Penn State could replace James Franklin with Big Ten head coach
James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions have quickly seen their College Football Playoff hopes vanish over the last few weeks. After starting their losing streak with a tough overtime defeat against the Oregon Ducks, the team has come unraveled.
Over the last two weeks, the Nittany Lions have lost to both the UCLA Bruins and Northwestern Wildcats. With those two losses, their hopes of making a comeback to get into the playoff are gone.
Unfortunately, against Northwestern, Penn State also saw star quarterback Drew Allar go down with a season-ending leg injury.
Read more: Penn State QB Drew Allar Receives Good News Despite Terrible Injury
Due to the struggles the team has been going through, the calls for the program to move on from Franklin have grown very loud. It’s possible the Nittany Lions could bring him back for next season, but his seat is as hot as one can get.
Should Penn State opt to move on from Franklin, a good replacement would be needed. There are a few options that have been brought up for the Nittany Lions.
Johnny McGonigal of PennLive has made a surprising suggestion. He believes that Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti should be the top choice to replace Franklin.
“This will be the top option for a lot of people, and it should. Cignetti has proven at every stop that he’s one of the best coaches in college football. But what he’s done with Indiana is particularly impressive,” McGonigal wrote. “In 2024, he took them to the CFP in his inaugural season. This year, he has the Hoosiers undefeated after a massive win at Oregon. Cignetti has no reason to leave Indiana. He’ll be treated like a king there for as long as he wants, and he has serious NIL backing that’s paid off the last two offseasons. But the 64-year-old is also a cocky, serial winner — and he might want a crack at a traditional, blueblood program.”
Since taking over as the head coach at Penn State, Franklin has compiled a 104-45 record, including 64-36 in Big Ten conference play. His major shortcoming has been unable to win big games against top-ranked teams.
Read more: Former Ohio State HC Urban Meyer Linked to Big Ten Coaching Job
Cignetti, on the other hand, is one of the top head coaches in college football. He has Indiana looking like a legitimate national championship contender in his second season as the Hoosiers’ head coach.
While it would be surprising to see Cignetti leave Indiana to become the new head coach for the Nittany Lions, he should still be a top target. It will be interesting to see if Penn State decides to make a coaching change following the 2025 season.
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