Sure, James Franklin's Buyout Is Huge—But These Two Coaches Would Set NCAA Records If They're Fired

Penn State fired head coach James Franklin after the school dropped three games in a row. The Nittany Lions lost their last two contests despite entering the game as favorites of more than 20 points. It's the first time in 30 years a school has lost consecutive games when being such heavy favorites.

Yes, Penn State was a play away from reaching the College Football Playoff National Championship game last year. And it's generally been a strong program since Franklin took over in 2014. But despite an overall solid record of 104-45 during his Penn State tenure, Franklin's Nittany Lions regularly lost big-time games. And with this latest pair of defeats, they were losing the ones they should have been winning, too.

So, Franklin departs with a buyout of around $50 million. It's the second-highest buyout a coach has ever received, behind only the $76 million Texas A&M is paying Jimbo Fisher through 2031 to no longer coach the Aggies.

But there are two current coaches who have buyouts that would make Franklin's and Fisher's monstrous sums look quaint by comparison.

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If USC's Lincoln Riley gets fired, he would receive $90 million. And the top dog (or dawg, considering the school), is Kirby Smart. He's already college football's highest-paid coach with a salary of nearly $13.3 million. If Georgia parts ways with him, the school is on the hook for an incredible buyout of $118 million.

Riley left Oklahoma to join USC in late 2021 on a massive deal that included rumors of a private jet and an LA mansion. He's had a shaky performance with a 31-15 record through three-and-a-half seasons. But USC is 5-1 this year, with the lone loss coming to a good Illinois team on a game-winning field goal as time expired.

It's highly unlikely USC would move on from Riley anytime soon, especially with the way the team is playing this season.

It's even more unlikely that Georgia would send Smart packing. He's been one of the best coaches in college football. From 2021 to 2023, Georgia went 42-2, undefeated in SEC play, and won two national championships. Last season was a down year by Georgia standards, and the Dawgs still went 11-3 and reached the College Football Playoff.

Smart probably has full say as to when he departs the school. And that's a good thing for Georgia, because it would be footing one massive bill.