Oct. 12, 2025, 8:19 PM EDTBy Rohan NadkarniLate in the evening on Sept. 27, the Penn State Nittany Lions were undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the country and had a two-touchdown lead on then-No. 6 Oregon in the fourth quarter of a home game.Fifteen days after having lost that game in overtime — and then losing two more games in which they were favored by at least 20 points — the Nittany Lions are 3-3, and they have fired coach James Franklin despite owing him more than $49 million.“Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said in a statement. “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’s firing is quite stunning even in the chaotic world of college football, both because of the money left on his contract and the team’s recent success.Franklin, 53, is the second winningest coach in Nittany Lions history, behind only Joe Paterno. Last season, he led Penn State to the semifinal of the College Football Playoff, and the team finished the season ranked fifth in the final Associated Press poll — the Nittany Lions’ best finish since 2005. Penn State entered August ranked No. 2 in the country by the AP, it and very likely could have been ranked first had it hung on to defeat Oregon instead of losing in overtime. After the loss to the Ducks, the Nittany Lions lost twice more — on the road against the UCLA Bruins as a 24.5-point favorite and at home to the Northwestern Wildcats as a 21.5-point favorite. The two losses came by a total of six points but weren’t close enough to save Franklin’s job.Penn State hired Franklin, who previously coached at Vanderbilt, ahead of the 2014 season, initially signing him to a six-year contract.In 2021, after Franklin had led the Nittany Lions to three 10-win seasons (and their first since 2009), the school signed him to a 10-year extension through 2031. Penn State will now pay Franklin the $49.7 million remaining on that deal to step away from the program, according to USA Today, only nine months after he was one game away from a national championship appearance.The buyout is the second richest in college football history behind the more than $76 million Texas A&M owed Jimbo Fisher after it fired him in 2023. More from SportsSuper Bowl contenders are falling apart. But Detroit isn’t.An NBA star’s family fought for years to help their brother. Now they want to help others.A quarterback’s old team dumped him. His new team is reaping the benefits.While Franklin delivered six 10-win seasons, including three straight from 2022 to 2024, he also struggled in marquee matchups. After the loss to the Ducks in late September, Franklin fell to 4-21 in games against opponents ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll, including 1-18 against Big Ten foes. “I get that narrative, and it’s really not a narrative — it’s factual. It’s the facts,” Franklin said after the Oregon defeat. “I try to look at the entire picture and what we’ve been able to do here. But at the end of the day, we got to find a way to win those games. I totally get it. And I take ownership. I take responsibility.”Two people who could be candidates for Nittany Lions job are two other Big Ten coaches, according to The Athletic: Indiana’s Curt Cignetti and Nebraska’s Matt Rhule. Whomever the school ultimately hires will be trying to lead Penn State to its first national championship since 1986.Rohan NadkarniRohan Nadkarni is a sports reporter for NBC News.