'It all turned so bad so fast': Inside James Franklin's Penn State departure

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Two nights earlier James Franklin's last crippled astatine Penn State, an unranked Clarkson University men's hockey squad scored connected the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions a infinitesimal aft puck drop. Behind the net, students erupted into chants of "Fire Franklin" -- and resumed the chant aft each extremity successful a 6-4 Clarkson win.

On Saturday, during Penn State's stunning 22-21 nonaccomplishment to Northwestern, the "Fire Franklin" chants echoed done Beaver Stadium -- and ne'er fto up.

After a 3rd consecutive loss, Franklin looked defeated. As if saying goodbye, helium stood connected the 10-yard enactment and hugged each remaining subordinate connected the tract earlier heading done the southbound passageway for the past clip arsenic caput coach.

There, his woman and girl waited. He sent them up -- possibly truthful they wouldn't perceive the vitriol that awaited him -- arsenic helium passed fans lined up connected either broadside of the underpass to the locker room.

"How it each turned truthful atrocious truthful fast," 1 Penn State diversion section root said, "I don't know."

The Nittany Lions began the play ranked No. 2 successful the AP Top 25. They poured millions into gathering a loaded roster and a seasoned coaching unit that Franklin called his champion yet. While the different Big Ten powers were acceptable to debut caller quarterbacks, Penn State boasted a three-year starter successful Drew Allar, who opened arsenic 1 of the Heisman Trophy betting favorites.

Coming disconnected a CFP semifinal appearance, Penn State seemed poised to pursuit its archetypal nationalist rubric successful 39 years. Yet with those expectations came unprecedented unit connected the Nittany Lions, who nether Franklin had repeatedly wilted successful large games.

As 1 erstwhile Penn State unit subordinate enactment it, "They were either gonna triumph it each -- oregon they were gonna implode."

Six games into Franklin's 12th season, the Nittany Lions imploded.

They mislaid successful treble overtime astatine location to Oregon, which dropped Franklin to 4-21 astatine Penn State against AP top-10 opponents, including 1-18 successful Big Ten games.

They fell astatine winless UCLA -- a squad that had already fired its manager and hadn't led erstwhile each season. Then, they mislaid to an unranked Northwestern, making Penn State the archetypal squad since the 1978 FBS-FCS divided to suffer consecutive games arsenic 20-point oregon much favorites.

"It's 100 percent connected me," Franklin said afterward. "We got to get it fixed -- and I volition get it fixed."

By then, Penn State was excessively broken.

On Sunday, Penn State diversion manager Pat Kraft fired Franklin. It was a difficult, affectional parting, arsenic Kraft had a beardown narration with Franklin and respect for however helium had built the program. Sources wrong the programme indicated civilization wasn't the occupation -- arsenic evidenced by the determination of 10 prima players to crook down the NFL draught and instrumentality for different season.

"This is not a three-game thing," Kraft said Monday. "This is truly diving into wherever we are arsenic a programme -- what is the trajectory of this program?"

That drove Kraft to marque the telephone contempt Franklin's $49 cardinal buyout -- the 2nd largest successful assemblage shot past down Jimbo Fisher's $76 cardinal Texas A&M payout.

Franklin, who didn't instantly respond to texts oregon calls from ESPN, won 149 games and reached double-digit wins six times successful 11 seasons astatine Penn State, including the erstwhile three.

Yet nary substance what helium oregon the programme tried, the Nittany Lions couldn't triumph successful the games that mattered most. And aft Penn State failed to bushed Oregon, the bottommost yet fell retired -- the school's instrumentality basal and powerfulness brokers gave up connected its manager ever getting the Nittany Lions implicit the top.

"I'm present to triumph a nationalist championship," Kraft said. "And I judge our fans merit that."

Interviews with programme insiders item however a play that began with specified committedness successful Happy Valley spiraled retired of power -- and what comes adjacent for Penn State.

THE NITTANY LIONS ree...