Hokie Club
A proven program-builder with a national reputation for elevating teams to championship contention, Franklin brings more than 30 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, most recently serving as head coach at Penn State.
He is one of three active FBS coaches with a 68-plus winning percentage and 14-plus years of head coaching experience. He joins Ryan Day (Ohio State), Kirby Smart (Georgia) and Dabo Swinney (Clemson) as the only active coaches in college football to have won at least five New Year’s Six or College Football Playoff (CFP) games during the CFP era.
Franklin’s career head coaching record is 128-60, leading programs in the Big Ten and the SEC to historic success.
During his 12-year tenure at Penn State, Franklin revived the Nittany Lions into a consistent force, leading the program to 104 victories. Under Franklin’s direction, Penn State finished in the top 12 of the final College Football Playoff rankings in seven of nine seasons from 2016 to 2024, earned berths in seven New Year’s Six bowl games with four wins, and won the 2016 Big Ten Championship.
Prior to Penn State, Vanderbilt University experienced a record setting transformation on the gridiron under Franklin’s leadership from 2011 through 2013. Coach Franklin became the first Vanderbilt coach to guide the team to bowl games in each of his first three campaigns.
In 2012, the Commodores posted a 9-4 mark, earning entries in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Polls for the first time since 1948. The nine wins were the most since 1915 and the five SEC victories, a feat not achieved by Vanderbilt since 1935.
That same season featured the longest winning streak by a Vanderbilt team since 1948 (7), the longest road winning streak since 1950, and the first home victory over Tennessee in 30 years.
Franklin followed with another nine-win season in 2013, including a decisive 41-24 win in the BBVA Compass Bowl, marking the program’s first back-to-back nine-win campaigns in school history.
As head coach, Franklin’s teams have finished in the Top-25 in 13 of 15 seasons with six Top-10 finishes. He has the most wins all-time (128) by an FBS
African-American head coach.
Franklin is also the only African-American FBS head coach to reach 100 career wins and the only African-American head coach to win a Big Ten title.
Franklin coached 18 All-America selections, 32 national major award winners or finalists and 59 NFL Draft picks at Penn State. In his first 15 years as a head coach, Franklin mentored 131 players reaching the NFL ranks.
Franklin is one of just four active head coaches, joining Day, Smart, and Swinney, to have contributed two first-round picks in at least three drafts.
Widely regarded as a tireless and relentless recruiter, Franklin transformed the Hokies’ 2026 recruiting class immediately. In just over two weeks, the class moved from No. 124 in the country by 247 Sports to a consensus top-30 class (ESPN-21st, 247 Sports-30th, On3-29th).
Franklin attributes his success on the field to the strength of his teams’ dedication to four core values: Positive Attitude, Work Ethic, Compete, Sacrifice.
A native of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Franklin earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from East Stroudsburg University after a standout collegiate career as a quarterback, where he was a four-year letterman and a two-time All-PSAC selection. Franklin graduated having broken or tied 23 school records, and was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy as a senior in 1994. In addition to earning a bachelor’s degree from East Stroudsburg, Franklin earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Washington State.
Franklin and his wife of 20 years, Fumi, have two daughters.
Franklin’s Coaching Career
2014-25 - Penn State (Head Coach)
2011-13 - Vanderbilt (Head Coach)
2008-10 - Maryland (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
2006-07 - Kansas State (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
2005 - Green Bay Packers (Wide Receivers)
2000-04 - Maryland (Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator)
1999 - Idaho State (Wide Receivers)
1998 - Washington State (Graduate Assistant/Tight Ends)
1997 - James Madison (Wide Receivers)
1996 - East Stroudsburg (Graduate Assistant/Secondary)
1995 - Kutztown University (Wide Receivers)
Bowl Games as a Head Coach
|
Year |
School |
Record |
Bowl |
|
2011 |
Vanderbilt |
6-7 |
Liberty: Lost to Cincinnati, 31-24 |
|
2012 |
Vanderbilt |
9-4 |
Music City: Beat North Carolina State, 38-24 |
|
2013 |
Vanderbilt |
9-4 |
BBVA Compass: Beat Houston, 41-24 |
|
2014 |
Penn State |
7-6 |
New Era Pinstripe: Beat Boston College, 31-30 (OT) |
|
2015 |
Penn State |
7-6 |
TaxSlayer Bowl: Lost to Georgia, 24-17 |
|
2016 |
Penn State |
11-3 |
Big Ten Champions |
|
2017 |
Penn State |
11-2 |
Fiesta Bowl: Beat Washington, 35-28 |
|
2018 |
Penn State |
9-4 |
Citrus Bowl: Lost to Kentucky, 27-24 |
|
2019 |
Penn State |
11-2 |
Cotton Bowl: Beat Memphis, 53-39 |
|
2020 |
Penn State |
4-5 |
|
|
2021 |
Penn State |
7-6 |
Outback Bowl: Lost to Arkansas, 24-14 |
|
2022 |
Penn State |
11-2 |
Rose Bowl: Beat Utah, 35-21 |
|
2023 |
Penn State |
10-3 |
Peach Bowl: Lost to Ole Miss, 38-25 |
|
2024 |
Penn State |
13-3 |
CFP First Round: Beat SMU, 38-10; Fiesta Bowl: Beat Boise State, 31-14; Orange Bowl: Lost to Notre Dame, 27-24 |