This is a Big Boy Hire

Let's start by putting into perspective how big of a splash hire James Franklin is for Virginia Tech.

Going back to 2012, Franklin's 128 FBS wins are the second-most of any Power Four head coach prior to being hired at a new school (Mark Richt had 145 at Georgia before taking the Miami job in 2016).

Outside of Richt, you could make the argument that this is the most proven head coaching hire in the modern history of the ACC. Just think about that: on Jan. 9 of this very year, Franklin had Penn State a possession away from playing for a national championship. Now, he's the head coach of the Hokies. It's unthinkable.

Franklin will undoubtedly have his skeptics, but the numbers show his resume makes this a once-in-a-generation hire for a program like Tech. What's to like? Today, we take a full dive into the Franklin file.

Addressing his alleged shortcomings.

Franklin's résumé is well-known at this point, but in case you needed a refresher: his career record is 128-60 at two Power Four schools. From 2016-24, Penn State ranked ninth overall in win percentage (.744) and seventh in average SP+ rating. Contrasting the idea that he can "never win big games", Franklin is 4-3 in major-bowl games, 2-1 in the College Football Playoff, and has seven AP Top-25 finishes, including five Top-10 finishes.

But many will (and have) questioned whether or not that record can translate to a school of lesser stature like Virginia Tech. Let's address the critiques.

1: James Franklin can't beat teams with equal or greater talent.

Similar to Brent Pry's record in one-score games, Franklin's record against top-10 teams has been beaten to a pulp by his fanbase. Normally, I think "winning the big game" is an overplayed narrative — it's a charge leveled at almost every good coach, and people underestimate how hard it is to beat elite teams — but in this case the criticism has merit.

At PSU, Franklin was 4-21 (.160) against AP Top-10 opponents. It sticks out like a sore thumb in comparison to programs of similar caliber: PSU's win percentage against Top-10 teams since 2014 ranks 43rd, and is the worst among programs that also rank top-15 in overall win percentage in that timeframe.

In other words: no "big-time" program has struggled more to beat top teams than the Nittany Lions.

There is a slight caveat here: a highly disproportionate percentage of Franklin's games against ranked opponents have come against top-5 teams (38%). That's not to excuse his performance, but this is almost entirely a product of not beating two programs, specifically: Michigan and Ohio State.

In fact, Franklin was 13-11 vs. teams ranked in the 11-25 range, which ranked seventh among active head coaches at the time of his firing. The top-10 record may not be what Penn State fans want, but his big-game struggles were not nearly as bad as the narrative around him suggests.

FACT CHECK: Half-true. Franklin has struggled mightily against top-10 opponents — Ohio State and Michigan in particular — but his overall record against ranked teams is respectable.

2. James Franklin isn't a good in-game coach.

In an ESPN piece detailing Franklin's downfall in Happy Valley, an NFL executive cited "in-game decision-making" as one of Franklin's biggest weaknesses. It was evident in the Nittany Lions' Sep. 27 loss to Oregon in which he was out-maneuvered by Dan Lanning, who had a more forward-thinking playcalling strategy and managed the game far more aggressively.

After the Nittany Lions' shocking loss to UCLA, FOX Sports' Joel Klatt argued that the struggles of quarterback Drew Allar were partly due to poor scheme fit, along with subpar offensive line and receiver play. Allar regressed in his senior season, ranking as PFF's 75th-graded QB after finishing 30th last year.

"I will just tell you that something in the plan is not working, because you can prepare yourself schematically for success," Klatt said.

In his career, Franklin is 27-34 in one-score games against Power Four teams. For comparison: Kirby Smart is 22-10. The aforementioned Lanning is 9-4. If you're not batting around .500 in one-score games at worst, you're doing something wrong.

(Admittedly though, Hokie fans will take that in a heartbeat given what they had to put up with the last four years).

Franklin had just a 3-11 record in his last 14 one-score contests, which ultimately proved to be his undoing at PSU. Qualitatively, Penn State played very well under him and was competitive in nearly every game... they just couldn't win many close ones.

FACT CHECK: Probably true. Franklin has underperformed in tight games and is generally regarded as a sub-par in-game coach by football people.

On the other hand...

But what isn't talked about enough is just how dominant Franklin is against teams he does have more talent than. Franklin's 74-9 record (.892) against unranked opponents puts Penn State fifth in the nation, among the likes of Georgia and Ohio State.

Fans take for granted how easy it is to lose games you "should" win. This is, after all, a sport played by 18-to-22-year-old kids with a prolate leather ball that occasionally takes weird bounces. Part of what we love about college football is precisely how unpredictable it is. Franklin's dominance against inferior competition deserves respect.

Here is a stat that you might've guessed was true but probably didn't know: in the time that Franklin has been at Penn State, Virginia Tech has played fewer games against top-30 SP+ opponents than all but three Power Four teams. This alone is actually misleading, because the other three schools (Houston, Cincinnati, UCF) were not even in the Power Four until very recently.

Partly this is because Tech's administration has decided it is a worthwhile endeavor to play Purdue and Rutgers every other year. With the ACC shifting to a ratings-based revenue distribution model, this may change going forward.

But it's also a function of how poor the conference has been. The ACC is currently the worst-rated power conference per SP+, a title it has held for four straight years. Since 2022, only Duke has played an easier schedule among P4's than Virginia Tech.

Franklin can't beat Ohio State or Michigan. But at Tech, he won't be playing those teams. It should give opponents no comfort knowing that Franklin struggles against teams with more talent.

That's because on any given Saturday, James Franklin will almost certainly have better players than you.

And then there's his 'crooting chops.

In college football, it is difficult to separate the recruiting ability of a coach from the program to which they are attached. Most big programs recruit themselves, and Penn State is no exception.

But I once spoke with a person who worked in recruiting — incidentally, someone who waged many battles against Penn State — who told me that Franklin is, pound-for-pound, probably the single most dynamic head coach-recruiter in America. Put him at any school and he will get you the best players possible.

At Penn State, Franklin surrounded himself with ace recruiters. Specifically, running backs coaches Charles Huff and Ja'Juan Seider, along with d-line coach Sean Spencer. These coaches were instrumental in many of PSU's mid-atlantic recruiting wins; if Tech lost a player to Penn State, Huff and Seider were usually involved. (Huff, in fact, was named the nation's top recruiter in 2019, according to 247Sports.)

But all that was tied together by Franklin, who is an elite closer. Devyn Ford, one of the nation's top-rated running backs in the class of 2018, cited his personal connection with Franklin in his decision to commit to PSU. Franklin is by all accounts loved by his players, which is further evidenced in the sheer number of decommitments Penn State has seen in the wake of his departure.

Decommits since the firing of Franklin, Kelly, and NapierFranklin-17Kelly- 1Napier- 0 pic.twitter.com/n8epSAIOnu— PSU Recruiting (@PSUNationRec) November 16, 2025

NIL has made college football more transactional. But give 10 teams roughly similar budgets, and the one that recruits the best is the one with the best culture. Franklin does that better than anyone.

It's okay to believe.

Penn State opened a door for Virginia Tech that no one thought possible. All it took was a quick losing streak — three games by 12 combined points — and Franklin was out of a job.

But this is the same man who made the CFP Semifinals last year, who beat a 10-win Illinois team by multiple scores and eviscerated SMU. Sometimes a couple bounces don't go your way, and the weight of expectations proves too much to bear. In a reactionary sport like college football, that's enough to send you packing.

Resumes like Franklin's almost never come on the open market, for good reason. In that way, Penn State has given Virginia Tech an absolute gift.

The Hokies should make them regret it.