James Franklin’s goal of winning a national championship hasn’t changed, even though he couldn’t accomplish it at Penn State before he was fired Sunday.
It’ll just have to happen with another program, a defiant Franklin said during an interview on “College GameDay” Saturday in his first public comments since being dismissed after three straight losses.
“I thought we were going to win a national championship there,” Franklin said. “We were close. That goal hasn’t changed. We’re just going to win a national championship somewhere else now.”
Franklin was in shock after learning of Penn State’s decision, which followed a loss to Northwestern on Oct. 11 and the two other losses — to Oregon and to previously winless UCLA — leading up to that game.
The Nittany Lions always practice on Sundays, so Franklin was getting ready for their 1:45 a.m. team meeting when Penn State’s athletic director came in and said, “We’re going to make a change, sorry.”
“I really took the next 15 minutes to let my kids know so they wouldn’t find out on the Internet,” Franklin said, “and then I came down and had a very emotional meeting with the team to tell them I was leaving. Really, that was it. It was that quick.”
Franklin chose to take the high road during his interview, saying it wasn’t up to him to determine whether Penn State treated him fairly, even though former Alabama head coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban called it “unfair as hell.”
He was in his 12th season with the Nittany Lions, had $49 million remaining on his contract, and saw his team open the season as the No. 2 ranked team in the country.
The Nittany Lions were also close to a national championship last season, having beaten SMU and Boise State in the College Football Playoff before losing to Notre Dame, 27-24, in the semifinals.
“I can’t answer that question,” Franklin said when asked how it all got to this point. “To be honest, I’m still working on it myself. It seems surreal. … Thinking six games ago, we were fighting for a chance to make the national championship, two minutes away. So that’s the thing, I really can’t answer that question. Twelve years, a ton of good times, a bunch of big wins, but decisions were made. And I’m not involved in those decisions.”
Penn State has promoted associate head coach Terry Smith to head coach for the remainder of Penn State’s season, which continues with a road matchup against Iowa on Saturday as the Nittany Lions adjust to life without Franklin and without quarterback Drew Allar – who underwent surgery for a season-ending ankle injury this week, according to ESPN.
And for Franklin, that meant a trip to Athens, Ga., for “College GameDay” — where he made it clear his coaching days weren’t over yet.
“I’m looking forward to this next challenge,” Franklin said, “and we’re going to win a national championship at the highest level.”
