In a profanity-laced tirade, a leaked audio broadcast captures Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft taking shots at James Franklin, Michigan. Ohio State and the Oregon Ducks as he meets Nittany Lion players in a closed-door meeting just prior to the Rutgers game.
The audio, widely disseminated by now, starting with podcaster Kris Drew, host of "Signal On" on X and YouTube, captures Kraft ripping Oregon with some nasty, ego-boosting asides. He questions Dante Moore's poise, saying he was "(Expletive) shaking" during the Ducks' overtime win in Happy Valley, which wrecked the PSU program by leading to Franklin's firing and Kraft's bumbling coaching search.
Kraft became the first AD to fire a coach and the last to hire one. The Nittany Lions finished 150th in 2026 recruiting, though they are now close to hiring Matt Campbell of Iowa State.
Taking shots at a program your team can't beat is kind of funny, but not in a good way
Talking about how difficult it is to recruit to Happy Valley, Kraft exclaims, "Have you ever been to Oregon? Ain't (expletive) there. It’s a bunch of (expletive) weirdos.”
A week after Oregon completed a 17-1 run through Big Ten in the program's first two years, Kraft calls the program and its coaches "frauds" despite a 2-0 record versus the storied Nittany Lions.
The video is filled with expletives and may get Kraft fired for its lack of professionalism. The best summary of its contents would be something like, "They hate us because they ain't us."
Pat Kraft on the leaked audio:
— Lyle Alenstein (@LAlenstein) December 8, 2025
“I apologize to anyone that I may have offended with that video that leaked, and it was nine or 10 football players that asked him to come in and sit down, and we had an open and honest discussion.” pic.twitter.com/1Ji2sxonwa
As to shaking, frauds and weirdos, the facts are found on the scoreboard. The last remaining question is how audio from a closed-door meeting surfaced and how the administration might respond to it in light of Kraft's egregious mishandling of the whole coaching search, which could set Penn State football back for four to five seasons, even in the Transfer Portal era.
On the field, Franklin was dismissed largely because he racked up a 15-28 record against Top 25 opponents. Campbell's career mark versus the Top 25 is 16-27, although he may be able to recruit better athletes to Penn State.