James Franklin’s unceremonious exit from Penn State just a few days after a third consecutive defeat of what promised to be a title-contending season has not deterred the long-time Nittany Lions’ head coach.

Despite leading Penn State to the brink of the 2024 National Championship game and being number one in the 2025 preseason rankings, the top brass in not-so-Happy Valley felt that a change was needed after the recent downturn in results, even though it would cost $49m dollars to buy Franklin out of his contract.

On Saturday, the former head coach made his first media appearance since being fired, as he answered questions on the set of ESPN’s College Gameday in front of a raucous crowd in Athens, Georgia, and began by explaining the circumstances of how he found out he was being let go and how he subsequently addressed the team.

“We were at practice Sunday [after the loss to Northwestern], and had a team meeting due at 1.45,” he recounted. “About 1.30, however, the AD walked in and said, ‘We’re going to make a change. I’m sorry’. I was in shock, obviously, and really took the next 15 minutes to let my kids know so they wouldn’t find out on the internet. Then I walked down and had a super emotional meeting with the team to tell them I was leaving. Really, that was it. It was that quick — and I was pretty much in shock as that was going on.”

Asked how he felt he had been treated, as the panel seemingly trying to illicit whether he felt hard done by, Franklin tried to highlight the positives of his time in College Station, but also the impact his departure will have on players and staff.

“Well, fair is not for me to decide, right? That’s for other people to decide,” he insisted. “A decision that was made that was hard for me to comprehend at the time. But what I want to do is focus on all the unbelievable moments. I had a great run there, 12 years. Penn State was good to me, my family.

“Most importantly, it’s about the players. I’m a player’s coach. I always have been. So that’s the hardest part, walking away from all those young men in that locker room. The recruits that were committed to us. A lot of tough conversations. That’s the challenge, the people. At the end of the day, it’s the coaches, the staff, their families, the kids. What I don’t think people realise is how many people this affects — a ton of people. So that’s where my heart breaks.”

Former Alabama head man Nick Saban, now a regular on ESPN, was not quite so balanced in his response, expressing how he felt that Franklin’s accomplishments with the school did not warrant his dismissal and how preseason expectations can put untenable pressure on the locker room.

“You made the statement that it’s not up to you to decide what’s fair or unfair,” Saban said. “We asked you that question, and I’m going to answer it. It is unfair as hell for you to go to the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, get in the Final Four, come out being ranked number one this year and have the expectation that you created by what you accomplished at Penn State. And for those people not to show enough appreciation for that and gratitude for all the hard work that you did, I’m saying it’s unfair.

“But I will ask you this because this is one thing that I hated was we were ranked number one going into preseason several times, because you didn’t know how it was going to affect your team. So, being number one out of the box this year, do you think that affected the way your team prepared to start the season?”

Franklin deflected at that point but, when asked what is next for him, he emphasised how football remains his singular focus, and how he hopes to be able to guide another team to success.

“To be honest with you, the first thing I needed was to take a deep breath,” he admitted. “I needed to make sure the people that are around me are in a good place. But, after that, I don’t know anything else. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I don’t have hobbies — I don’t golf, I don’t fish — so this has been such a big part of my identity, such a big part of my family. And we love it.

“So, it was ‘take a deep breath, kind of in shock, surreal for a moment’ — and then it’s, ‘Hey, we got to get back to doing what we do’, which is help young people achieve their dreams, get a great education, still balance what college football has become: the student athlete experience and big time business.

“But there’s a way to do that. I can’t wait for that next challenge. And we’re going to go win a National Championship at the highest level.”