Penn State has fired coach James Franklin six games into his 12th season with the Nittany Lions, the university announced Sunday amid a disastrous three-game slide. The No. 2 team in the preseason AP Top 25 just two months ago, the Nittany Lions slipped to 0-3 in Big Ten play following a stunning 22-21 home loss to Northwestern in Week 7 — a game in which they were a three-touchdown favorite. The massive upset was Penn State’s second in a row after falling at previously winless UCLA on Oct. 4, making it the first FBS team since 1978 to lose back-to-back games as favorites of at least 20 points. 

Associate head coach and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith will serve as interim for the remainder of the 2025 season. 

“Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” Penn State athletic director Patrick 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.” 

Penn State also dropped its Big Ten opener in double-overtime against Oregon, which marked Franklin’s 15th straight loss against an AP top-six team. 

Coming off a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance against Notre Dame last year, the Nittany Lions were expected to repeat as a playoff team and push for a Big Ten title. Instead, they join a growing list of programs searching for a new coach. Penn State’s 3-3 record marks the worst six-game start for a preseason AP top-two team since Oklahoma in 1964. 

Franklin departs Happy Valley with a 104-45 overall record, including a 64-36 mark in Big Ten play. Penn State made its second Big Ten Championship Game appearance last season. The Nittany Lions won the Big Ten just once (2016) during Franklin’s tenure. They did win at least 10 games in six of his 12 seasons, including three straight double-digit win campaigns from 2022-24. 

Prior to his hiring at Penn State in 2014, Franklin spent three seasons at Vanderbilt. He led the Commodores to back-to-back nine-win seasons and top-25 finishes from 2012-13. 

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