“I had a great run there, Penn State was good to me and my family,” ex-Penn State HC James Franklin said on GameDay a week after getting fired. After the loss at Northwestern, the PSU management decided to pull the plug on Franklin, ending his decade-long reign. Despite the firing, Franklin remains hopeful for a coaching job in the future. He broke his silence on what happened at the show, which invited support from players, coaches, and certain analysts.

On the October 19th episode of SVPod, Scott Van Pelt and Stanford Steve talked about James Franklin’s College GameDay appearance in Athens. This was the first time Franklin openly talked about what happened on air. The ex-HC was fired after Penn State suffered three consecutive losses.

SVP pointed out how influential James Franklin really was at Penn State, saying nothing happened at Penn State without Franklin’s approval. “No one’s on that team unless he wants them on that team. Walk-ons don’t get scholarships. Guys don’t get offers unless he signs off on it. It’s his team. He’s the guy who sat in the rooms with the moms and dads and got the kids,” expressed SVP.

Well, it checks out because he was their HC for a decade. He built them into top contenders in the Big Four from scratch and won them a B1G Championship in 2016. He even helped them to qualify for the College Football Playoffs for the first time in their history last year. So, firing him this early in the season was somewhat shocking. SVP also believes that James Franklin will be back at the coaching helm of a team because it is very likely that he will have offers.

“He’s going to have his choice of high-profile gigs, is my guess. And if he chooses to take a year and wait, my guess is he won’t because there’s going to be way too many that come calling,” said SVP. As of now, there is no confirmation on where he might be headed next. But his GameDay admission is an indication that he has no plan to retire yet.

After Penn State, what’s next for James Franklin?

Moving on from Penn State will take some time for James Franklin. After all, he built his legacy in the program. It would’ve hurt him to see his beloved team lose to Iowa on Saturday. SVP believes that despite the reported $50 million payout, Franklin would’ve given “the check back if he could have coached his team tonight (Saturday).” However, during GameDay, James Franklin appeared to have moved from the Nittany Lions and was set for another adventure.

“I thought we were going to win a national championship there. That goal hasn’t changed. We’re now going to win a national championship somewhere else,” said Franklin. He sounded as ambitious as ever, which was a positive sign that he took the firing well. Granted, it felt like a hasty decision from Penn State’s management, but it appears as if James Franklin wants to put that chapter to rest.

Given his dream of winning a national championship, it is likely that he would stay in the Power 4 circle to find his new job.