What are the pros and cons for Penn State football’s open head coach position?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Penn State offers major financial resources; Kraft commits staff and NIL support.
- Big Ten membership delivers high revenue and sustained College Football Playoff access.
- Incoming coach faces roster turnover, transfer portal rebuilding and title pressure.
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Penn State fires James Franklin
The James Franklin era is over at Penn State.
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Penn State is just under three weeks in to its head coaching search after athletic director Pat Kraft fired James Franklin on Oct. 12 following the team’s 3-3 start to the season. The job is one of the best ones available in the country and should be sought after by candidates.
But what are the pros and the cons for whoever takes the job next? Let’s take a look.
Pros of the Penn State head coach job
Committed athletic department
The contract the next head coach signs — which will in all likelihood exceed double-digits — will be only a part of the commitment the athletic department is expected to show moving forward. The Nittany Lions have already made strides under athletic director Pat Kraft, improving their work in NIL and building a roster that’s much more competitive financially than under the previous athletic director, Sandy Barbour. Franklin had plenty of money to give to his assistant coaches (as evidenced by the $3 million average defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is making per year) and saw an increasing pool for the players. Kraft has stated his commitment to do that, and it would be a surprise if he isn’t willing to sink even more resources into the program’s next head coach.
Big Ten revenue
Penn State can afford to invest like that because it’s in one of the two richest conferences in college football. The Big Ten brought in roughly $60 million per school in 2023-2024, according to Front Office Sports, and that number could get up to $90 million over the lifetime of the deal. Compare that to the SEC — the conference’s biggest competitor — which saw most of its members get about $50 million in 2023-2024. Or even more drastic, compare it to the roughly $45 million the ACC averaged or the roughly $40 million the Big 12 averaged (according to USA Today Sports) and it becomes clear that the Big Ten is one of the two most financially viable conferences in college football, alongside the SEC. And as the two conferences’ revenue continues to grow, with many of the best programs in the country in the Big Ten and SEC, that gap may only grow larger — making them the most desirable conferences for coaches to be in from a resource standpoint.
Playoff access
The format of the College Football Playoff is continually evolving, but one aspect of it is clear — the Big Ten and SEC will have the best access to making it in every year moving forward. The two conferences control future format decisions for the playoff, allowing them to do what’s best for them, regardless of what it means for other conferences. The future format is not set, but expansion seems to be on the horizon and with it are two possibilities — either more at-large bids or more automatic bids for certain conferences. If there are more at-large bids, more Big Ten and SEC schools will get in because they are generally ranked higher. If there are more automatic bids, more schools from the two conferences will get in because they will be automatically granted a spot. No matter how you slice it, the future of the CFP is likely to be beneficial to Penn State and its new head coach.
Cons of the Penn State head coach job
Big Ten schedule
The Big Ten has its perks, but it isn’t all great. More playoff access is great, but having to play very good teams at a higher frequency takes away some of the benefits. The good news is, next year is a bit of a reprieve, with the toughest matchups being on the road against Michigan and Washington. The bad news is the difficulty ramps back up the year after. Penn State has a non-conference matchup with Syracuse that year (which continues to trend positively under head coach Fran Brown), and Big Ten road games against Oregon, Indiana and Wisconsin. That’s without mentioning a home game against Michigan. And then in 2028 there’s another Syracuse game, and matchups at home against Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana and Iowa, and road games against USC and Nebraska. Whoever takes the job should enjoy 2026 as much as they can, because the competition level ramps up drastically the two seasons after it.
Next year’s roster
And for as welcoming as next year’s schedule might be, Penn State might not be able to take advantage of it. This roster was always going to churn after this season with so many stars and key contributors coming back for one final run, but it’s likely to be in worse shape now. Inevitably, good players will transfer. Some may follow Franklin to his next stop and some may head closer to home, but if any starters leave, Penn State will be worse off. And the next head coach will likely not have a big incoming freshman class to backfill any spots, after several 2026 commits have since left the Nittany Lions’ class. The new leader will have to build a 2026 roster out of the transfer portal — not an enviable task when the competition in that world is greater than ever.
Expectations
This might be the biggest negative for any incoming head coach. All of the positives are nice, and the other negatives can be overcome with proper roster building and by being a good team — but none of it will matter if the coach doesn’t make the program elite and help it compete for national titles. Kraft has said several times that he is at Penn State to win national championships, and that is especially true in football. That’s why a head coach who was in the College Football Playoff semifinal got fired nine months later — because three losses meant the team wouldn’t contend in a year it was the preseason No. 2 team in the country. The expectation is to be in the conversation for the title every year and to — sooner rather than later — win one. That’s a high bar. It’s one Franklin couldn’t quite reach in his decade-plus at Penn State. And the next coach surely won’t have that much time to do it.
