Former Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer thinks the Penn State Nittany Lions already know who they will hire to replace James Franklin.

Penn State fired Franklin this past Sunday after the Nittany Lions’ loss to Northwestern, which was Penn State’s third straight loss.

Franklin took Penn State to within one game of the national championship less than a year ago, and he had the Nittany Lions ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll just a few weeks ago.

Urban Meyer doesn’t think Penn State would’ve fired James Franklin without knowing who they’re going to hire

Meyer, who hasn’t coached in college since resigning at Ohio State following the 2018 season, spoke about Penn State’s decision to fire Franklin this week on The Triple Option.

The three-time national championship-winning head coach pointed to the fact that Penn State is committing to spending around $75 million* to fire Franklin as the reason why he believes the Nittany Lions already know who they’re going to hire.

*Close to $50 million for Franklin’s buyout, plus buyouts for staff members, and possibly a buyout for the new coach and/or new staff members.

“At Penn State, I think it’s a whole different animal,” said Meyer. “When you fire a coach that his record was 104-45, was in the Rose Bowl, the Peach Bowl, and was a score away from playing for a national championship, and 16 days ago could possibly be the No. 1 team in the country — I don’t think you make that move, with a $75 million expense coming, unless you know who you’re going to hire.

“I still go back to this — I can’t imagine you make that decision without saying, ‘I know who I’m getting’….and [Penn State AD] Pat Kraft is a smart guy. We love the guy.”

Meyer’s take makes sense. Spending $50 million (or $75 million if you want to use Meyer’s math) to fire a coach with Franklin’s resumé without knowing who is replacing him would be a bold move.

But at the same time, coaching cycles rarely play out as expected. It seems doubtful that a big-time head coach who is in a playoff race would be thinking about other jobs right now.

We’ll see how this plays out over the next couple of months. Maybe Penn State has its eye on a name who’s had success in college but isn’t currently coaching…

Penn State Nittany Lions News

New report confirms suspicion about the timing of Penn State’s decision to fire James Franklin

The Penn State Nittany Lions fired head coach James Franklin this past weekend after the program suffered its third consecutive loss.

Zach Ragan