Penn State has fired head coach James Franklin after 12 seasons, the school announced on Sunday.

Franklin is owed more than $49 million, per his contract. It’s the second-biggest buyout in college football history behind only Jimbo Fisher’s $76 million buyout from Texas A&M.

Associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as the Nittany Lions’ interim head coach for the remainder of the season, according to the school.

Less than a year removed from an appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals, Franklin’s program appeared to hit a new low when the Nittany Lions traveled out to Los Angeles two weeks ago only to lose to UCLA, a team that not only was winless, but hadn’t previously held a lead all season.

The woes flew back home with the team to Penn State, and with them came “Fire Franklin!” chants at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. The Nittany Lions dropped their second straight home game, and third overall, when they fell to Northwestern, 22-21, in front of a stunned crowd at Happy Valley.

With the two losses, Penn State became the first team since the FBS and FCS split in 1978 to lose consecutive games while favored by 20 or more points in each game, according to ESPN Research.

In Saturday’s defeat to the Wildcats, the Nittany Lions committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half alone. They simply could never get out of their own way, and that was before quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth quarter.

Earlier in the season, when the losing streak began against Oregon at Happy Valley, Franklin fell to 4-21 at Penn State against AP top-10 opponents, including 1-18 against top-10 Big Ten teams.

Franklin’s .160 winning percentage against AP top-10 teams is tied for the third-worst record by a coach (minimum 25 games) at a single school since the poll era began in 1936, according to ESPN Research.

Penn State vice president for intercollegiate athletics Patrick Kraft thanked Franklin in a statement announcing the move, but said the school holds their “athletics programs to the highest of standards.”

“… We believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships,” Kraft said.

Franklin ends his tenure tied with Rip Engle for the second-most wins in Penn State history.