Nick Saban Offers Fiery Criticism of ‘Unfair’ Treatment of James Franklin by Penn State

Saban didn't like Penn State's dismissal of Franklin.

James Franklin made an appearance on ESPN's 'College GameDay' after his dismissal from Penn State / Screengrab via ESPN

Just days after Penn State fired James Franklin, the now former Nittany Lions coach appeared on ESPN's College GameDay Saturday where he opened up on his sudden departure.

Legendary Alabama coach and current GameDay analyst Nick Saban was fierce in his criticism of the university's decision, saying how Penn State treated Franklin was "unfair."

"It's unfair as hell," Saban said Saturday. "For you to go to the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, get into the final four, come out being ranked No. 1 this year, an expectation that you created by what you accomplished at Penn State. And for those people not to show enough appreciation for that and gratitude for all the hard work work that you did, I'm saying it's unfair."

Nick Saban to James Franklin on 'College GameDay': "It's unfair as hell... For [Penn State] not to show enough appreciation for that, and gratitude for all the hard work you did, I'm saying, it's unfair." 🏈🎙️ #CFB pic.twitter.com/xXAayHhqwi

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 18, 2025

Saban and Franklin are both represented by CAA's Jimmy Sexton.

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The Nittany Lions dismissed Franklin, 53, Sunday after a 22–21 loss to Northwestern that followed an upset at the hands of UCLA and a tough double-overtime loss at home to Oregon. He went 104–45 in his 12 seasons coaching Penn State. As Saban mentioned, Franklin led his team to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff last year where they fell to Notre Dame after wins over SMU and Boise State in their first two games.

Penn State starts a new era following three losses to start their Big Ten schedule. They'll play the rest of their season without quarterback Drew Allar, who suffered a season-ending injury against Northwestern. Interim coach Terry Smith and backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer take over for now as the Nittany Lions play their first game post-Franklin at Iowa Saturday as the university searches for a new boss.

Saban, who has won seven national championships, is a high-profile name they could target, although we don't know how serious he is about a return to coaching. His wife, Ms. Terry, was asked about the possibility of them heading to Happy Valley on Saturday's edition of GameDay. She hilariously wants to hear some numbers before taking the somewhat unlikely outcome seriously.

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