James Franklin needs to do the right thing and leave Penn State following this season.

The school cannot fire him. There’s no way PSU can afford to buy out Franklin’s contract for more than $50 million. So, the coach is going to have to be the one to end the marriage so that everyone involved can move on with their lives.

Why would you want to stay somewhere when nobody wants you there any longer? And that, to be clear, is Franklin’s current status at Penn State.

Franklin didn’t just lose a game to lowly UCLA. He lost pretty much the entire fan base with that debacle, which very well could be the worst loss in Penn State history.

I don’t believe Franklin will ever get the fan base back.

OK, yes, perhaps he could if the Lions win at Ohio State next month, finish 10-2 and get into the College Football Playoff. If Franklin could pull off that miracle, then he will have proven me and everyone else wrong.

But come on. There’s just no way the Lions are going to win in Columbus. And when they lose that game — which would eliminate them from playoff contention — Franklin needs to have his high-powered agent, Jimmy Sexton, looking for another landing spot in what’s sure to be a crazy coaching carousel this offseason.

That’s the easiest way for this divorce to occur. Neither side contests anything, there’s no custody battle, dividing assets isn’t a concern.

Mutual separation.

Case closed.

Franklin has taken Penn State as far as he can. But he’s now become a national punchline. The butt of jokes.

Everyone knows he cannot win big games. And now that Penn State has suffered the utter humiliation of losing to a horrendous UCLA team, the Franklin slander has reached an all-time high.

He’s no longer an asset to the program. He’s become a distraction.

Penn State doesn’t need that. It doesn’t need for the only story anyone’s talking about concerning the program to be that the head coach is a laughing stock. Go and read or watch all the coverage about Penn State right now, and that is literally all you’ll find.

This is the kind of stuff that can bury a program. Fast.

If Franklin truly is a Pennsylvania boy with a Penn State heart, then he must realize that he has broken the hearts of PSU fans everywhere and that the only thing they want right now is for a fresh start.

Is any of this fair? Will the grass be any greener on the other side with a new coach?

Maybe not, on both counts.

But this is the reality that Franklin has created for himself. He did it. And now he needs to fix it — not by trying to tough it out remaining Penn State’s coach, but rather by turning the page for himself, his family and all of Nittany Nation.

If he doesn’t want to do that, doesn’t want to move on, Franklin certainly could hold Penn State hostage, and it could be a very messy divorce. There’s no way around his massive buyout, so he could use that as leverage to stick around for several more years.

Maybe, just maybe the two sides could reach a settlement to lower the buyout, say somewhere in the $25-30 million range. Why would Franklin do that? Because deep down he has to know that he’s no longer wanted or appreciated at Penn State, so why continue to anger everyone or deal with the constant criticism by sticking around?

Perhaps PSU could pull a Bobby Bonilla and pay Franklin $2-3 million a year for 15 years or whatever as the buyout. Maybe that could work financially.

The Lions could suffer a big dropoff next year as they lose a ton of key players on both sides of the ball. Franklin’s stock, therefore, could take an even bigger hit, and he’s got to know that.

Once Franklin loses to Ohio State, all plans need to be in place for him and the school to finalize the divorce.

Cory Giger hosts the new Blue & White Wrapup show following each Penn State game this season on 96.9 and 100.7 FM.