Penn State fired James Franklin on Oct. 12 after a third straight loss. The Nittany Lions were 104-45 in 11-plus seasons under Franklin.

James Franklin didn't take long to find a new job following his firing at Penn State.

Nor has it taken long for his new position to become a talking point among national media.

Just over a month after he was fired as the Penn State football coach, the 53-year-old coach landed a new position at Virginia Tech, as it was announced on Monday, Nov. 17. This will mark the third head coaching spot for Franklin, who will now have coached in the SEC (at Vanderbilt), Big Ten and ACC.

The day following Franklin's hiring at Virginia Tech, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith questioned on "First Take" whether Franklin could have waited for another job or just taken a "breather," considering his buyout of just under $50 million.

"Just (with what) happened at Penn State, you almost find yourself, I could be wrong, you almost find yourself saying, ‘You got a $49 million buyout, and Penn State stunk, could you take a year off?’ Smith said. "$49 million. $49 million. I’m just looking at that and thinking, ‘Yo, could you take some time off. Could you take a breather?’

"But who am I to say somebody shouldn’t take a job opportunity if the opportunity’s available to them, and it wasn’t like he was going to get an even bigger-time opportunity after what happened at Penn State, so it just didn’t knock me off my socks.”

Penn State fired Franklin on Oct. 12, one day after the Nittany Lions lost to Northwestern, giving them three straight losses following a 3-0 start to the season. Penn State went 104-45 overall in 12 seasons under Franklin after hiring him away from Vanderbilt. Smith

Smith offered his opinion on how Franklin will fit with the Hokies, which should present easier competition than the Big Ten.

"Just because what happened to him at Penn State in the end here doesn’t mean by and large he hasn’t been a damn good coach," Smith said. "He couldn’t win the big game. He can’t be in the Big Ten. He can’t beat Ohio State, he can’t beat Michigan. Going 3-17 against the both of them. Can’t do that, you understand what I’m saying. That’s absolutely true, OK. This year, stuff nose-dived because of the money they threw in into the program, you understand, the offseason, and you got the defensive coordinator from Ohio State, and the highest paid coordinator in the game.

"You gotta win. You gotta win. You got them to spend that money, the NIL, the transfer portal, you gotta win! And he didn’t do that. But in the same breath, I’m looking at, no shade on Virginia Tech, but I mean when you think about the powerhouses of college football, you know, it’s a little bit different. It’s not a bad thing, James Franklin’s resume says he deserves it, and there’s a 12-team playoff now and obviously you can be in the picture, I get it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen A. Smith questions James Franklin's decision to coach Virginia Tech football

Reporting by Ehsan Kassim, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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