Arguably the biggest firing at the halfway point of the 2025 college football season is James Franklin at Penn State. The Nittany Lions have started the season 3-3, with all three losses coming in the Big Ten. The final straw for Franklin was a Week 7 loss to Northwestern, the team's third in a row, and second consecutive to an unranked opponent.
Franklin's firing triggered a massive buyout for the former head coach as Penn State owes upwards of $49 million after firing him.
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Here is more on where Franklin's buyout ranks in college football history.
| Rank | Year | Coach | School | Buyout |
| 1 | 2023 | Jimbo Fisher | Texas A&M | $76 million |
| 2 | 2025 | James Franklin | Penn State | $49 million |
| 3 | 2020 | Gus Malzahn | Auburn | $21.5 million |
| 4 | 2009 | Charlie Weis | Notre Dame | $19.0 million |
| 5 | 2019 | Willie Taggart | Florida State | $18.0 million |
| 6 | 2021 | Ed Orgeron | LSU | $16.9 million |
| 7 | 2023 | Tom Allen | Indiana | $15.5 million |
| 8 | 2021 | Tom Herman | Texas | $15.4 million |
| 9 | 2016 | Art Briles | Baylor | $15.1 million |
| 10 | 2022 | Scott Frost | Nebraska | $15.0 million |
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M, $76 million
Fisher resigned from his job at Florida State on Dec. 1, 2017, to become the new head coach at Texas A&M. He was signed to a massive 10-year, $75 million contract. The Aggies went 9-4 in their first season, and outside of a 9-1 season in 2020, that was the team's best result during Fisher's tenure. Ahead of the 2021 season, Fisher's contract was even extended further, adding more money and including details on what would happen if he was fired without cause.
Texas A&M went 6-4 in the 2023 season. Fisher's final game at the helm of the Aggies was a 42-30 loss to No. 14 LSU. He was fired between the regular season finale and Texas A&M's bowl game loss to Oklahoma State.
| Year | Record |
| 2018 | 9-4 |
| 2019 | 8-5 |
| 2020 | 9-1 |
| 2021 | 8-4 |
| 2022 | 5-7 |
| 2023 | 6-4 |
| Total | 45-25 |
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James Franklin, Penn State, $49 million
Franklin was hired by Penn State in 2014, and the Nittany Lions went 6-6 in his first season at the helm. Franklin's worst season was a 4-5 year in 2020, but outside of that season, he had done a good job of keeping Penn State toward the top of the Big Ten.
Unfortunately, Franklin developed a reputation for not winning big games despite great seasons. The Nittany Lions went 11-3 in 2016 and 11-2 in 2017, but had only one bowl game win between the two years. Franklin got Penn State back to 11 wins in 2019 and 2022. The Nittany Lions went 13-3 in 2024, with College Football Playoff wins in the first and quarterfinal rounds, before losing in the semifinals.
Penn State began the 2025 season with a 3-3 record. Franklin again couldn't win the big game, losing to Oregon in overtime. He followed that up with back-to-back losses to unranked teams and Penn State finally decided to let him go.
| Year | Record |
| 2014 | 7-6 |
| 2015 | 7-6 |
| 2016 | 11-3 |
| 2017 | 11-2 |
| 2018 | 9-4 |
| 2019 | 11-2 |
| 2020 | 4-5 |
| 2021 | 7-6 |
| 2022 | 11-2 |
| 2023 | 10-3 |
| 2024 | 13-3 |
| 2025 | 3-3 |
| Total | 104-45 |
MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Why Penn State fired James Franklin
Gus Malzahn, Auburn, $21.5 million
Malzahn was the offensive coordinator for Auburn through the 2010 season, but then he left to become the head coach at Arkansas State in 2011. After only one year away from the program, the Tigers decided to bring him back in late 2012, for the 2013 season. Malzahn helped Auburn to a 12-2 record in his first season as head coach, but ended up losing the national championship game to Florida State.
Malzahn spent eight years as the Tigers' head coach, but was finally let go following the 2020 season. Auburn went 6-4 that season, but decided it was time for a change, so it bought out the remainder of his contract.
| Year | Record |
| 2013 | 12-2 |
| 2014 | 8-5 |
| 2015 | 7-6 |
| 2016 | 8-5 |
| 2017 | 10-4 |
| 2018 | 8-5 |
| 2019 | 9-4 |
| 2020 | 6-4 |
| Total | 68-35 |
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Charlie Weis, Notre Dame, $19.0 million
Weis served as Bill Belichick's offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2004. Weis was hired to be Notre Dame's head football coach in December 2004, after the team's first choice, Urban Meyer, was hired by the University of Florida. Weis helped Notre Dame to nine wins in his first season and 10 in his second.
Then, the cracks started to show, and the Fighting Irish went 3-9 in 2007. Notre Dame then went 7-6 in 2008 and 6-6 in 2009 and Weis was shown the door.
| Year | Record |
| 2005 | 9-3 |
| 2006 | 10-3 |
| 2007 | 3-9 |
| 2008 | 7-6 |
| 2009 | 6-6 |
| Total | 35-27 |
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Willie Taggart, Florida State, $18.0 million
Taggart spent the 2017 season as the head coach of Oregon. It was his first year in the role, but when Fisher accepted the Texas A&M job, Taggart jumped ship and became the Seminoles' next head coach.
He led Florida State to a 5-7 record in 2018, including a 3-5 record in conference play. It only got worse in 2019 as Taggart started the year 4-5, with a 3-4 record in the ACC. The final game of his tenure was a 27-10 loss to unranked Miami.
| Year | Record |
| 2018 | 5-7 |
| 2019 | 4-5 |
| Total | 9-12 |