On Monday, Virginia Tech announced the hiring of James Franklin as its next head football coach.

Franklin will be officially introduced at a press conference on Wednesday morning.

During his weekly Tuesday press conference, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney commented on Virginia Tech hiring Franklin, who most recently served as head coach at Penn State.

“He’s a winner. He’s won everywhere he’s been,” Swinney said. “He’s a good football coach. I’ve known James for a long time. I have a good relationship with him. Certainly will be great for our league, and I think it’s a great fit.”

Franklin was fired by Penn State on Oct. 12 after the Nittany Lions fell to 3-3 on the season with a third straight loss. Penn State opened this season as the No. 2 team in the preseason AP Poll. However, after losing to Oregon in Week 5, they followed that with losses to UCLA and Northwestern.

Franklin brings more than 30 years of coaching experience at the college level. His career head coaching record is 128-60 and he is one of three active FBS coaches with a 68-plus winning percentage and 14-plus years of head coaching experience. His 104 wins in his 12 seasons as head coach at Penn State are the second most wins in school history.

Under Franklin’s direction, Penn State finished in the top 12 of the final College Football Playoff rankings in seven of the last nine seasons, earned berths in seven New Year’s Six bowl games with four wins, and won the 2016 Big Ten Championship.

Prior to his time at Penn State, Franklin spent three seasons at the helm at Vanderbilt from 2011-13, becoming the first Vanderbilt coach to guide the team to bowl games in each of his first three campaigns.

Last season, Penn State finished with a 13-3 record. The Nittany Lions advanced to the CFP semifinals in 2024 before being eliminated by Notre Dame.

Franklin reached 100 wins at Penn State in 2024, becoming one of seven active FBS head coaches with 100 or more wins at their current school – a list of coaches that includes Swinney.

“He’s a winner,” Swinney said. “I know people – he hasn’t won the championship. He was a play away last year from being in the national championship. But he’s a proven football coach. I think they made a great hire. I think he’ll do a great job. Again, great for the league, great for Virginia Tech, and good for the kids that he’ll have an opportunity to coach.”

Franklin is set to replace his former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry, who was fired by Virginia Tech in September following an 0-3 start to this season and a 16-24 record in his tenure with the Hokies dating back to the 2022 season.

Franklin has rich ties to the DMV area. In addition to recruiting that area at Penn State, he spent two different stints as an assistant coach at Maryland and one year as an assistant at James Madison.

“Similar recruiting footprint, as far as what he’s been a part of for a long time,” Swinney said. “I’m happy for he and Fumi, his wife.”

Clemson is slated to play Virginia Tech at home in 2026.

–Virginia Tech Athletics contributed to this story

–Photo courtesy of Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images