Former Penn State coach James Franklin and Virginia Tech are in early talks for the Hokies’ coaching vacancy, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Nov. 15.
A resolution is expected in coming days, according to ESPN. There is mutual interest between both sides, although Virginia Tech is still conducting a full search.
Franklin was fired by Penn State on Oct. 12 after the Nittany Lions lost three consecutive games to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern. Penn State opened 2025 viewed as national championship contenders after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals last season.
Virginia Tech was one of the first programs to fire its head coach in 2025, parting ways with Brent Pry after an 0-3 start to the season. Pry went 16-24 at Virginia Tech after being hired away from defensive coordinator at Penn State in 2021.
Franklin overall stabilized Penn State but fell short in big games. He went 4-21 against AP top-10 ranked teams at Penn State, although he left the school with a 104-45 record and finished with double-digit wins six times in 12 seasons.
Virginia Tech hasn’t found much success since Justin Fuente’s first two seasons with school, when the Hokies won 10 and nine games in 2016 and 2017. VT hasn’t won more than eight games in a season since then.
The 2016 Big Ten champion would likely be quite the hire for the Hokies, who are searching for program stability.