When former Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth spoke earlier this week about the firing of James Franklin, he questioned both the timing and fallout of the move.

“I don’t agree with the decision so early in the season,” Freiermuth told Heavy Sports, “I understand why, obviously, with the couple losses to some certain teams. But I wish they would have allowed him to finish out what he started and seen what could have transpired the rest of the season.”

For Freiermuth, James Franklin’s firing hit close to home

Franklin’s firing came on the heels of a 22-21 loss to Northwestern — Penn State’s third straight defeat after climbing as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll. The fall was swift, and the university’s response even swifter: James Franklin, twelve seasons into one of the most stable tenures in college football, was out.

It’s a move that divided the sport. Around the Big Ten, coaches quietly voiced a mix of surprise and sympathy. Freiermuth, who now starts for the Pittsburgh Steelers, didn’t try to hide the emotion behind his words. “I was very close to Coach Franklin,” he said. “Him, my family, we were really close. He was always really good to me and my loved ones. I feel for him. I feel for how it all played out.”

The tight end’s connection to Franklin goes deeper than just nostalgia. Franklin recruited the Massachusetts native in 2017, helped him transition into a leader in the locker room, and built much of Penn State’s modern tight end tradition around him. Freiermuth broke freshman scoring records, became the program’s all-time touchdown leader at his position, and left with a Big Ten Tight End of the Year award — the first in school history.

For players who came through the Franklin era, the firing hit hard. Former teammates like Micah Parsons and Jahan Dotson shared cryptic posts on social media, hinting at both gratitude and disbelief.

Freiermuth echoed that confusion. “He was just in the playoff last year,” he said. “It’s not like the program fell apart. They lost a few games, yeah, but he deserved to finish it out.”

Inside the league, reactions mirrored that sentiment. SEC coaches privately noted how rare it is to see a top-10 program pull the trigger midseason, while several Big Ten analysts framed it as “a gamble on optics” — one that now looks riskier by the day after top coaching candidates like Curt Cignetti and Matt Rhule signed extensions elsewhere.

Freiermuth hasn’t lost his loyalty to the program, though. He still tracks Penn State’s season when he can, watching the games between Steelers film sessions. “I’m interested to see who they hire,” he said. “I’m always rooting for Penn State.”

In the end, his words reflected what many around the sport are thinking — that firing a coach midseason isn’t just a strategy decision. It’s a declaration. And for Penn State, it’s one that’s left its most recognizable alumni wondering whether the right message was sent at the wrong time.

Freiermuth paused before finishing the thought. “Coach Franklin did a lot for that place. You just hope the next guy can build on that — not replace it.”

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