James Franklin Reportedly Eyed by VT After PSU Firing, Hokies Have 'Sense of Urgency'

After getting fired as Penn State's head football coach a few weeks ago, James Franklin reportedly already has a major suitor.

During an appearance Saturday on College GameDay (beginning at the 30-second mark of the video), ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel said there are "early signs of interest" between Franklin and Virginia Tech:

Thamel added that there is "urgency" on Virginia Tech's part to get a deal done with Franklin quickly due to the growing number of high-profile jobs available and the dwindling pool of top-end coaching candidates.

Indiana's Curt Cignetti, Nebraska's Matt Rhule and SMU's Rhett Lashlee all signed contract extensions in recent days, taking them out of the running to jump ship to a different school.

Virginia Tech is one of eight power-conference head coaching jobs available currently, along with Penn State, LSU, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, UCLA and Stanford.

However, Thamel noted that the Florida State and Auburn head coaching jobs could also open up in short order.

Franklin went 24-13 in three seasons at Vanderbilt before spending 12 years as the head coach at PSU.

Overall, he went 104-45, but the Nittany Lions won only one Big Ten championship under Franklin, and they did not reach the College Football Playoff until last season when they made it all the way to the semifinals.

With several high-profile players returning for 2025, Penn State was expected to be a national title contender this season, and it got off to a hot start at 3-0.

However, the Nittany Lions then lost three games in a row, and the decision was made to fire Franklin following a 22-21 loss to Northwestern.

As for Virginia Tech, head coach Brent Pry was fired after an 0-3 start this season, ending his tenure after four years.

Since going 8-5 in 2019, the Hokies have finished with a winning record only once, and they have not won 10 or more games in a season since going 10-4 in 2016.

In fact, the 2016 campaign is their only year with double-digit victories over the past 14 seasons.

VT was once among the preeminent programs in college football, reaching the National Championship Game in 1999, but it has not even won an ACC title since 2010.

Virginia Tech is in desperate need of someone who can energize the program and bring in some big-time recruits, and while Franklin had his shortcomings at Penn State, he would represent a massive upgrade for the Hokies.