Off to Never-Never Land

Virginia Tech’s hire of James Franklin is a home run, even if the discourse around him has gotten weirdly negative. Franklin’s reputation is shaped by his struggles in the biggest Big Ten games, but context matters: almost no one at Penn State has consistently knocked off Michigan and Ohio State outside of Joe Paterno. Falling short of that bar doesn’t make him a failure—it makes him human in a league dominated by two juggernauts.

At 53, Franklin is still in his coaching prime. He went 104–45 at Penn State, 64–36 in Big Ten play, won Rose, Cotton, and Fiesta Bowls, and added two College Football Playoff wins last year. That résumé isn’t theoretical “upside”; it’s documented proof he can build, sustain, and win big. He’s also the right personality for Blacksburg: an old-school toughness streak paired with the ability to relate to modern players, recruit nationally, and manage NIL/portal realities.

The way it ended at Penn State—two bad weeks after a heartbreaking loss to Oregon—says more about the current climate than the coach. Twelve years of work undone by a tiny sample is “sign of the times” stuff. Virginia Tech is betting that Franklin’s best wins are still ahead of him, not behind, and that’s a rational bet. Five years from now, it would be no surprise if Tech is sitting in a stronger program-to-program position—and Penn State is still trying to find someone as good as the guy they just let go.