James Franklin, who was fired as the Penn State football coach just over a month ago, may not be without a job for very much longer.
According to multiple reports, Virginia Tech is circling Franklin, with CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz saying that Franklin “continues to be the top target” for the Hokies vacancy. ESPN's Pete Thamel also reported that the two sides are “in early stages of talks” and that “some resolution” will come in the next few days, whatever it may be.
Former Penn State head coach James Franklin continues to be the top target for the Virginia Tech head coaching job, sources tell @CBSSports.
A final decision from Franklin on whether he’s going to take the job expected to come in the near future. pic.twitter.com/YF3GlLfru3
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) November 15, 2025
If Franklin does become the next Virginia Tech head coach, he would be succeeding a longtime assistant in Brent Pry, who the Hokies fired in September following a 45-26 home loss to Old Dominion.
Before becoming the VT coach in November 2021, Pry had served as Penn State's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Franklin was a quarterback at his alma mater, East Stroudsburg, for the two years Pry was an assistant coach there in 1993 and 1994. After Franklin became the head coach at Vanderbilt in December 2010, he hired Pry, then the DC at Georgia Southern, to be his assistant head coach and co-DC. Pry subsequently followed Franklin to Penn State when the latter was hired as its head coach in 2014.
Sources: James Franklin and Virginia Tech are in early stages of talks, with some resolution on his candidacy in expected in the upcoming days. Tech is still running a full search, but it’s clear there’s mutual interest between the parties. As reported on @CollegeGameDay. pic.twitter.com/m1dlYZNm5U
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 15, 2025
Unlike Franklin, Pry did not have much success as a head coach; in parts of four seasons at Virginia Tech, he went 16-24, including 0-3 to start this season before his dismissal. Franklin, who Penn State fired in October after three straight losses, two of which to massive underdogs, was 104-45 in Happy Valley and 24-15 in three years at Vanderbilt, which had won just 25 games over the six seasons before his arrival.
As part of his buyout, Franklin is due about $50 million, but if he were to take a coaching job, the amount Penn State would owe him would be offset by his new job's salary. In theory, that could help Virginia Tech, which paid Pry about $5 million per year and owes him more than $6 million. Franklin had signed a much more lucrative, 10-year contract extension worth $8 million per year with Penn State in 2021.
Virginia Tech (3-6, 2-3 in ACC) plays tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET in Tallahassee vs. Florida State.
