It appears James Franklin won’t be unemployed for very long.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Franklin, who was fired in mid-October after a 22-21 loss to Northwestern, is “in the early stages” of talks with Virginia Tech to become the school’s next head coach.
Franklin would succeed Brent Pry, who had a 6-24 record in three-plus seasons and was also fired earlier this season after an 0-3 start.
“James Franklin and Virginia Tech are engaged in the early stages of talks about him becoming the next Virginia Tech head coach,” Thamel stated on “College GameDay” on Saturday. “Resolution on his candidacy is expected in the upcoming days.
“Tech is still running a full search, they’re engaged with other candidates, but I can confirm mutual interest right now in the potential resolution early next week, and we’ll see if James Franklin is coaching in the ACC next season.”
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Following a successful three-year stint with Vanderbilt, in which he led the Commodores to back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2012 and 2013, Franklin brought stability to Penn State after two disappointing seasons under Bill O’Brien, who was hired to replace legendary Joe Paterno back in 2012.
In his 11-plus seasons in Happy Valley, Franklin compiled a 104-45 record with five bowl wins, a Big Ten championship, and an appearance in the College Football Playoff last season.
After three straight seasons of 10 wins or more, Franklin got the Nittany Lions off to a 3-3 start this year. Star quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury in that Northwestern game, and PSU fell out of the CFP picture quickly, prompting his hast dismissal.
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