The Nittany Lions are in the early stages of their search, and are likely to take big swings to try and find a successor to James Franklin.

The James Franklin era at Penn State came to an end last weekend when the Nittany Lions fired their coach of 12 years. Franklin left an indelible mark on the program in nearly all the right ways, rebuilding it into a perennial Big Ten and national championship contender after a period of turmoil.

Franklin's lengthy Penn State tenure came to an abrupt end two weeks ago. It's time to reflect on some of the biggest moments of his tenure.

When Christian Hackenberg talks about James Franklin, he does so with a mix of respect and realism. The former Penn State quarterback, who started under both Bill O’Brien and Franklin from 2013 to 2015,

Franklin said he wants to coach again next season, and the transfer portal will help him populate a new roster.

James Franklin says he was shocked when Penn State fired him hours after a loss in which the Nittany Lions also lost quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending injury but that he cannot wait to coach again elsewhere.

James Franklin made his first comments about his Penn State firing that materialized earlier this week, appearing on a “College GameDay” segment.

James Franklin said he is still trying to wrap his head around his abrupt firing at Penn State six days ago. He was direct and spoke confidently about how his ultimate head coaching goal hasn't changed during a Saturday morning exclusive interview on ESPN's "College GameDay" on Oct. 18.

Franklin built a loyal group of Penn State assistants and staffers, many of whom could join him at his next program.

There are already several jobs that have come open with over a month left in the regular season. Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, UCLA and Stanford are the six non-PSU Power Four openings, while Colorado State, Oregon State, UAB and Kent State have all come open at the Group of Six level.