Ahead of the Northwestern game, James Franklin put out his usual ritual tweet to hype up Penn State faithful, saying, “Game Week! Let’s do this TOGETHER & go 1-0, Nittany Nation.” But Backlash poured in as swiftly. A one-point biting loss, 21-22, against the Wildcats, and Franklin was finally let go. But why was he let go on Sunday? The program wanted to take swift action before scalding criticism started pouring in again. And it seems the optics might have played a role as well.

For a program that lost to UCLA, which had tanked at the bottom of the pit, Franklin’s enthusiasm seemed incredulous. Again, an incredulous fanbase looked straight at Franklin when Penn State tasted dust against Northwestern. Cries of “Fire Franklin” took hold at Happy Valley, and fans got their wish. After three straight losses, it felt inevitable that Franklin’s tenure was nearing its end.

Every Sunday, Franklin would tweet about the next matchup, trying to hype up the fandom. “James Franklin didn’t make it long enough after losing to Northwestern to send his Sunday tweet about Iowa,” The Athletic’s Mitch Sherman wrote on X. “Probably a good thing for optics.”

Then again, before the UCLA matchup, he tweeted, “We need EVERYONE; locked in on being 1-0 against UCLA Saturday! #WeAre. ” Again, fans were put out. “We’ve done our part for years. How about you show up in a big game for once.” “Literally shut the f- up. The fans do their (beep)part every week.”

Again, ahead of the ‘White Out’, he had tweeted, “Oregon, Oregon, Oregon!!!” Nittany Lions’ faithful wanted to believe, but were not entirely sold on. One wrote, “Glad to know you’re rooting for the ducks tomorrow, coach.” The jab stung in those words.

It had become a kind of pattern for the coach to tweet an encouraging post, but he received backlash in return. It was hard for the program to bear with the scalding criticism, garnished with Franklin’s Sunday tweet backlash. The Northwestern example was too recent in their memory. To save the program from such a critique again, the officials might have factored the optics into the timings.

To stop the backlash, even if the program had asked him to stop putting out his tweets, which have become his ritual every Sunday, another controversy would have erupted. But the crux of the situation wasn’t his tweets. It was Penn State’s trajectory into the season.

James Franklin’s narrative arc drowns

James Franklin spent more than a decade at Penn State. Over his 11 seasons, he piled a robust 104-24 resume with the Nittany Lions, leading the program to a Big Ten Championship, seven New Year’s Six bowl games, and a college football playoff appearance. The 2024 season was decent. 11+ wins. The only woe? He buckled again elite programs. Losses against Oregon and Ohio State stung. This season, he was determined to change the narrative that Penn State can win over top-ranked programs. “We’re in total control to change the narrative,” he had said during the media days.

But the tragedy struck. Instead of edging out elite programs, Penn State was snuffed by losing against the not-elite ones. Wanting to beat Oregon this time, they tasted dust. But a loss to UCLA snuffed out the fiery spirit with which the Nittany Lions entered the season. The Bruins went 0-3 into the season, with both their defense and offense crumbling. Their head coach and the defensive coordinator parted ways with the program, and the roster ended at the bottom of the rankings. Then came next, Northwestern, beating down the hammer.

Desmond Howard had said that Penn State has just a two-game schedule this season: Against Ohio State and Oregon. But following three back-to-back losses, that too, against the Bruins and the Wildcats, Franklin’s credibility was at stake. Paul Finebaum didn’t mince his words. “What I am suggesting is that James Franklin meet with the administration at Penn State and start planning an exit, because to me it feels like he has no credibility remaining,” he said on the Matt Barnie Show.

Franklin’s contract was bought out for $49.7 million (approx.) per USA Today.