It has been a rough few weeks for the Penn State Nittany Lions football program, to say the least, which all came to a colossal boiling point this past Sunday when the team opted to go in a different direction by firing Franklin after the Nittany Lions fell to 3-3.
Franklin remained largely out of the public eye following his dismissal in State College until College GameDay gave Franklin a platform to react to the sudden change.
Franklin unveiled not only how he found out about the career pivot, but also how he is still coping with the decision the Penn State administration ultimately made.
“We were a Sunday practice team … and we have a team meeting at 1:45,” Franklin said. “About 1:30 the AD [Pat Kraft] walked in and said, ‘we’re going to make a change. I’m sorry.’ I was in shock, obviously, really took the next 15 minutes to let my kids know so they wouldn’t find out on the internet. And then walked down and had a super emotional meeting with the team to tell them I was leaving, it really, that was it. It was that quick, obviously, pretty much in shock as that was going on.”
Franklin says he hopes to coach college football still, as he has done so in some capacity for over 30 years.
"I don’t have hobbies, I don’t golf, I don’t fish. This has been such a big part of my identity, such a big part of my family. We love it," Franklin said.
Franklin's now-former quarterback, Drew Allar, is also dealing with Franklin's fallout. Sidelined with a season-ending injury suffered late in last week's loss to the Northwestern Wildcats, Franklin revealed that Allar and his family are still devastated by his departure.
Nonetheless, though, Franklin's career will move forward, as will the Nittany Lions. However, the end of the relationship was anything but sweet.