When Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft decided to fire football coach James Franklin in October, it was a move that felt like it came with pressure from the fanbase. When the firing happened, it had to do with results on the field, but it also had to do with the frustration growing among fans.
As soon as he was fired, he vaulted to the top of the list for Virginia Tech, which fired Brent Pry, Franklin's former defensive coordinator at Penn State, just a couple of weeks earlier. Franklin became the hottest name on the coaching market, and Virginia Tech's search committee didn't waste time making a move for him.