Fran In The Mix

MeanGreen61 · October 29, 2010

North Texas: Former Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower has not been contacted. There is also a report that Dennis Franchione is a candidate.

FootballScoop.com

http://www.footballscoop.com/the-scoop

chrisfisher · October 29, 2010

It think there is absolutely no chance because of the pay he commands, but I he'd get my vote out of all the candidates discussed so far.

PlummMeanGreen · October 29, 2010

It think there is absolutely no chance because of the pay he commands, but I he'd get my vote out of all the candidates discussed so far.

And we know what that amount is? :rolleyes:

Another alum told me Coach Fran applied at 2 other jobs in the western USA that were going to pay around (I think he said) $400K to $500K and Coach Fran was still interested; albeit he did not get either job.

As I posted in a thread last week, if Coach Fran can come along with his Brenham JUCO HFC son, then we have won the daily double at North Texas. Remains to be seen if either parties are truly interested in the other, though. As the other fellow alum said just last night: "Coach Fran at his age may be ready to plant his roots for awhile."

Coach Fran wanted our job before when he was at TSU (SM). But... :rolleyes: in keeping with our on-going record of superb HFC hires at UNT, we hired Dennis Parker instead.

GMG!

Edited October 29, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

eppy4life · October 29, 2010

It think there is absolutely no chance because of the pay he commands, but I he'd get my vote out of all the candidates discussed so far.

agree

LongJim · October 29, 2010

I would be ecstatic if Franchione was hired.

chrisfisher · October 29, 2010

And we know what that amount is?

Another alum told me Coach Fran applied at 2 other jobs in the western USA that were going to pay around (I think he said) $400K to $500K and Coach Fran was still interested; albeit he did not get either job.

As I posted in a thread last week, if Coach Fran can come along with his Brenham JUCO HFC son, then we have won the daily double at North Texas. Remains to be seen if either parties are truly interested in the other, though. As the other fellow alum said just last night: "Coach Fran at his age may be ready to plant his roots for awhile."

Coach Fran wanted our job before when he was at TSU (SM). But... in keeping with our on-going record of superb HFC hires at UNT, we hired Dennis Parker instead.

GMG!

I hope you are right, and I certainly have not kept up with all the coach talk as well as you folks have - but I am seem to recall he made millions at A&M. Nonetheless, i hope that you are right that Fran wants to reestablish himself in coaching and might be willing to accept reduced pay.

greenjoe · October 29, 2010

Coach Fran equals instant credibility equals a constant presence in Dallas and Ft. Worth newspapers.

PlummMeanGreen · October 29, 2010

Coach Fran equals instant credibility equals a constant presence in Dallas and Ft. Worth newspapers.

:clapping:

Judge Joe, I'll be up in 1 hour to buy another new bike from you! :lol: Fact is, you've been around to see the impact of a name coach and so have I. (Why aren't we doing a better job of selling the "name" concept, though)? :mellow: :rolleyes:

GMG!

Huff · October 29, 2010

Guys we need to remember that Coach Fran would be coming from Unemployed.....not Texas A and M or Alabama. Over the long haul, Unemployed does not pay as well as the job at North Texas. He just might take it to get a fresh start. Who knows ? It is like asking a pretty girl for a date. She can't say "yes" if you don't ask her.

houstonmeangreen · October 29, 2010

And we know what that amount is?

Another alum told me Coach Fran applied at 2 other jobs in the western USA that were going to pay around (I think he said) $400K to $500K and Coach Fran was still interested; albeit he did not get either job.

As I posted in a thread last week, if Coach Fran can come along with his Brenham JUCO HFC son, then we have won the daily double at North Texas. Remains to be seen if either parties are truly interested in the other, though. As the other fellow alum said just last night: "Coach Fran at his age may be ready to plant his roots for awhile."

Coach Fran wanted our job before when he was at TSU (SM). But... in keeping with our on-going record of superb HFC hires at UNT, we hired Dennis Parker instead.

GMG!

in keeping with our on-going record of superb HFC hires at UNT, we hired Dennis Parker instead Those "blue light specials" are killing us !

MeanGreen61 · October 29, 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Franchione

PlummMeanGreen · October 29, 2010

Guys we need to remember that Coach Fran would be coming from Unemployed.....not Texas A and M or Alabama. Over the long haul, Unemployed does not pay as well as the job at North Texas. He just might take it to get a fresh start. Who knows ? It is like asking a pretty girl for a date. She can't say "yes" if you don't ask her.

And Don that is a major concern for Fran coming from that great school, ie, Unemployed U and that very well could be a deal-killer for both Fran and Bowers (whose been out a few years, too)?

I think Neinas has his work cut out for himself on this one. If we get a name hire, though, I think we can expect a few blemishes which may be the reason UNT would get such a hire?

This whole thing is a crap shoot because none of us are modern day "prophets", but we sure need to hire someone (maybe with name value or maybe not) who can help with that other "profit" factor next year in the new stadium and then beyond. Of course, a whole bunch of wins will go a long ways toward that, too. :rolleyes:

GMG!

All About UNT · October 29, 2010

Franchione interviewed for the San Diego State University head coaching job in 2008 when the school fired Chuck Long,[45] and ended up being a finalist for the job alongside then-Ball State head coach Brady Hoke and UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. The job eventually went to Hoke.[46]

Franchione recently applied for the head coaching position at UNLV, following Mike Sanford's termination as head football coach after the 2009 season.[47] Franchione interviewed with UNLV's Athletic Director Jim Livengood on December 21, 2009 but was not selected.[48]

Both jobs were under $500k with UNLV reportedly paying around $350,000 before incentives.

BIG news broke a week ago about his son....who may need to seek exit from Blinn

Link to article (scroll down)

"That incident involved a short-lived suspension of Franchione that was lifted just hours after it was imposed. Franchione was accused of wrongfully selling seats at Spencer Stadium. An investigation or review of the incident has been conducted."

NT80 · October 29, 2010

Fran was one of two finalists for the UNLV job in 2009 that former Montana coach Bobby Hauck was selected for.

From google:

"Hauck and UNLV agreed on a three year contract worth $350,000 annually in base pay. Hauck can also earn up to $150,000 in completion bonuses that are heavy in incentives."

NTSUEagle · October 29, 2010

Franchione interviewed for the San Diego State University head coaching job in 2008 when the school fired Chuck Long,[45] and ended up being a finalist for the job alongside then-Ball State head coach Brady Hoke and UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. The job eventually went to Hoke.[46]

Franchione recently applied for the head coaching position at UNLV, following Mike Sanford's termination as head football coach after the 2009 season.[47] Franchione interviewed with UNLV's Athletic Director Jim Livengood on December 21, 2009 but was not selected.[48]

Both jobs were under $500k with UNLV reportedly paying around $350,000 before incentives.

BIG news broke a week ago about his son....who may need to seek exit from Blinn

Link to article (scroll down)

"That incident involved a short-lived suspension of Franchione that was lifted just hours after it was imposed. Franchione was accused of wrongfully selling seats at Spencer Stadium. An investigation or review of the incident has been conducted."

Chip off the ol' block, eh? Not suprising, since Blinn has been the feeder for A&M all these years.

jazzer88 · October 29, 2010

Sheesh...Fran is almost 60. Don't you folks think that UNT needs some youthful energy? This is gonna be a tough job that will require late and long hours (if the coach cares and is not just adding to his pension). I'm not implying that a 60 yr old can't manage this, but age maybe should be a factor.

All About UNT · October 29, 2010

Sheesh...Fran is almost 60. Don't you folks think that UNT needs some youthful energy? This is gonna be a tough job that will require late and long hours (if the coach cares and is not just adding to his pension). I'm not implying that a 60 yr old can't manage this, but age maybe should be a factor.

Better watch out....Plumm will tear you up!

jazzer88 · October 29, 2010

Of course, it's Blue who's the first to read this.

MeanGreenTexan · October 29, 2010

Sheesh...Fran is almost 60. Don't you folks think that UNT needs some youthful energy? This is gonna be a tough job that will require late and long hours (if the coach cares and is not just adding to his pension). I'm not implying that a 60 yr old can't manage this, but age maybe should be a factor.

I think the "energy" coaches are the assistants. Dennis would be the "CEO" guy. I think he knows football well enough to know when to call timeouts and such, and I think he knows enough people to get the right assistants in, including his son at DC.

All About UNT · October 29, 2010

I think the "energy" coaches are the assistants. Dennis would be the "CEO" guy. I think he knows football well enough to know when to call timeouts and such, and I think he knows enough people to get the right assistants in, including his son at DC.

now someone go dig up Jr.'s current salary

greenjoe · October 29, 2010

Easy on that "almost 60" stuff.

Sign Fran now. Hope he is so successful that a higher paying program hires him away from us.

And all we're left with is a winning tradition that other head coaches are wanting to interview for.

jazzer88 · October 29, 2010

I think the "energy" coaches are the assistants. Dennis would be the "CEO" guy. I think he knows football well enough to know when to call timeouts and such, and I think he knows enough people to get the right assistants in, including his son at DC.

Of course, you're correct, but wouldn't it be nice if the HC wasn't a "CEO," but the type of guy who get in trenches with his players and fans? The kind of HC that has the energy to be involved on every level. Isn't that what UNT, at this point, really needs? A CEO is great at established programs like UT and OU, but maybe UNT needs a hungry coach who knows the names of all his players, knows the active alumni, knows the history of UNT football, gives interviews to any who will listen, visits gomeangreen, etc. Someone who NEEDS to win personally and will do anything to achieve that. I kind of like Fran though...

SleepingGiantsFan · October 29, 2010

Franchione interviewed for the San Diego State University head coaching job in 2008 when the school fired Chuck Long,[45] and ended up being a finalist for the job alongside then-Ball State head coach Brady Hoke and UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. The job eventually went to Hoke.[46]

Franchione recently applied for the head coaching position at UNLV, following Mike Sanford's termination as head football coach after the 2009 season.[47] Franchione interviewed with UNLV's Athletic Director Jim Livengood on December 21, 2009 but was not selected.[48]

Both jobs were under $500k with UNLV reportedly paying around $350,000 before incentives.

The above is generally correct but not completely. It's apparent to me that Walker was a finalist for the SDSU job in name only. Think BCA pressure and the desire to have an African American finalist after the two black coaches SDSU was really interested in, Dennis Green and Turner Gill, declined to interview. Also, Chuck Long was earning $725K and Brady Hoke is being paid $685K so the half a mil this article says the SDSU job was paying is inaccurate. As to UNLV, it's a basketball school whose alumni have very little interest in football and it is therefore the lowest paid position in the MWC by a considerable amount.

Would Coach Fran come to North Texas? As a poster said above, he's unemployed. Further, I've been told and logic suggests that each year of unemployment makes a coach more concerned about never being able to get another head coach position. Since Franchione was indeed a finalist for the SDSU job, I did a lot of research and spoke with another Aztec whose cousin has coached in the college and NFL ranks for 30 years and here's my opinion.

The guy's an excellent recruiter. He brought LaDainian Tomlinson to TCU when the Horned Frogs program was way down, for example. And assuming he is given sufficient money to do so, he would put together a solid staff as he did at UNM when the Lobos program was a disaster. However, there are downsides. One is that he has reportedly tended to be inept in dealing with big bucks alumni who expect to be catered to and will be reluctant to open their wallets if they aren't. Another is his option offense. Frankly, for most of us it's just boring to watch. Efficient perhaps in burning the clock and allowing his defense to rest, but boring. And casual fans don't just want to see victories, they want to see exciting ones. Finally, considering how much money he's already earned, I would be concerned he would be your version of Dennis Erickson at ASU. Meaning he would be highly motivated his first couple years and then just get tired of working hard and start coasting, knowing that if he's fired, he can just retire.

My guess is you could get him. However, if you do, you know he's going to be short term. Because if he gets bored, he will retire on the job. If he doesn't, he will leave ASAP for greener pastures. (Check how long he stayed at Alabama after aTm offered a better package.)

SleepingGiantsFan · October 29, 2010

I think the "energy" coaches are the assistants. Dennis would be the "CEO" guy. I think he knows football well enough to know when to call timeouts and such, and I think he knows enough people to get the right assistants in, including his son at DC.

You may be on to something. I think if you guys hired Franchione and he brought at least one young, hard-charging coordinator who could take over for him after four years or so that might be a great move. Assuming, of course, that they actually did a good job in the interim.

jazzer88 · October 29, 2010

My guess is you could get him. However, if you do, you know he's going to be short term. Because if he gets bored, he will retire on the job. If he doesn't, he will leave ASAP for greener pastures. (Check how long he stayed at Alabama after aTm offered a better package.)

This should be a real concern. Fran could easily use UNT as a "golden parachute." We do no need that kind of coach!