What happened between Fran and Saban?

TalisiTide

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Dec 7, 2011
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Jim Mora's recent over-the-top response to tweets from a false Twitter account got me to thinking about this. I'm sure it's been covered thoroughly in the past, but I have never heard the answer. Back in 2002 when we beat LSU's brains in at Baton Rouge, Fran supposedly had some choice words for Coach Saban during their post game handshake. Supposedly it was over comments that Saban allegedly made about the Alabama program. I seem to remember Coach Saban acting as if he had no idea what Fran was talking about. Was this the result of Fran being duped or was there something to it?
 

WMack4Bama

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Nov 7, 2008
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Allegedly Saban called us cheaters. After we blanked them in their field (surprisingly), Fran pointed/wagged his finger at Coach Saban and said some things that won't be repeated here. In short, he said, "We won fairly"
 

TideEngineer08

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I have heard it was manufactured by fRAN's people to take attention off of the fact that he was about to bolt for Texas A&M, thus Saban not having any idea what he was talking about.
 

CapstoneTider

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I have heard it was manufactured by fRAN's people to take attention off of the fact that he was about to bolt for Texas A&M, thus Saban not having any idea what he was talking about.
fRAN being upset over that is about as likely as his father in law being buried in an Alabama garb. Frannie was about Frannie.

Coach Fran's new home, Bobcat Stadium. This looks like a glorified High School Stadium. You can watch the game from the back of a truck!

 

RTR91

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Nov 23, 2007
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I understand between Fran and Saban involved a Florida hotel room, an university credit card, and a successful NFL QB coach that returned to his alma mater to do nothing special.
 

snake plissken

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Apr 13, 2011
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I always thought Fran would have been very successful at Bama if he had stayed. I thought he was a good fit and really had the kids playing at a high level his second season. His game against Oklahoma was probably one of the best called games I have ever seen. During the season, he was using Tyler Watts to the best of his ability with a mix of run and play calls along with the option. He also absolutely did a number on Saban in the LSU game with the "smoke draw." Also, the outstanding game plan against AU his first season with Zow coming out on fire.

I think he showed alot of promise in just two short years. The 2nd AU game loss was the product of him already set to leave. Had he stayed, I am sure we would have won that one too. I still think he is a great coach, he just wasn't the right person for A&M. I still don't understand how it fell apart for him. While I hate how he left the program and the kids, I still respect him as a coach for what he did while at Bama.
 

MattinBama

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Jul 31, 2007
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I always thought Fran would have been very successful at Bama if he had stayed. I thought he was a good fit and really had the kids playing at a high level his second season. His game against Oklahoma was probably one of the best called games I have ever seen. During the season, he was using Tyler Watts to the best of his ability with a mix of run and play calls along with the option. He also absolutely did a number on Saban in the LSU game with the "smoke draw." Also, the outstanding game plan against AU his first season with Zow coming out on fire.

I think he showed alot of promise in just two short years. The 2nd AU game loss was the product of him already set to leave. Had he stayed, I am sure we would have won that one too. I still think he is a great coach, he just wasn't the right person for A&M. I still don't understand how it fell apart for him. While I hate how he left the program and the kids, I still respect him as a coach for what he did while at Bama.


;) Just funning.
 

CapstoneTider

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I always thought Fran would have been very successful at Bama if he had stayed. I thought he was a good fit and really had the kids playing at a high level his second season. His game against Oklahoma was probably one of the best called games I have ever seen. During the season, he was using Tyler Watts to the best of his ability with a mix of run and play calls along with the option. He also absolutely did a number on Saban in the LSU game with the "smoke draw." Also, the outstanding game plan against AU his first season with Zow coming out on fire.

I think he showed alot of promise in just two short years. The 2nd AU game loss was the product of him already set to leave. Had he stayed, I am sure we would have won that one too. I still think he is a great coach, he just wasn't the right person for A&M. I still don't understand how it fell apart for him. While I hate how he left the program and the kids, I still respect him as a coach for what he did while at Bama.
I agree. Coach Fran lost his creditability when he left. He could have gotten away with it 5 years sooner but ended up showing other coaches the power of the internet and how public and intense an online onslaught can be if you leave a high profile team high and dry. Has anyone noticed that it stopped, the last one was the Petrino to Arkansas move, but that was nothing like what Fran endured with the fans. Coaches know better now.

Imagine our players not really buying into coach Saban's process, that's what I saw at aTm. Their players saw the enormous amount of humiliating stuff created about their coach. Countless Farks and calling him out as a sissy. It probably effected him psychological as well, feeling exposed. He was peculiar and a a little uncomfortable with attention as it was. The two forces did him in, I strongly feel that. There was no doubt that he was a good coach. We would have beaten Auburn again if not for the distractions around living a lie at that point.
 

92tide

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I always thought Fran would have been very successful at Bama if he had stayed. I thought he was a good fit and really had the kids playing at a high level his second season. His game against Oklahoma was probably one of the best called games I have ever seen. During the season, he was using Tyler Watts to the best of his ability with a mix of run and play calls along with the option. He also absolutely did a number on Saban in the LSU game with the "smoke draw." Also, the outstanding game plan against AU his first season with Zow coming out on fire.

I think he showed alot of promise in just two short years. The 2nd AU game loss was the product of him already set to leave. Had he stayed, I am sure we would have won that one too. I still think he is a great coach, he just wasn't the right person for A&M. I still don't understand how it fell apart for him. While I hate how he left the program and the kids, I still respect him as a coach for what he did while at Bama.
i have to say i did enjoy watching watts run our offense that year (2002).
 

squib

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Sep 24, 2005
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fRAN being upset over that is about as likely as his father in law being buried in an Alabama garb. Frannie was about Frannie.

Coach Fran's new home, Bobcat Stadium. This looks like a glorified High School Stadium. You can watch the game from the back of a truck!




I am in a hotel about two miles from Bobcat Stadium right now. Drove down and checked it out about 2 hours ago. I assure you that I hate Fran as much as anyone, but the stadium is super nice. Your picture is from before it was refurbished. It is a great facility now.
http://www.txstatebobcats.com/sports/2010/7/29/FB_0729105705.aspx?tab=jimwackerfieldatbobcatstadium
 
Last edited:

uaintn

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As much as it pains me to say it, I agree that Franphony would have been relatively successful here. Not like we have had, but plenty of wins. And he'd have gotten more slack than he thought from the fans during the probation years.

I'm just an old foggie alum, but I'll never forgive that clown for how he betrayed our players. I admire Coach Moore for how he handled the situation.
 

GrayTide

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I thought he was a bad hire to start with, he used Alabama as a stepping stone for more money. He was not a sound football coach, but even at Alabama he would have been a 9-10 win coach. I can assure you had he stayed he would have divided our program and we would still have 12 NCs.
 

chains

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Fran was not a good recruiter. If he had stayed, everyone would have seen the drop off.
 

92tide

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I thought he was a bad hire to start with, he used Alabama as a stepping stone for more money. He was not a sound football coach, but even at Alabama he would have been a 9-10 win coach. I can assure you had he stayed he would have divided our program and we would still have 12 NCs.
yeah, both shula and dubose were 10 win coaches here. turns out, he screwed himself good with the way he left and he is paying the price for it now.
 

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