What can you do with $50 million? Fire the head coach of one of the most prestigious college football programs in the country it seems.
Following Saturday's 22-21 upset loss to unranked Northwestern, Penn State has dismissed James Franklin after more than a decade as head coach, per multiple reports. After entering the season as a national title contender, the Nittany Lions started 3-0, only to drop three-straight games, including an inexplicable loss to then-0-4 UCLA and yesterday's defeat against the Wildcats.
All of that left the situation with Franklin untenable. Hired in 2014, he'll leave Happy Valley as the second-winningest coach in PSU history with a record of 104-45 in 11-plus seasons.
“Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” said Penn State AD Pat Kraft in a press release. “He won a Big Ten Championship, led us to seven New Year’s Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. However, we hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships.”
Franklin will also leave Penn State substantially richer. In order to rid themselves of the 53-year-old Langhorne, Pennsylvania native, PSU will have to cough up almost tens of millions of dollars.
A buyout bonanza
As CBS Sports' Robby Kalland notes, Franklin is owed $8 million annually from Penn State through the 2021 season. His contract also had retention bonuses that kicked in December 31 of each year, but obviously those are out the window.
Still, Franklin is owed $48 million for the remaining years, plus whatever else must be paid out through the end of 2025. That leaves the school on the hook for over $49 million, which obviously isn't chump change.
However, in the world of college football, that's sometimes the (expensive) cost of doing business.
Close but no cigar
Overall, Franklin produced plenty of fond memories in Happy Valley. His teams won 10 or more games six times, including an 11-3 campaign in 2016 that included the program's last Big Ten championship and last season's 13-3 mark which featured a run to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
There were also multiple Rose Bowl appearances, plus trips to the Fiesta, Cotton, Peach, Orange, Citrus and Outback Bowls. Under Franklin, Penn State reestablished itself as a national presence and consistent Big Ten contender.
However, Franklin couldn't quite get over the hump against AP top-10 opponents, going 4-21 against them, including 1-18 against top-10 Big Ten teams. Add in this year's meltdown when the Nittany Lions finally started losing games they shouldn't have and it was only a matter of time until Franklin was done.
Associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as Penn State's interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/nOQm1x4
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