With the firing of Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern this week, James Franklin is now the second-longest tenured head football coach in the Big Ten Conference.
Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, hired in 1999, is the dean of Big Ten coaches. He will be 68 on Aug. 1. Fitzgerald, who became the Wildcats’ head coach in 2006 at the age of 31 — at the time the youngest head coach in major college football by five years — was long No. 2 in the Big Ten.
Franklin was hired by Penn State on Jan 11, 2014. He is on his fourth contract since then, the latest coming in November 2021. It’s a 10-year, $85 million deal (plus incentives) that runs through Dec. 31, 2031. His other contracts with Penn State were announced Aug. 18, 2017, and Dec. 6, 2019.
When he was hired, Franklin was Penn State’s fourth head football coach in 28 months.
Since Franklin was hired by Penn State, there have been 39 other head coaches among the other 13 Big Ten football programs, including the current coaches in the conference. Northwestern’s next head coach will be No. 40, not counting Franklin. Six schools have had four or five different head coaches during Franklin’s tenure at PSU.
By the start of the 2023 season on Sept. 2 vs. West Virginia in Beaver Stadium, Franklin will have earned over $60 million in his time at Penn State. That includes base, retention and performance bonuses, access to insurance cash, a car stipend and use of a private aircraft.
Franklin, who turned 51 in February, has an overall record of 78-36 (.684) at Penn State, including a 49-30 (.620) record in the Big Ten. Penn State won the Big Ten title in 2016. He is 4-4 in postseason games, but has won three New Year’s 6 bowls in the past six years.
THE BIG TEN BREAKDOWN
Here’s a breakdown of head football coaches in the Big Ten since Franklin’s hiring, including interim head coaches:
Iowa (1) — Kirk Ferentz
Penn State (1) — James Franklin
Northwestern (2) — Pat Fitzgerald, TBA
Indiana (2) — Kevin Wilson, Tom Allen
Michigan (2) — Brady Hoke, Jim Harbaugh
Ohio State (2) — Urban Meyer, Ryan Day
Michigan State (2) — Mark Dantonio, Mel Tucker
Minnesota (3) — Jerry Kill, Tracy Claeys, PJ Fleck
Illinois (4) — Tim Beckman, Bill Cubit, Lovie Smith, Bret Bielema
Purdue (4) — Darrell Hazel, Gerad Parker, Jeff Brohm, Ryan Walters
Wisconsin (4) — Gary Anderson, Barry Alvarez, Paul Chryst, Luke Fickell
Maryland (4) — Randy Edsall, D.J. Durkin, Matt Canada, Mike Locksley
Nebraska (5) — Bo Pelini, Barney Cotton, Mike Riley, Scott Frost, Matt Rhule
Rutgers (5) — Kyle Flood, Norris Wilson, Chris Ash, Nunzio Campanile, Greg Schiano
