When Penn State fired football coach James Franklin in October, you knew that he wasn't going to be unemployed for long. You knew that he would want to get back into coaching as soon as he could. The question was, where was that going to be?
As soon as Franklin was fired, Virginia Tech was seen as a destination that was a long shot. However, after a lot of rumors and links to potential openings, Franklin was hired in mid-November to replace his former defensive coordinator at Penn State, Brent Pry. It was a huge hire for the Virginia Tech program.
Franklin is halfway through his first spring practice in Blacksburg. He joined Andy & Ari of On3 to discuss what happened at Penn State and being hired at Virginia Tech. It's safe to say that Franklin is hungry to get things going in 2026.
Virginia Tech coach James Franklin has a chip on his shoulder entering 2026
Understandably, Franklin has a chip on his shoulder after the way things ended last season at Penn State. However, a chip on his shoulder could be good for Virginia Tech.
"I got a huge chip on my shoulder,'' said Franklin. "Kind of an unusual situation. Six games earlier, we're playing for a National Championship. Obviously, some things happened that were in my control, and I take total responsibility for that. Yeah, I got a big chip on my shoulder, I'm extremely motivated, and I really enjoy coming to work every single day, working with a group of people passionate about making Virginia Tech proud.
"I feel a responsibility to coach (Frank) Beamer, I feel a responsibility to coach (Bud) Foster.... We got a lot of work to do, and most of all, our players are driven, excited, and motivated. We got a real good core group of guys that stayed at Virginia Tech and guys we brought from a number of other places, too.''
There is a lot of excitement for Franklin and the 2026 season. The excitement is different from that in years past. If Franklin has a chip on his shoulder, well, that could be bad news for the rest of the ACC.