Penn State fires coach James Franklin amid midseason free fall in a lost season

STATE COLLEGE Pa AP James Franklin is out at Penn State The school fired the longtime head coach on Sunday less than hours after a - home loss to Northwestern all but ended whatever remote chance the preseason No band had of reaching the College Football Playoff Terry Smith will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the season for the Nittany Lions - - Big Ten who began the year with hopes of winning the national title only to have those hopes evaporate by early October with three consecutive losses each one more stinging than the last Penn State which reached the CFP semifinals months ago fell at home to Oregon in overtime in late September A road loss at previously winless UCLA followed The final straw came on Saturday at Beaver Stadium where the Nittany Lions let Northwestern escape with a supremacy and lost quarterback Drew Allar to injury for the rest of the season Franklin went - during his -plus seasons at Penn State Yet the Nittany Lions often stumbled against top-tier opponents going - against teams ranked in the top during his tenure Hired in in the wake of Bill O Brien s departure for the NFL Franklin inherited a club still feeling the effects of unprecedented NCAA sanctions in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky outrage Armed with relentless optimism and an ability to recruit Franklin s campaign regularly churned out NFL-level talent from Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley to Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten title and a seemingly permanent spot in the rankings There was hope this fall might be the one when Penn State would eventually break through and win its third national championship and first since Yet after three easy wins during a light nonconference schedule the Nittany Lions crumbled Athletic director Pat Kraft reported the school owes Franklin who is due nearly million in a buyout an enormous amount of gratitude for leading the Nittany Lions back to relevance but felt it was time to make a change We hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football activity to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships Kraft revealed Smith now will be tasked with trying to stop the bleeding on what has become a disastrous season He will have his work cut out for him Penn State s next three games are at Iowa on Saturday at No Ohio State on Nov and home against No Indiana on Nov The matchups with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers were expected to be a chance for the Nittany Lions to bolster their CFP credentials In the span of a handful of weeks Penn State will instead find itself in the role of spoiler The move will cost Penn State at a time the athletic department has committed to a million renovation to Beaver Stadium The project is expected to be completed by Former athletic director Sandy Barbour signed Franklin to a -year contract extension worth up to million in According to terms of the deal Penn State will have to pay Franklin s base salary of supplemental pay of million and insurance loan of million until It s a steep price but one the university appears willing to pay to find a coach who can complete the climb to a national title We have the best college football fans in America a rich tradition of excellence essential investments in our project compete in the best conference in college sports and have a state-of-the-art renovated stadium on the horizon Kraft stated I am confident in our future and in our ability to attract elite candidates to lead our plan There will be no shortage of interested coaches Kraft has ties to at least one He was the athletic director at Temple when he hired current Nebraska coach Matt Rhule back in Rhule and the Cornhuskers will visit Beaver Stadium in Penn State s home finale on Nov What back in August looked like one of the final hurdles for the Nittany Lions to clear on their way to a CFP berth might instead be both an audition for Rhule and a chance for the Nittany Lions to potentially salvage a shot at a bowl challenge of any variety let alone a premier one