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View Full Version : Before going to aTm, Fran was going to leave Alabama for...



TheUnnamedSooner
11/9/2007, 11:40 AM
Kansas?

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=Aj0LUT.IQgfctautmWv.l_ocvrYF?slug=jn-kansas110907&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Anyway, good read on Mangino, here is the part about Fran:



As impressive as Mangino was, the committee knew that Bohl entered the search intent on hiring Alabama's Dennis Franchione, who was in the midst of his first season with the Crimson Tide.

Franchione knew that fans in Tuscaloosa would be irate if they found out he was interested in leaving – especially for a downtrodden program such as Kansas. So Bohl did his best to keep the situation hush-hush, traveling alone to meet with Franchione and only updating a few of the search committee members about the proceedings.

One minute Franchione seemed ready to accept the job, the next he'd changed his mind. The end came when Franchione told Bohl he needed a little more time because he wanted to see if he was going to be a candidate for the Notre Dame job, which came open when Bob Davie was fired on Dec. 2. That same day, Bohl rescinded his offer to Franchione and hired Mangino.

"No one wants to give Al Bohl any credit," Evans said. "But at the very end, we were dancing with a very successful guy who kept stringing us along, and finally Al just said, 'Forget it. We're offering this job to Mark Mangino.' It took a lot of courage to do that. Six years later it looks like we may have dodged a bullet."

Indeed, Franchione left Alabama the following the season for Texas A&M, where he's expected to be fired after the conclusion of this season.

"Ironic, isn't it?" said John Ferraro, a KU professor and search committee member. "I thought we had Franchione, but I still remember Al saying to me, 'John, this is the best coach I've ever hired.'"

OklahomaTuba
11/9/2007, 02:14 PM
Fran will make one helluva juco coach somewhere.

yermom
11/9/2007, 02:21 PM
after 2002 i didn't really think he was going to do anything there

badger
11/9/2007, 06:19 PM
Fran also wanted the OU job back in '99. Basically, he's like a cockroach--- lay a bunch of eggs in one place and scurry to another as fast as you can. :mad:

NObody should hire this guy ever again... did I emphasize the "no" in NObody enough?

r5TPsooner
11/9/2007, 06:53 PM
I was always a fan of Fran and really wanted OU to hire him after Gibbs but with what has happened over the past few years, and the recent developments and stories coming out in droves... I'm glad that his azz is in College Station and not Norman.

Flagstaffsooner
11/9/2007, 07:07 PM
To hell with Fran. That link was a great read on Mangino.

MichiganSooner
11/9/2007, 11:04 PM
I knew of Fran as he was the Pitt State coach before we moved to that area. I know he won a national D2 title there and was runnerup once or twice or vice versa. Then went onto D1 jobs and was successful until A&M. I remember the onside kicks and other trick plays he did with Bama against OU. It was vintage Pitt State stuff. Never happened at A&M though. Except for the fake punt against us a few years ago the team seemed blah. The option offense he is running down there this year belongs in Div 2 or 3.

sooneron
11/9/2007, 11:11 PM
I remember being excited about the level of coaching in the big 12 when he arrived (although didn't like how he left bama), I was thinking that we had some of the best coaches in college.


Meh, nevermind.

bluedogok
11/9/2007, 11:52 PM
Fran is a mid-major type of coach, he is good at being the underdog who gets them to beat a big team occasionally. He is not a big time program kind of coach. That is why TCU was a perfect fit for him.

r5TPsooner
11/10/2007, 12:05 AM
Fran used to be creative on offense now he's just plain bland or too busy being occupied with getting his $1200 newsletter out to subscribers.

I thought he was gonna be a fine coach at a&m.

CORNholio
11/10/2007, 01:10 AM
Kansas lucked out about Fran. But it would've been comedy gold to watch Bammer meltdown if he had bolted for lowly Kansas. LOL.

swardboy
11/10/2007, 07:03 AM
Kansas lucked out about Fran. But it would've been comedy gold to watch Bammer meltdown if he had bolted for lowly Kansas. LOL.

Having lived in Alabama during Fran's escapade there, I can tell you the meltdown was ALL THAT anyway....bammers cannot conceive that their coach would leave the greatest football program in the universe! Especially after a 10 win season. They must be crazy happy with Fran's predicament now.

stoopified
11/10/2007, 09:25 AM
I thought leaving Bama(a top level program) for aTm( a midlevel program) was a mistake . But KU(a lower member of the midlevel) would have been stupid.

Jacie
11/10/2007, 02:57 PM
Having lived in Alabama during Fran's escapade there, I can tell you the meltdown was ALL THAT anyway....bammers cannot conceive that their coach would leave the greatest football program in the universe! Especially after a 10 win season. They must be crazy happy with Fran's predicament now.

The aTm booster club must've opened those wallets to lure him away. If so, then either he must have been sending out a lot of those $1200/month newsletters or we've only seen the tip of the Fran's fringe benefit iceberg.

crimson&cream
11/10/2007, 11:44 PM
Kansas?

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=Aj0LUT.IQgfctautmWv.l_ocvrYF?slug=jn-kansas110907&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Anyway, good read on Mangino, here is the part about Fran:
Fran use to be HC at Pitt State in Pittsburg ,Ks and was quite successful there.