The college football world was shocked this afternoon when Penn State announced the firing of head coach James Franklin following an awful homecoming loss to Northwestern. This was his third consecutive loss in a season that has fallen apart into a nightmare.
Jason Whitlock was quick to address the surprising news of Franklin’s firing by giving his perspective.
He wrote on X that Curt Cignetti, the Indiana Hoosiers Head Coach, was the reason why James Franklin got fired.
Cignetti got James Franklin fired.
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) October 12, 2025
Whitlock’s blunt remark is a likely reference to Indiana’s victory over Oregon on Saturday , highlighting it wasn’t just another upset. It represented everything Penn State has been missing under Franklin’s leadership. Cignetti took a program that nobody expected anything from and turned them into genuine contenders within his first two seasons.
Curt Cignetti inherited one of the least successful programs in the Big Ten, but his results have been nothing short of stunning in his time at Indiana. He took the Hoosiers from zero to 17-2 in his first season, with the only two losses occurring to the teams that played in last year’s conference championship.
FINAL: Indiana 30, Oregon 20
Curt Cignetti took over the worst program in the Big Ten. He’s now:
* 17-2 at IU
* Only losses: The two teams who played a title last year
* Just handed Oregon its first ever Big Ten lossCurt Cigentti: Best coach in college football
Google him pic.twitter.com/CV0nNGKwVy
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) October 11, 2025
Recently, Cignetti and the Hoosiers made history by giving Oregon its first loss in the Big Ten, and this win for the Hoosiers reinforces Cignetti’s stature as one of college football’s most transformative coaches today.
James Franklin’s Legacy at Penn State
Franklin leaves Happy Valley with a record of 104-45 overall, and 64-36 in Big Ten play. Those standards certainly evidence a very high level of historical success. In six of the twelve seasons, the Nittany Lions won at least 10 games and 3 consecutive seasons with double-digit wins from 2022 through 2024. Once again, the hopes of the fan base resided on the top accomplishment of a national championship, though those dreams were never achieved in full measure.
The Nittany Lions were a part of the Big Ten Championship Game for the second time last year, but only one of those titles came under Franklin’s leadership, and that was in 2016.
Read More:
- Former Ohio State National Champ Trolls Rivals Penn State For Massive $56,000,000 James Franklin Buyout Following Sudden Firing
- Penn State Coaching Candidates: Top 3 James Franklin Replacements as Lions Fire Head Coach
- Penn State Fans Rejoice as Suprise James Franklin Firing Stuns College Football World: “Thank God, He Sucks”
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