athletes and where the program was going, that this time we just had to make the hard decision.

“Look, as all of you know, as leaders when you lead an organization like this, when you’ve made the decision you have to make the decision with the whole heart and with conviction. So I was going sleep on it on Sunday, but I knew it was the right course of action for us as a program and more importantly for the team.”

And so he did, plunging Penn State into waters it hasn’t explored often in the long history of its football program. Whoever Kraft hires will be the 17th head coach in program history. This is only the third coaching search in over half a century for the program. It will undoubtedly shape not just the future of Penn State football, but also Kraft’s legacy as the athletic department’s leader.

On Monday, he explained his bold decision to try and make the final strides from great to elite for Penn State football.

And soon enough he’ll be back in Beaver Stadium — introducing the person he chooses to define his legacy.

This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 9:15 AM.

Jon Sauber

Centre Daily Times

(814) 231-6461

Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.