The ginormous Texas A&M / Coach Fran thread

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

What did Mike McKenzie get in parting gifts? Don Imus got a 20 million dollar firing bonus. I am sure Mike Mckenzie is not upset one bit. When I tell others about Don Imus and many who were fired and the money and gifts they got, they can not believe it. I am sure Mike McKenzie isn't doing without. Maybe not as good as Don Imus but he will not have to worry about making a house payment. BTW Don Imus owns a 300 acre ranch and owns four homes. Yep he learned his lesson? :biggrin:

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

If Bryne is smart, and that may be a stretch since he said he was not aware of the VIP email scam , then he better be talking with a search firm to find out who has any interest. IMO the right coach could be successful at TAMU. Granted he would have to coach and recruit against Mack Brown (think he is overrated) and Bob Stoops but as has been said the state of Texas has as much talent each year as Florida, not to mention LA being close. Big money and good facilities, it would be a very good job for a quality head coach. I suspect Dennis will win 7 to 8 games this year and that may be enough to say his sorry hide unless he gets drilled in a bowl game like last year.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

sabanball said:

Aggies claim fRan has done this everywhere he has coached. They want Alabama to come clean and report violations on this as well.

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It never occurred to those idiots that this has only become a big deal because the Texas A&M administration want it to. They want out of their contract with Fran without having to pay the rest of the years left and this is their way of doing it.

If Fran were producing winners, the A&M administration wouldn't have cared about this issue at all and would have gone so far as defending it.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

dayhiker said:

And yet you read them weekly.


I read them weekly when he was here. Heck, I actually looked forward to reading them. Even worse, I wrote an email or two to the site that first season with attaboys. I drank that bitter, bitter cool-aid.

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Oh yes, I read them. Better than the comic section. Example: "playing Miami will give us a chance to showcase our talent nationwide." And I laughed and said out loud (fRan causes me to talk to myself) "well Fran, what will you say when they make you look bad?"

And this is what Fran said. "If we could have gone into the half down by 14 we would have had a chance to win." Now that is showcasing your talent!

I am going to miss him when he is gone!

ps Fran needs a hug today.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

TIDE-HSV said:

Wishful thinking on their part. MM had a fertile, fermenting brain when it came to trying to make a buck. The "insider" letter is a logical progression from the PR schticks MM was working here and before. Nothing indicates that he pulled this particular scam before aTm. Besides, I think I would have known about it...

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If he had done it at BAMA I am sure it would have found its way into an NCAA report, and they would have been all over us. No. This was just a new twist he added at TAMU. Some of the Aggies are just looking for a way to "spread the wealth". It is a familiar tactic when someone is caught with their hand in someone else's cookie jar.

What a glorious day it was when that plane took off!

RTR

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

Oh man this is too rich. Fraud could leave A&M as a losing coach AND disgraced.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

According to the report issued by A&M, here is their stipulation to Fran:

Directed Dennis Franchione or any company under his control to no longer employ any staff members that could be construed as representing Texas A&M or providing information or reports relative to his position as head coach at Texas A&M.

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That could be interpreted as saying Fran could employ MM so long as he doesn't bill himself as representing the university or provide the information or reports. Giving Fran's lavish salary package, I'm sure can continue to employ MM to run his charitable foundation, golf tournament, speaking schedule, etc, and pay him a decent middle class wage.

Once the money runs out...???

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

RobK said:

According to the report issued by A&M, here is their stipulation to Fran:



That could be interpreted as saying Fran could employ MM so long as he doesn't bill himself as representing the university or provide the information or reports. Giving Fran's lavish salary package, I'm sure can continue to employ MM to run his charitable foundation, golf tournament, speaking schedule, etc, and pay him a decent middle class wage.

Once the money runs out...???

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I don't know for certain (yet) that McKinzie isn't still on fRan's payroll in some capacity.

What I was told by an aTm booster was fRan was safe again if he won 8 games and a bowl game. If he won less than 8 games or lost his bowl he was probably going to be replaced but this was told to me about a week before the newsletter story broke and no, my guy was not a member of the newsletter group.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

bayoutider said:

I don't know for certain (yet) that McKinzie isn't still on fRan's payroll in some capacity.

What I was told by an aTm booster was fRan was safe again if he won 8 games and a bowl game. If he won less than 8 games or lost his bowl he was probably going to be replaced but this was told to me about a week before the newsletter story broke and no, my guy was not a member of the newsletter group.

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Yeah he can still save himself if one he wins out, and two they are slapped with anything other than the letter of admonishment. If he doesn't win out or least have no more than 1 more loss he could find himself at Northview Highschool.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

You guys wouldn't believe the calls made to other people of postions in Tuscaloosa who Fran wanted to lure to move to College Station for various careers there about 6 months after he left...

Pretty interesting stuff - THANKFULLY, they ALL declined Mr Byrne's calls...

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

bayoutider said:

I don't know for certain (yet) that McKinzie isn't still on fRan's payroll in some capacity.

What I was told by an aTm booster was fRan was safe again if he won 8 games and a bowl game. If he won less than 8 games or lost his bowl he was probably going to be replaced but this was told to me about a week before the newsletter story broke and no, my guy was not a member of the newsletter group.

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A&M is 5-1 right now (an ugly 5-1) and their schedule sets up strangely the rest of way. I only see two sure losses (Oklahoma and Missouri...both on the road) and they get Kansas and Texas at home. Games with Texas Tech and Nebraska could go either way, though the Aggies are on the road.

My bet is that they go 2-1 against TT, Nebraska, and Kansas then lose three straight vs. MU, OU, and Texas and Fran is fired.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

RamJammer said:

You guys wouldn't believe the calls made to other people of postions in Tuscaloosa who Fran wanted to lure to move to College Station for various careers there about 6 months after he left...

Pretty interesting stuff - THANKFULLY, they ALL declined Mr Byrne's calls...

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Thankfully, there is some loyalty left in the world, and thankfully, a lot of it is associated with UA.

RTR

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

I can't imagine him keeping his job. I mean he'd have to have an amazing finish

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

"To hear all the crap you guys write about him really [expletive] me off," McGee said. "He's our man, and he's our leader. He's like a second father to me. We're gonna follow him to the death, and I mean that."

Other players acknowledged the fan unrest that stemmed from the Miami loss on Sept. 20 and the turmoil created by "VIP Connection." Defensive end Chris Harrington said the Aggies are like a family and an attack on Franchione is an attack on them.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...s/stories/093007dnspobaylorsider.2b6f40d.html

Young and dumb and full of it. Snake Oil is a mighty powerful concoction. I hear rope sales are down. Oh, Yeah that line has already been cut.

I honestly am glad ole Franny is gone. We had to wait 4 years but BAMA got its coach all the while watching fran fall from Grace.

My friend James tells me, you should have listen to the TCU fans. I said, yes you are correct. Not much to argue about is there.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

Actually a lot of those calls weren't necessarily to people employed at the university - but were other places/positions in town where he'd like to have kept or had some connection with - hard to explain without overstepping the boundaries here - but suffice it to say that Fran lost a LOT of respect in people who were suspicious all along... I think Byrne was pretty shocked when a couple of them declined the offers...

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

IMO, this will be the last season that fRan will be walking the sidelines as a HC at the college level. With his past track record and now with this mess going on at atm, i can't imaging a school wanting to hire him as a HC.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

RamJammer said:

Actually a lot of those calls weren't necessarily to people employed at the university - but were other places/positions in town where he'd like to have kept or had some connection with - hard to explain without overstepping the boundaries here - but suffice it to say that Fran lost a LOT of respect in people who were suspicious all along... I think Byrne was pretty shocked when a couple of them declined the offers...

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What "positions" are we talking about here? Athletic department related or what?

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

The Aggies are on the road for the next two weeks against TT and NU, then they return home against Kansas. Things could really get ugly if they lose their next two before the KU game. I'm wondering if the Aggie fans, with two weeks of losses to fester over would actually boo him when he took the field against Kansas. That might be a first in CFB history. Couldn't happen to a more deserving POS.

I think when they dig up Daddy to change his jersey, they should just put a generic black and white shirt on him with "My son-in-law is the head football coach at ?." on it. Probably make things easier as Fraud works his way down to the Pop Warner level.

Re: Texas A&M Coach Fran admonished and Mike McKenzie is fired

Well they were (College Station VIP's I mean) - & probably have done so by now) buildingg a new neighborhood community of sorts - complete with golf course, tennis facilites, pools, etc etc - so he wanted some of the Tuscaloosa finest to move out there to "preside" - none were interested despite the generous offers & calls from Byrne...there were other type positions around town that he tried also to lure to move to College Station - probably trying to set up some sort of Fran-regime in the community - which, by the way, never embraced him somehow. Kim was given a speeding ticket within the first week she was there in C/S - and it really wasn't necessary - they just were never very well-received there. It's long & involved - he was definitely looking for some "back=up" in popularity. He even sent soupy letters to several families in Tuscaloosa the week or so after his departure - trying to butter everyone up - didnt' work. We were all laughing & comparing them --- the man is a joke. Even his better coaching assistants got other jobs as soon as they could escape. It's nuts. Honestly.