There were two coaching hires that probably would have been universally praised. Whoever lands Lane Kiffin if he leaves Ole Miss, and former Penn State coach James Franklin.
Virginia Tech got James Franklin and it’s a home run.
Hokie Nation, we got our guy 🤝
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) November 17, 2025
Coach Franklin’s here to win 🏆
➡️ https://t.co/qFtXyikfDR
🏆 https://t.co/dA4VWjes9z pic.twitter.com/J2MTYyAILt
Sure there are criticisms of Franklin. He was at Penn State for more than 10 years, and never sniffed a truly being a national title threat. This year was suppoesed to be the season he could make a run at a national championship. It was a massive failure, by and large the fact is he’s a winner.
He had back to back top 25 seasons at Vanderbilt, then at Penn State he at 6 10+ win seasons, and 5 top 10 seasons.
Franklin’s recruited the Virginia area while Penn State, and knows the mid-atlantic region.
Virginia Tech needed to make a splash and proved they were committed to really starting winning at football. The $200 million+ addition to the athletics budget over the next 4 years is a big statement, but winning the James Franklin sweepstakes solidifies things.
What’s Virginia Tech’s ceiling? That is a a question mark, but give him a couple of years and the Hokies will be a consistent 8+ game winner.
