Reports are that former Penn State head coach James Franklin is about to become the new head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
“Sources: Virginia Tech and James Franklin are finalizing an agreement for him to become the school’s next coach. Franklin has won 128 games over 15 seasons as the head coach at Vanderbilt and Penn State. He led Penn State to the CFP semi-finals last year.
Franklin replaces Brent Pry, his former defensive coordinator. Virginia Tech fired Pry in September. Franklin led Penn State to six seasons of more than 10 wins after pulling them from the depths of NCAA sanctions.”
It might come as a surprise that Franklin may be accepting the job when there are bigger jobs there, especially in the SEC, where there are openings at Auburn, Florida, and LSU at the moment.
Franklin used to be the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores before moving on and becoming the head coach of Penn State, where he led the Nittany Lions to their first College Football Playoff appearance.
But after getting off to a rough start this season, the school decided to fire Franklin because of his losing record against top 25 teams.
It is also a surprise that Tech isn’t going after South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, whose father Frank Beamer was the school’s long-time head coach.
Stacey Mickles is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama and has worked for several sports publications, including Sports Illustrated and Saturday Down South. The Birmingham native has also worked in sports information for the Southeastern Conference and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.