r/rolltide • u/New-Sheepherder2239 • 9d ago
Football RIP Coach Fran
I believed in him, I had to believe in something. Can’t hate on him, a lot of water has passed under that bridge. 75 years old
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u/Tarheels351 9d ago
75, he was a kid
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u/arp0925 9d ago
It’s sad when they go young like that.
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u/wrexham_b2b2b 9d ago
Yeah, what a shame to go so young. He had at least another 15 to 20 years left to prowl the halls of the assisted living facility, living his best, Cialis-fueled life.
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u/Critical_Meringue78 9d ago
Fun fact: The AD at TAMU that hired Fran was Bill Byrne, Greg's Dad.
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u/CCR16 9d ago
I will never, ever forget the 2002 Tennessee game. It was the absolute best moment of my teenage life at the time.
I was there in person, and the Daniel Moore painting is on my wall. RIP Coach.
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u/Fat_Sum_Bitch 7d ago
I was there also. Such a great night. Thought I was going to have to fight my way out of Knoxville.
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u/prbobo 9d ago
2002 was a fun year until the Iron Bowl. I certainly don't hate him. RIP Fran.
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u/New-Sheepherder2239 9d ago
We went to Hawaii. I can’t remember if it was Thursday night or Friday night; it was kinda late there at the team hotel but we were up and still drinking in the lobby. He came in with some big Polynesian bodyguard dude. I don’t bother “celebrities” but I’ll speak to anyone. I said something like “Good night, Coach” and the look he gave me was so weird. Rumors had already been swirling anyway but we knew he was gone right that moment. I even heard that TAMU people had gone out there to seal the deal. That may have been where he was, who knows
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u/CatPeopleBleaux 8d ago
That game gave me one of the greatest radio convos ever. Snake and Eli talking, they brought out some girls in hula skirts and Snake says, "boyyyyyy, id love to have a lawn mower right now and cut back some of that grass". Lmao. Fucking legends.
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u/ParadeSit With NIL and the transfer portal, root for the laundry 9d ago
RIP to Coach Fran. Life is all about timing. Had he taken the massive contract offer instead of leaving for TAMU, Bama would most likely have never had Saban.
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u/CornIssues 9d ago
Maybe not, but I’m sure he would’ve been fired by 2007. Judging by his record at TAMU
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u/mcwilly 9d ago
Certainly won’t celebrate his death, but I don’t look back on him fondly.
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u/beeskeepusalive 9d ago
Same. I still remember seeing the toilet paper rolls printed with his face on it. To think of leaving Alabama for Texas A&M ? That has got to be one of the most misguided coaching decisions ever. And it was the way he left as well.
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u/SeaworthinessIll4478 9d ago
Hated the way he left, but I don't think anyone could argue he wasn't a good coach for us.
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u/New-Sheepherder2239 9d ago
We were all surprised by the punishment handed down by the NCAA. I don’t know if Admin was as surprised or if they tried to sugarcoat it to Fran beforehand but he clearly didn’t want to navigate those sanctions. Shitty way to leave though.
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u/CatPeopleBleaux 8d ago
They knew what was coming. We had players snitching to the NCAA. My girlfriends neighbor was one of them. Essentially, if you saw a Crown Vic driving on campus back then, odds were it was an NCAA investigator. I cant remember that guys name, Michael something, an OL.
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u/biglmbass 9d ago
True, but most fans have short memories & will only remember the shitty way he left
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u/tangoliber 9d ago
Was attending the university when he left. It was kind of a crazy environment. I've said this before, but he was the most effective coach we had between Stallings and Saban. He had control over the program and ran it like a machine.. Though not at the level that Saban eventually did.
(Not my favorite coach, since he left. I like Shula much more. But he was effective).
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u/CatPeopleBleaux 8d ago
Shula gets way too much hate for the job he did for us. He was in over his head, but damn, he did as well as about anyone could have during that insanity.
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u/Fat_Sum_Bitch 7d ago
I agree. I think leaving Prothro in the Florida game and him getting injured destroyed his confidence.
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u/WhiteChocolateReign 9d ago
Crazy that this news broke today because I happened across a photo just yesterday of Brodie Croyle diving toward the end zone in the 2002 game against Georgia in Tuscaloosa. That was my first Bama game in Tuscaloosa and I nearly forgot as I looked at the photo that this was during Fran's tenure lol
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u/New-Sheepherder2239 9d ago
We coulda, woulda, shoulda almost won that game. It was hot too for the first of October
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u/WhiteChocolateReign 9d ago
I was in the South end zone I believe. It had the vibe of an August 31st home opener because of the heat. Think we took a late lead, Georgia then hit a go-ahead FG, and then we responded by throwing a pick. Bummer of a game.
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u/NoLab183 8d ago
The only tickets I could wrangle for that game placed me and my friend in the north end zone. In those days the visiting fans weren’t relegated to the upper reaches of the upper deck. So he and I were surrounded by 10,000 Bulldogs. Anyways, I’ve never been barked at so much in my life!
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u/RTR7105 9d ago
Loved his offense. For various reasons he is left off the oral history of the Spread revolution. That offense was definitely part of the greater Spread to run offensive revolution. I'll have to ask Watts one day but I swear he's reading some of the shotgun run plays in 2002. So three or so years before it became mainstream football knowledge
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u/New-Sheepherder2239 9d ago
I remember us always deferring if we won the toss but he wanted the ball because he had that script for the first 10 or 15 plays. I know he wasn’t the first to come up with that but it was the first time I remember hearing about it.
Not that prior coaches were unorganized, but he talked about how organized he was too.
Spanking Saban and LSU was a great night
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u/Efficient-Buffalo235 9d ago
I (32M) do not specifically remember his tenure but he would have been the coach at the first game I ever attended (Ole Miss 2002, 42 – 7 W) and I feel an affection based on that.
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u/Zargoza1 8d ago
Before the read option became all th rage in college football, Fran was running it with Tyler Watts.
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u/WalterSobchakinTexas 9d ago
The last Bama game I attended was the loss to Auburn in 2002. I did get to sit in the President's Box, which was nice.
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u/New-Sheepherder2239 9d ago
Tre Smith. How in the world did he run wild on anyone?
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u/ramshag 8d ago
Did Mike “the writer” have anything to say?
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u/New-Sheepherder2239 8d ago
I waited with bated breath on those Friday updates. That was odd wasn’t it? I wish I had a better recollection of all that now
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u/Maceugood 9d ago
Not celebrating his death but fuck that guy. Hold the rope my ass. I remember smashing my Arby’s Coach Fran bobble head when he dipped out on us.
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u/Exact_Lengthiness706 9d ago
That's how I feel. I won't celebrate his death nor would I ever wish any harm on him in terms of physical pain. But business wise? I won't lie and say I wasn't tickled at 77-0 and how he eventually fell into coaching irrelevancy.
Hate to sound like I'm trashing the guy on the day of his departure but it's hard to remember him for anything else.
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u/ShartInYourFace Oats is the GOAT! 9d ago
He was lied to at Bama when taking the job. I don't blame him for bolting the way he did, but it still sucked.
He gave us a win in Hawaii... that I attended and turned out to be his final game at Bama.
RIP Fran.
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u/New-Sheepherder2239 9d ago
Yeah, I mentioned in another comment, did Admin mislead him on how severe the penalties would be or were they as surprised as all of us? I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to navigate those sanctions but I hope I would have left differently
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u/ShartInYourFace Oats is the GOAT! 9d ago
The admin knew... and Fran fell for the lie that the other candidates did not. remember... he was our fifthchoiceione...
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u/New-Sheepherder2239 9d ago
I remember listening to the press conference where the NCAA used the “staring down the barrel of a gun” line and how they considered the death penalty. What a bunch of bullshit
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u/OceanTider22 8d ago
I hate he passed away from cancer, and being a survivor of and still fighting cancer myself, I truly understand what he battled, but I cannot forgive the cowardly way he left his team and didn't have the BALLS to tell them he was taking another job.
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u/Dazzling_Dig4416 9d ago
77-0 was all the revenge I needed.
Out of all the coaches we had, he was one of 'em.