That question no doubt has been asked of Alabama coach Dennis Franchione by at least one important person at Texas A&M by now. Now that R.C. Slocum has been fired, Alabama's worst nightmare could be coming true.
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| Dennis Franchione's love for the state of Texas could help lure him to College Station. (AP) |
What is not known is how much Franchione's wife, Kim, likes Tuscaloosa. Or whether Fran himself was surprised by the scope of the NCAA penalties or spooked further by a possible re-opening of the case.
Whatever happens, expect things to happen fast. Before axing Slocum on Monday -- in a crass and undignified manner, by the way -- the school had centered on Nebraska's Bill Byrne as its new athletic director.
Say this about Byrne, who has improved the facilities and finances in 11 years at Nebraska. He is a mover and shaker. He gets things done, and when he doesn't or can't, Billy B. gets miffed. He is one of those guys who wants a football playoff and wants it now. Insiders say he was bitter that he didn't get to hire Tom Osborne's replacement at Nebraska. (Osborne alone passed the torch to Frank Solich upon his retirement five years ago.)
If he is hired at A&M, guess what Byrne's first order of business will be? You guessed it. Hire Slocum's replacement. Offseason recruiting has begun, and A&M, already operating in Texas' shadow, can't afford for the football program to go leaderless for very long.
That Slocum's firing comes two days after Alabama's season ended is no coincidence. While Fran has vehemently denied the Texas A&M talk, he did not say the words that would have Crimson Tide fans at ease:
I am not going to Texas A&M after 2002 season.
That's because there is a 10-year, $15 million contract unsigned contract sitting on Franchione's desk. He contends that the details will be worked out. But one of those apparently is a poison pill put in the deal by 'Bama AD Mal Moore. Franchione would not be able to coach at all for a period of years if he left Alabama early.
Pretty strident stuff. Mix in the NCAA penalties, and maybe Fran couldn't blamed for looking at A&M. The sudden vacancy now makes A&M the No. 1 opening in the country. The school has money, facilities, ungodly fan devotion -- everything but domination in its own state.
Despite being the winningest coach in school history and winning four conference titles in 14 years, Slocum fell victim to the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately bug. This is the third consecutive year the Aggies have finished out of the polls. A 6-6 record included losses to Texas Tech and Texas. Losing to the Longhorns is barely palatable, but getting punked by the Red Raiders?
Aggie Nation is looking for drastic and quick changes. It is frankly sick of seeing Mack Brown pluck No. 1 recruiting classes each year and then using native Texans to beat up on the Aggies.
If Fran doesn't go, the vacancy will draw intense interest from some pretty big names. Denver Broncos assistant Gary Kubiak, a former Aggie, would be a good choice. It could set off a chain reaction of coaching vacancies across the country if a big-name coach (Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer has been mentioned) takes the opening.
But if you're one of the A&M cigars, you want Fran and you want him now. And if you're Fran, the biggest decision of this offseason is whether the feeling is mutual.
