A month after he was fired by Penn State, James Franklin will soon be the new head coach at Virginia Tech, multiple media outlets reported Monday.Franklin, 53, boasts a 128-60 record over 15 seasons at the helm of Penn State and Vanderbilt. He took the Nittany Lions to the 2024 College Football Playoff and won the 2016 Big Ten championship.However, Franklin was dismissed on Oct. 12 after Penn State — No. 2 in the AP preseason poll — lost 22-21 to visiting Northwestern and fell to 3-3 on the season and 0-3 in the Big Ten. Terry Smith was named interim coach and is 1-3 since Franklin was let go.Franklin succeeds Brent Pry, his former defensive coordinator at Penn State, who went 0-3 this season and 16-24 over four seasons with the Hokies.To help entice potential coaches to come to Blacksburg, Va., the Hokies’ Board of Visitors passed a plan designed to add $229 million to the athletics budget over the next four years following Fry’s dismissal.Meanwhile, Penn State, which initially owed Franklin $49 million for his contract, will likely owe him much less depending on the terms of his deal with Virginia Tech.
