The Penn State Nittany Lions have now heard “Fire Franklin” two weeks in a row from fans in the stands. On Saturday, head football coach James Franklin took the worst loss of his career to a winless UCLA Bruins squad that fired DeShaun Foster weeks ago. Those chants were prevalent during the first half.
The same thing happened last weekend during the first half of the team’s White Out loss to the Oregon Ducks, 30-24 in double overtime at Beaver Stadium. The pressure is on PSU to pay the price to rid Franklin of the program.
But what is the price?
Per USA Today’s Ehsan Kassim, a 2022 financial term sheet obtained by the USA TODAY Network denotes that Franklin's buyout, if he were fired without cause, is just under $50 million as of October 4.
James Franklin admits coaching failure after UCLA loss
Franklin made things worse for himself after the game, essentially admitting to not getting his locker room back on track after their Week 5 loss to Oregon while speaking to reporters.
“Obviously we did not handle last week's loss well. We also lost some players in that game, during the week,” Franklin said, per Lions247.
“And then everything else, everything else... The travel, everything else...
“Did not come out with the right energy to start the game, and before you know it they get a touchdown drive and an onside kick, and now you're fighting. They gain confidence, and we're fighting for the next three quarters. That's my responsibility, and I didn't get it done.”
Truth be told, that’s a better outcome than watching a head coach blame the players. Hugh Freeze has alienated many Auburn Tiger fans by blaming his players instead of his coaching staff’s play-calling.
Like Freeze at Auburn, though, Franklin may be nearing the end in State College, Pennsylvania. Doesn’t matter if you’re the nice guy or the coach that players are glad they’re not playing for anymore.