Don't Forget About Dennis Franchione

[ADLER]

"If I can go back and coach again, I don't know that level is a concern to me," Franchione says. "I have been full cycle. I've been there and done that. I'm open to about any level if it's a good fit and my family would be happy. And I may have an opportunity to hire my son (Brad). He has earned his spurs. He won the national championship two years ago at Blinn (Texas junior college) and has a good team this year."

Please check out the article on Rivals.com at Franchione Would Welcome The Right Opportunity

And his Wikipedia page at Dennis Franchione

Sure it may be a challenge to keep him after several years of success, but couldn't the same be said for any successful coach we may get.

[UNT90]

Please check out the article on Rivals.com at Franchione Would Welcome The Right Opportunity

And his Wikipedia page at Dennis Franchione

Sure it may be a challenge to keep him after several years of success, but couldn't the same be said for any successful coach we may get.

Ya, I'm sure another father/son combo would at least keep this board hopping.

2 words: Re Tread

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Ya, I'm sure another father/son combo would at least keep this board hopping.

2 words: Re Tread

I think he would be a great fit here. He wants to get back into college football, has plenty of money so he would take the right situation without a whole bunch of money, and as Adler said, so what if he leaves after building a few successful years, so would anyone else we hire.

[UNT90]

I think he would be a great fit here. He wants to get back into college football, has plenty of money so he would take the right situation without a whole bunch of money, and as Adler said, so what if he leaves after building a few successful years, so would anyone else we hire.

Not convinced that he could build the program. Failed to do it at places with far more resources. I know, I know, TCU, but did he really do that, or did he benefit from having Patterson as a #2.

[greeneagle69]

Yeah, we need to FORGET about Francione....he has a serious integrity problem !!! Ask A&M and Bama.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Not convinced that he could build the program. Failed to do it at places with far more resources. I know, I know, TCU, but did he really do that, or did he benefit from having Patterson as a #2.

True. I guess my thinking is, he wants to get back to a BCS school, so with plenty of money, he may be motivated more than say someone else and be cheap since he already has plenty of money. But who knows.

[UNT90]

True. I guess my thinking is, he wants to get back to a BCS school, so with plenty of money, he may be motivated more than say someone else and be cheap since he already has plenty of money. But who knows.

We went for style last time. Next time I'd rather see us go for substance.

[ADLER]

Yeah, we need to FORGET about Francione....he has a serious integrity problem !!! Ask A&M and Bama.

Yeah right. He left Alabama because they were getting placed on probation for a multitude of violations committed under their former coach, and then Alabama responded by hiring Mr. Integrity himself, Nick Saban.

He was fired at A&M because of politics involving the newsletter controversy, nothing more. He has had success at every stop along the way and finally was stopped by a very secondary violation.

[LongJim]

Would be a very intriguing hire IMO. Say what you want about Fran, but he can coach. He would have no excuse not to dominate the SBC.

[Got5onIt]

Yes to Franocchio!!! The man can coach. Think of the news NT would make with him coming back to DFW.

[greeneagle69]

That happens to coaches at times...I realize that. But the players had the option to leave,sit out elsewhere for a year and be on contending teams. I'm talking about him asking the players to stay with him and not defect.(at Bama)...when they did stay...HE left. This is a matter of record, and was talked about by many coaches at the time and still comes up occasionally. THEIR (fomer Bama coaches and coaches from other schools) opinion about that matter has NOT changed after all this time. Mine neither ! I had a family member on the Bama staff...I trust his "inside" info more than I would from anyone on this board. You can bet Stallings would not have done that things that way either. I have no opinion about Saban. But it's a sad day at UNT when we would compromise principles for a little bit of winning. And the first to suffer wont be our school, or the fans...it will be the players.

[the green rokemi]

Don't be tempted by Devil Fran!!!

[LoveMG]

great choice. he will get the buzz back for us. dodge is over his head, it was totally obvious.

[Travis]

I want somebody who can coach the men on the field and in life. If Fran can't do both, i don't want him.

[NM Green]

make sure to conduct a behavioral interview on this guy:

"the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior."

don't forget about New Mexico! If you can win in Albuquerque, and he did, you can win in Denton with our resources and our future. My concern would be recruiting and recruiting Texans. We are staunch bunch with long memories and we don't like being lied to. Would parents encourage kids to come play for a guy with his track record (all of his record)? It would be the splash we need right now and quite the story in Texas football, but is it worth the risk? Damn we have taken a lot of risks with our program and not sure if we can afford that again.

GMG

[ADLER]

He's a coach, one proven time and again to be a damn good coach at every possible level.

Like ALL coaches, he leaves when other people offer him more money. That has happened a lot for coach Franchione because of his record of building winning programs.

[Got5onIt]

make sure to conduct a behavioral interview on this guy:

"the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior."

don't forget about New Mexico! If you can win in Albuquerque, and he did, you can win in Denton with our resources and our future. My concern would be recruiting and recruiting Texans. We are staunch bunch with long memories and we don't like being lied to. Would parents encourage kids to come play for a guy with his track record (all of his record)? It would be the splash we need right now and quite the story in Texas football, but is it worth the risk? Damn we have taken a lot of risks with our program and not sure if we can afford that again.

GMG

I think Fran is as solid a hire as you can get. His track record is beyond proven.

[eulessismore]

make sure to conduct a behavioral interview on this guy:

"the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior."

don't forget about New Mexico! If you can win in Albuquerque, and he did, you can win in Denton with our resources and our future. My concern would be recruiting and recruiting Texans. We are staunch bunch with long memories and we don't like being lied to. Would parents encourage kids to come play for a guy with his track record (all of his record)? It would be the splash we need right now and quite the story in Texas football, but is it worth the risk? Damn we have taken a lot of risks with our program and not sure if we can afford that again.

GMG

I think you make a good point. It sounds like he has made some serious errors in judgment at times. Did he never realize the sensitivity of issues like player injury information? And to risk the kind of salary he was making at Texas A&M for a few tens of thousands he got out of his "newsletter"? I think we should realize that, collectively as a fan base, we are a head case at this time. Does he have what it takes to deal with all our issues AND all his issues? I mean, we could use a football genius right now, but not one who is a human relationships disaster. We really need someone with a proven record of making good decisions and a record of success at increasingly difficult levels of competition and responsibility. If we're going for a new head coach, I'd prefer someone with success as a head coach at the FCS (or sustained success at the D2) level, or a proven assistant/associate/coordinator at the FBS level. Some have done well (Steve Kragthorpe for a while) coming from working as position coaches in the NFL, but it looks like working at the college level requires skill sets that the NFL does not.

Edited November 29, 2009 by eulessismore

[Objective Aggie]

Fran did not have severe integrity issues. He was just outdone by Stoops and Mack Brown. He could never straighten out the defense, and he lost control of the team.

In many ways, I think Fran would do better in a Sun Belt where the pressure is a little lighter and where his gimmicks will not be outdone by the opponents sheer talent.

UNT may be perfect for Fran and vice versa. Hard to say.

[KingDL1]

Most of my aTm buddies hated Fran, and for that matter so did my TCU buddies. The TCU guys said that LaDainian Tomlinson made him period. I don't like how he left Bama.

[eulessismore]

Here's a link to an article that expresses my doubts about Franchione, especially the part where he questions the judgment of someone risking a $2 million a year job over a newsletter grossing $38k.

Franchione, "Coaching over his head".

[NT91]

integrity problem NO NO NO

How about Butch Davis from NC. He will need a job soon.

[TheTastyGreek]

Apologies to the person who already read this in a PM, but...

Franchione gets $1 million in buyout money from A&M in 2010. We could get him as a $1 coach for 2010 (allowing us to resolve our buyout issues in one year) and pay him $400k per year after that, which is on par with what he was after when he pursued the San Diego State job last year.

In my opinion... If Dennis Franchione isn't our next head coach, it had better be because he slammed his door in the face of a kneeling, pleading Rick Villarreal. I don't know of anyone else out there who's a more perfect fit for what we need.

[KingDL1]

Apologies to the person who already read this in a PM, but...

Franchione gets $1 million in buyout money from A&M in 2010. We could get him as a $1 coach for 2010 (allowing us to resolve our buyout issues in one year) and pay him $400k per year after that, which is on par with what he was after when he pursued the San Diego State job last year.

In my opinion... If Dennis Franchione isn't our next head coach, it had better be because he slammed his door in the face of a kneeling, pleading Rick Villarreal. I don't know of anyone else out there who's a more perfect fit for what we need.

Greek I have to strongly disagree, Faker Fran has a horrible reputation in Texas these days. I find him at best questionable and a PR nightmare.

[Green Dozer]

He was never the same coach without Gary Patterson, sort of like Parcells without Bellichik.