James Franklin made a major concession to Penn State before agreeing to become the new head coach at Virginia Tech.
Franklin and Penn State negotiated the former coach’s buyout down to $9M recently, according to Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports. That is a huge departure from the $49M Franklin was originally entitled to.
This may be something of a hint about what Franklin will wind up making at Virginia Tech. The original $49M buyout would have been offset by his earnings at a new job. This may simply be formalizing that.
Franklin has agreed to become the new head coach at Virginia Tech, which is a clear statement of intent for the program. Though he has been derided for his inability to get over the top in big games, he is regarded as a good program builder who could make a school like Virginia Tech nationally relevant again. They likely invested a good sum of money in Franklin to get him to take the job.
The Hokies are just 3-7 this season. Former head coach Brent Pry, a former Franklin assistant, was fired in September.
