Why Alabama's Love-Hate Relationship With Dennis Franchione Will Never End

One of the last remnants to an era that Alabama Crimson Tide fans would like to forget as much as possible, Dennis Franchione, died in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday. He was 75.

Franchione was on this year’s ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame. His 40-year resume that went back to being an assistant coach at Kansas State in 1978 was more than worthy of consideration. He won at places were few could succeed, going 213-135-2 as a head coach, and while at TCU helped LaDainian Tomlinson lead the nation in rushing in 1999.

He also coached at Alabama for a couple of years where he was initially hailed as the savior of the program only to break the Crimson Tide’s hearts. To many of the faithful, his fall with them was not to be forgiven, even if they could understand his thinking and reasons for turning his back on the football program to head back home to Texas.

To fully understand the love/hate relationship, one really needs to go back to 1999. Alabama had won the SEC Championship, but a massive storm was brewing in Tuscaloosa, one that would drag the football program down from the highest of statuses.

A number of rival coaches were complaining about Alabama’s recruiting practices under head coach Mike Dubose, among them Florida’s Steve Spurrier and Tennessee’s Philip Fulmer. NCAA enforcement were in Tuscaloosa interviewing players and former coaches, and before long a formal investigation under way.

Debose, who had succeeded beloved coach Gene Stallings, was already in hot water as head coach. A scandal had grown after allegations of having an affair with his assistant, resulting in an but-of-court settlement, and the 10-3 finish and being named the SEC Coach of the Year had temporarily saved his job, but not for long.

Alabama was ranked as high as No. 2 in the 2000 preseason polls, but with the dynamic running-game tandem of Shaun Alexander and Chris Samuels both gone, it was pure folly. The Crimson Tide began the season at the Rose Bowl stadium playing UCLA, and promptly lost 35-24. Although Alabama handily beat two bowl teams, Ole Miss and South Carolina, by the time it lost 20-10 at Tennessee it was apparent that DuBose’s inconsistent reign was coming to a close.

The decision was finalized after another humiliating homecoming loss, this time 40-38 to Central Florida. From there the Crimson Tide had its first defeat at LSU’s Tiger Stadium since 1969, 30-28, lost 29-7 at Mississippi State and 9-0 to Auburn in Tuscaloosa. Dubose posted a 3-8 record, 24-23 overall during his four years.

Thinking he was likely about to make his only coaching hire, Mal Moore began an extensive search for someone to bring Alabama back to greatness, or at least an immediate bowl game, leading him to the person they called “The Great Rebuilder,” Franchione.

He had compiled an impressive 53-6 record at NAIA Pittsburg State in Kansas, and in three years transformed Texas Christian from a 1-10 team into a 10-1 conference champion. On Dec. 4, he left TCU without warning — something that Crimson Tide fans would have reminded about in the aftermath of what was to follow — and accepted the job at Alabama.

“When Mal and I started talking about the possibility of me coming here, one of my first thoughts was, ‘I can’t wait until we’re driving down the road one day and Mal starts telling Coach Bryant stories.’ I’m in heaven,” Franchione boasted. “I didn’t even visit the campus. I mean, this is Alabama. I didn’t need to see the bricks on the buildings to know I wanted to coach here. I want to win a national championship one day and you have a chance to do that at Alabama.”

Immediately, Franchione met with players and began a brutal offseason weightlifting program — which had more than become an Alabama tradition over the years. He then went home to pack while TCU lost 28-21 to Southern Miss in the Mobile Bowl.

But before Franchione could hold a practice, the NCAA investigation turned into a full-blown nightmare in January when Milton Kirk, an assistant football coach at Trezevant High School in Memphis openly accused his head coach, Lynn Lang, of shopping defensive lineman Albert Means to numerous schools, with Alabama booster Logan Young the highest bidder.

Before long, former Crimson Tide assistant coaches were implicated. Within six months both Lang and Kirk would be indicted of criminal changes by a federal grand jury and the NCAA would send the university a letter of inquiry listing 11 charges of major violations.

Some felt it was simply Alabama’s turn. Others thought it was plainly overdue.

Back on the field, DuBose hadn’t left Franchione much to work with, but initially his biggest change came in attitude. For the second straight year Alabama opened against UCLA, and for the second straight year it lost, but only 20-17 in Tuscaloosa. Alabama would narrowly lose 37-36 to South Carolina and 27-24 to Ole Miss and quarterback Eli Manning, though it was competitive, even against Tennessee (35-24) and LSU (35-21).

The Crimson Tide capped the regular season with three straight victories, including a 31-7 victory to knock Auburn out of the SEC Championship. On the same day the NCAA Infractions Committee opened hearings on Alabama, Andrew Zow threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns including an off-balance 45-yard strike to wide receiver Jason McAddley, while the running game, led by Santonio Beard (199 yards) and Ahmaad Galloway (127), outgained the Tigers 328-41.

It followed with 28-15 victory against Southern Miss, which had been rescheduled because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, to narrowly qualify for the postseason and a first-ever trip to the Independence Bowl. Although Iowa State, which was led by quarterback Seneca Wallace, accumulated 456 yards of total offense and 23 first downs, the Cyclones only had a 13-10 lead late in the fourth quarter when Waine Bacon and Marc Miller combined to block a punt to set up a 27-yard touchdown pass from Zow to tight end Terry Jones Jr. for the 14-13 victory.

A 7-5 finish was considered more than respectable considering the circumstances, but in February 2002, the NCAA sentenced the loss of 21 scholarships over three years, a two-year bowl ban and five years of probation. The school would appeal, but this time there would be reprieve.

Even without playing in a bowl game, expectations rose throughout 2003 despite a narrow 39-34 victory against Middle Tennessee State in the opener, followed by a tough 37-27 loss at Oklahoma. Dominating victories against North Texas, Southern Miss and Arkansas — in which running back Shaud Williams scored on an 80-yard run on the first play from scrimmage — were offset by a narrow 27-25 loss to Georgia,

But Alabama was well on its way to a solid season. The following week against Ole Miss, a 42-7 victory, Beard scored five touchdowns to tie the school record set by Muley Lenoir in 1920 and Alexander. Linemen Jarrett Johnson, Kenny King and Kindal Moorehead led the defense while Watts and Brodie Croyle became the first quarterback combo to each pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season. Behind offensive linemen Wesley Britt, Alonzo Ephram and Marico Portis, Williams had four 100-yard performances.

A 34-14 victory against Tennessee and 31-0 win at LSU would normally have put Alabama into a prime position to play for the SEC Championship, but instead served as the swan song for Franchione, who didn't sign a 10-year contract extension for a reported $1.5 million a season,

Due to sanctions the Crimson Tide only had Auburn followed by a specially scheduled game at Hawaii. After lackluster performances in both — a 17-7 loss to the Tigers in Tuscaloosa followed by a 21-16 victory in Honolulu — for a 10-2 record, Franchione vanished only to show up in College Station where without warning he was announced as the new coach of Texas A&M, (replacing R.C. Slocum). He didn't return to Tuscaloosa to say goodbye to players, opting to do so on a video call.

The contract was $1.7 million per season through 2010. He lasted five seasons in College Station due to another controversial scandal that led to his resignation and a buyout.

Crimson Tide fans were stunned, hurt and felt betrayed. It wasn’t so much that Franchione left, although that painful, rather how he left that was so upsetting even though he was hired at Alabama under somewhat similar circumstances. Granted, coaching the Crimson Tide was not his dream job and Franchione almost certainly didn’t know how bad things would get with the NCAA, but he was immediately portrayed as a traitor and a sneak.

The prevailing feeling eventually came around to good riddance. If he didn’t want to be in Tuscaloosa, then Alabama should have a coach who did. Gone but not forgotten became the sentiment.

Some say the coaching job he did at Texas State was the best of Dennis Franchione's career. — Sep 26, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Texas State Bobcats head coach Dennis Franchione coaches from the sideline during the first quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Initially, rumors were rampant, spanning from Bill Parcells to Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, but Moore first turned to New Orleans Saints assistant coach Mike Riley, who had been the head coach at Oregon State and the National Football League’s San Diego Chargers. He had played cornerback for Bryant from 1971-74 and helped lead the Crimson Tide to four Southeastern Conference titles and the 1973 national championship.

Alabama made a firm offer, but Riley, who obviously wasn’t thrilled about the NCAA sanctions, didn’t jump, waiting to see if there would be other suitors. A deadline was set and passed, resulting in the two sides going their separate ways.

Instead, Moore turned to Washington State coach Mike Price, who had a career record of 129-121 and badly wanted the job. Considering what the program had been through, it was music to everyone’s ears.

Or so they thought as his hiring proved to be disastrous. However, it led to Mike Shula … and then eventually the person Moore went all-out to get, figuring he had nothing to lose, Nick Saban in 2007.

Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coaches

E.B. Beaumont, 1892, 2-2
Eli Abbott, 1893-95, 1902, 7-12
Otto Wagonhurst,1896, 2-1
Allen McCants, 1897, 1-0
W.A. Martin, 1899, 3-1
M.Griffin, 1900, 2-3
M.H. Harvey, 1901, 2-1-2
W.B. Blount, 1903-04, 10-7
Jack Leavenworth, 1905, 6-4
J.W.H. Pollard, 1906-09, 20-4-5
Guy Lowman, 1910, 4-4-0
D.V. Graves, 1911-14, 21-12-3
Thomas Kelly, 1915-17, 17-7-1
Xen C. Scott, 1919-22, 29-9-3
Wallace Wade, 1923-30, 61-13-3
Frank Thomas, 1931-46, 115-24-7
Harold “Red” Drew, 1947-54, 54-29-7
J.B. Whitworth, 1955-57, 4-24-2
Paul “Bear” Bryant, 1958-82, 232-46-9
Ray Perkins, 1983-86, 32-15-1
Bill Curry, 1987-89, 26-10-0
Gene Stallings, 1990-96, 62-25-0-x
Mike DuBose, 1997-2000, 24-23-0
Dennis Franchione, 2001-02, 17-8
Mike Shula, 2003-06, 26-23
Joe Kines (interim), 2006, 0-1
Nick Saban, 2007-2023, 201-29-y
Kalen DeBoer, 2024-

x-Forfeits imposed by NCAA; y-does not include five vacated wins

Some of the material in this story was used in compiling the book Crimson Storm Surge.

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