James Franklin Hired as Head Football Coach
January 11, 2014
James Franklin hired as Penn State’s sixteenth head football coach, succeeding Bill O’Brien. Franklin, 41, a native of Langhorne, Bucks County, had led Vanderbilt to three successful season prior to becoming Penn State’s first African American head football coach.
![](https://www.blackhistory.psu.edu/assets/timeline/Franklin_James_H_14_MS_1245_Edit.jpg)
James Franklin