When Penn State fired its head coach last season, questions arose about where he would land and what his next job would be. Landing at Virginia Tech answered that. He also answered a couple of other questions.
Virginia Tech HC James Franklin Discusses Internal Changes After Firing
For 12 seasons, James Franklin coached at State College, leading the Nittany Lions to a 104-45 record. Additionally, his teams made 12 bowls, winning half of them. On October 12, the school fired him. A little over a month later, he found his way to Virginia Tech, where he was hired. In this speech to his team, starting at 1:25, the coach outlined his thought process.
“The James Franklin that you knew at Penn State, this ain’t the same James Franklin because we all must be learning and growing and evolving. If I didn’t learn from that last experience, then shame on me.”
“So, understand that the core of who I am that you guys know, that isn’t changing. But I’ve learned and grown from that experience. I got a ton of notes on how I could get better and how I could grow as a person, as a coach, and as a leader. So, everybody kind of understands that. But we’re going to have meetings. I want feedback.”
At Penn State, Franklin earned a reputation for covering a vast array of topics. First, since 2019, he’s led five top 40 offenses in the PFSN CFB Offense Impact Rankings. In 2024, his offense ranked No. 3 on the list. Next, Franklin excels at running the ball.
Three of his recruits, Kaytron Allen, Nicholas Singleton, and Saquon Barkley, combined for 11,484 rushing yards and 148 total touchdowns. Lastly, and unfortunately for him, Franklin’s team could not win big games. In fact, under his watch, the Lions sported a 4-21 record against Top Ten teams in the Associated Press poll.
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Now, he takes over a program that needs a resurgence. They haven’t won 10 games since 2016 and have only one bowl win since then. Franklin, in the video, wants to bring what didn’t work at his old job to his new job. For the Hokies, the season starts off with games they should be able to win comfortably. In successive games, they play Virginia Military Institute, Old Dominion, Maryland, and Boston College.
Franklin appears to prove his detractors wrong. In the process, helping Virginia Tech reclaim its spot as a legitimate ACC threat. How those aforementioned notes and changes manifest themselves for Franklin remains to be seen.
