Things aren’t all bad for James Franklin. Yes, he was fired after 11 years of service to a top-tier program. But he’s now set to receive a huge paycheck in the bank. And maybe even a new gig for the season, or at least for next Saturday. Franklin has now moved away from the gridiron, and will next be seen under stage lights. Trading headsets for a mic.

Franklin will be featured in exclusive interview on College GameDay this week, which has CFB internet in an uproar. It’s barely been a week since his firing, but he’s already begun work on correcting his image. Franklin is one of the most established coaches in the market right now. But a shot at broadcasting isn’t too out of place for him. Kirk Herbstreit even vetted for the former HC for a role like that, calling him a “natural.” But some fans aren’t looking at this move in the same positive way.

“This is genuinely insane to me,” wrote one fan on X. And it also seems to be a little unlike him, since the coach usually refrained from being under the spotlight too much. But Franklin was fired rather shockingly, that too against a harsh backdrop. The environment at Happy Valley is still reeling because of his exit. All of this makes for a wild situation between the former HC and the fans.

“When was the last time in the history of any sport that a fired head coach gave a GMA style interview within 6 days of being canned? Pathetic professional victim wanting sympathy from the national media This s— further proves Kraft made the right call,” wrote a disappointed PSU fan. Now as GameDay guest, Franklin will undoubtedly be a major highlight of the show on Saturday. We will likely get to hear his side of the story in that exclusive interview, which will hopefully turn the tide towards his favor a little. “Lots of humility will be on display,” another fan wrote.

This is the first time James Franklin faces the media after his rough exit from Happy Valley. He will be joining in as an unemployed head coach too, which is what makes this segment so unique. While some remain disgruntled, others are excited for this tell-all interview.

Some PSU fans are looking forward to the show

“This should be highly entertaining,” wrote one eager fan, “You’ve got James plus some other eccentric characters.” Other guests in the lineup are of course Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin. Interestingly, they will also be joined by Diego Pavia. This sure is an intriguing group of personalities, all being so different to one another. But Franklin’s addition is surely going to bump up the viewership for this episode of College GameDay.

“Can’t wait to see James Franklin kicking a field goal with @PatMcAfeeShow on @CollegeGameDay this Saturday for $250K. Going to be electric stuff,” another fan commented. We’ll definitely see Franklin in a new light on Saturday. And it won’t be too much of a surprise if he becomes Pat McAfee’s sidekick for the show. The former HC has never been one for theatrics, but now that he doesn’t have any bindings, are things going to take a turn?

“This will be beginning of James Franklin image/PR rehab tour. It’ll probably last a year, during which he’ll be awesome as TV analyst — because he’s very intelligent, charismatic insightful — and turn himself into a hot coaching candidate. A year from now, he’ll land a huge job,” one summed up perfectly. James Franklin might not even have to wait that long to secure his next gig. But he definitely needs a chance to get rid of the bad rap that he got for his disappointing turnout this past few weeks. This GameDay appearance is going to kickoff Franklin’s next big chapter in life. But where it ultimately leads to remains to be seen.