ESPN.com · Oct 13, 2025
NFL hot seats: Mike McDaniel, Justin Fields, Brian Callahan
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The NFL typically overshadows most other sports stories on Sunday afternoons during the fall, but Penn State's decision to fire coach James Franklin was an exception to that rule. Fifteen days ago, Franklin's Nittany Lions were the No. 3-ranked team in college football. But after three straight losses, the university decided that it was better off paying their long-tenured coach a buyout of about $50 million and hiring someone else to run the football program.