The Inside Zone

The Inside Zone

Fortuna Files: As the carousel turns

Nine coaches are out. More could join those nine soon.

Matt Fortuna's avatar
Matt Fortuna
Oct 19, 2025
∙ Paid
Share
Photo: Getty

Fifteen thoughts on a wild Week 8 and more:

1. James Franklin’s appearance on the “College GameDay” set was the talk of the morning. As one would expect, public opinion was divided on the former Penn State’s coach comments. Was his performance selfish? Was it classy?

The Inside Zone is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

2. Personally, I don’t think it was either. Perhaps he could have waited a few weeks to let the news marinate, for both him and his former players, but the guy clearly wants to coach again. He didn’t throw anyone under the bus, and his firing happened recently enough that Nick Saban was clearly agitated by it. I know, I know: Breaking news, a coach is defending his peers. But having arguably the greatest coach of all-time saying on the nation’s most-watched college football show that your firing is “unfair as hell” is the kind of PR you simply can’t buy. Right, wrong or indifferent, some college presidents (and likely ADs) will make note of that when conducting their schools’ coaching searches this year.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Matt Fortuna
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture