Imagine someone told you during the spring that James Franklin would not be the head coach of Penn State football, Drew Allar wouldn’t be the starting quarterback, and the Nittany Lions would be 0-3 in Big Ten play. You would have laughed in their face.

Well, that is the situation Penn State is in. After losing to Northwestern on Saturday, Franklin was fired from his role as head coach of the Nittany Lions, making Terry Smith the interim until a new candidate is found.

On the day after the firing, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft took the time to speak with the media. Here is what was said.

On James Franklin

Kraft expressed his gratitude to the former Penn State head coach at every opportunity. The beginning of the athletic director’s opening speech was only about Franklin.

“James has been a trusted ambassador for this university and a friend of the Penn State community. We are all incredibly fortunate to have had James Franklin lead our football program for over a decade, and we will be forever grateful to him and his family. We wish them nothing, and I mean this. I wish them nothing but success in the next chapter,” he said.

Kraft was continually asked about Franklin, as the two often talked about each other in the media before the decision to change leadership in the Penn State football program. The two were noted friends and both wanted the same thing for the Nittany Lions, a national championship.

“James Franklin’s a human being. It’s a job he loved, and people can say what they want about James, but it’s a small world we have, and we’re all friends, and so you cannot make decisions of this magnitude lightly.”

On Penn State’s Coaching Search

Kraft also spent much of his opening statement talking about the next head coach of Penn State. While this was meant to calm Penn State fans and give them confidence in the decisions, Kraft was also seemingly pitching to coaches around the country why Penn State is the place to be.

“Our next coach will be someone who embodies everything Penn State stands for: integrity, accountability, toughness, humility, and an elite motivator,” Kraft said. “We’ll find a coach who can achieve excellence at the highest level, doing it with confidence and conviction.”

He also mentioned the recruiting aspect of coaching at Penn State. Franklin was often cited as being an excellent recruiter in the northeast with strongholds on the talent in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia.

“Recruiting will always be a pillar here. We want someone who will attract elite talent, retain players in the NIL era, and make Penn State a destination. This is also about the modern era of college football. Our next coach needs to be able to maximize elite-level resources, attack the transfer portal, and develop at the highest level,” he said.

Franklin is also responsible for bringing Penn State into the present. College football changed a lot after the Joe Paterno era, and Penn State did not. Kraft acknowledged this, saying the next coach in Happy Valley will need to respect the traditions but also not be afraid to evolve the program.

“This person has to fit Penn State. They need to represent the toughness, the blue-collar work ethic, and the class that defines this institution,” Kraft said.

Kraft ended his opening statement claiming Penn State to be the best program in the country and one that can no doubt win a national championship in the near future.

On Franklin’s Buyout

Kraft did not go into the specifics of the reported over $49 million buyout James Franklin will receive. There is a lot of talk about the specific details of when the money is sent, or if it is fully guaranteed.

What he did talk about was how Penn State Athletics will take full responsibility for the price, the overall school fund, and Pennsylvania will not help alleviate the financial pressure of the situation.

“This is an athletics issue. This is not the institution’s issue. So we in athletics are covering all the costs. I just want that to be known. So we are absorbing all the costs associated with this as it gets to structural, how it’s paid,” he said.

On What Led to The Decision

Kraft made it very clear that the decision to fire Franklin was not fully because of the 3-3 start to the 2025 season.

“This is not a just, it’s not a three-game thing. This is really diving into where we were as a program. What is the contrary to this program? And you all know, and I’m not shy to admit it, I’m here to win a national championship. I believe our fans deserve that,” he said.

The Penn State program, Kraft said, was prepared to let Franklin go prior to the season starting. This was not due to lack of confidence, but rather just a precaution that Kraft says all schools take.

“I felt it was time to remember that we’re in a different era of football, and there’s a lot of things that come with this new era, and transfers and everything. But I didn’t feel like for our student athletes and the staff and the program and our fans, there just wasn’t a choice,” Kraft said.

On Drew Allar’s Injury

Penn State’s athletic director was very emotional on the podium when asked about Allar. The Medina, Ohio, native saw his Penn State career come to an end after getting injured against Northwestern.

“He’s going to be an incredible pro football player. He’s going to be an incredible ambassador for this program.”

Kraft gave Allar a lot of credit for sticking with the Nittany Lion despite dealing with a lot of outside noise from fans. Allar took a lot of blame for recent losses after throwing game-sealing interceptions against Oregon and Notre Dame.

“He’s just an amazing kid,” Kraft said. “I mean, I don’t know what else to say. He’s been through a lot, and he is that he’s a kid, and I think to see someone who’s gone through a lot at a young age, and anyone who ever doubts that that young man’s commitment to Penn State and Penn State football, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

Kraft’s connection with Allar and all of the players is beyond that of fans. This connection is part of the reason getting rid of Franklin was so difficult; he knew the players loved him.

“I get to see them as my children, and it’s so much bigger than how many touchdowns you throw. I get it like, look at I’m trying to lie to y’all, we all know we want to win. He wants to win in the worst way. He’s working his hardest to do that, and to see it end that way, you never want that,” he said.

On Terry Smith

Former Penn State football player under Paterno and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith was named the interim head coach for the Nittany Lions moving forward.

“Terry is a proud Penn Stater. He helped build this program as both a player and a coach, and he understands what it means to wear the blue and white. I am confident he will pour his heart and soul into this role, and our players and fans deserve nothing less,” Kraft said.

Kraft also noted at the end of his press conference that Smith will be looked at as much as anybody else to be the next permanent head coach in Happy Valley.