Virginia Tech Hokies feel like they hit a home run when they hired James Franklin after the season.James Franklin Arrives in Blacksburg with High ExpectationsFranklin comes to Blacksburg after spending 12 seasons as the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. He went 104-45 in his 12 years and made the College Football Playoff in 2024, leading the team to a last-second loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the semifinals.Franklin's biggest problem in Happy Valley was winning the big game. Franklin finished his tenure with a 6-6 record in bowl games and had a 16-29 record against ranked opponents. He also had an abysmal 4-21 record against top-10 teams and a 1-16 record against top-five opponents. That won't fly at a place like Penn State, which wants to win championships.The administration gave Franklin one more chance to change the narrative, hoping the playoff run and the return of several key starters would fuel a strong season in 2025. However, he started the year 3-3 after being ranked No. 2 in the preseason. That resulted in him being fired.Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin during the press conference. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectPaul Finebaum Questions Franklin's ReputationNow, Franklin starts a new era as the head coach of Virginia Tech, after signing a five-year, $41.75 million deal. ESPN's Paul Finebaum discussed the move on "The Paul Finebaum Show." He dismissed any notion that Franklin should be viewed as a great coach."Well, he's not," Finebaum said. "You've got to remember the media is not overly analytical when it comes to people they like. Franklin got out. Nobody remembered he was fired by the end of the year. He's doing 'GameDay,' sucking up to everybody... He's got an easier job. It's a better fit for him. He's followed a bunch of losers at Virginia Tech, so it shouldn't be very difficult for him."Program-Building Track Record Still MattersFranklin has proven to be a good coach, but he hasn't proven he can be a coach who gets your team over the hump. But at Penn State and at Vanderbilt, he showed that he can build programs up. That's why this move is looked at so positively.The Hokies were one of the best programs in the ACC in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s. However, since Frank Beamer retired, the team hasn't been able to find that same flair. Justin Fuente led them to one double-digit win season, but also had three losing seasons.Brent Pry then took over and led them to three losing seasons over his four years, with the one winning year being a 7-6 season. But Franklin has proven he can improve teams once he takes over. When he took over Vanderbilt, they were coming off back-to-back 2-10 seasons. He led them to two 9-4 seasons in his three years before going to Penn State. The Nittany Lions were coming off 8-4 and 7-5 seasons, with the cloud of the Jerry Sandusky incident over them, when Franklin took over. He then led the team to six double-digit win seasons during his tenure.Now the question at Virginia Tech is less about Franklin's ability to build a program and more about whether he can translate that same stability into a faster turnaround in a conference that has become increasingly competitive.If he can quickly restore a baseline of toughness and consistency in Blacksburg, the hire will look like a smart reset for a program that has been stuck in neutral for years. But if the inconsistency from his Penn State tenure carries over, Virginia Tech risks finding itself in a familiar situation, competitive enough to matter at times, but never quite good enough to break through when it counts.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow