Does this sound like a guy who is done?

[Franisdaman]

Fran McCaffery on handling adversity this season:

“You have to remember, there’s nothing I haven’t seen, OK. I’ve been doing this 42 years. So I’ve been here before… You just approach everything as business as usual. OK, who do we have? What do we have? Who are we playing? How do we get this group ready to play? How do we continue to recruit and work hard on the recruiting trail, still have recruits visiting? We had a couple of really good ones here on Saturday. That’s essentially what culture is. It’s not finger-pointing and blaming, it’s not my fault, it’s his fault. And this team has remained together in that respect, most importantly with each other.”


Watch:

 

[Franisdaman]

.

#RELB
(Raise, Extension, Larger Buyout)

 

[83Hawk]

He’s not going anywhere. He won’t step down and he sure as heck isn’t going to be fired.

 

[hawkjt]

No, he certainly seems engaged and unlikely to walk away.
If he is staying get the big German and some guards

 

[Bearhawk0505]

Sounds like someone completely set in his ways and is not going to change. There are some good things about him, but he will never produce a great team with his system.

 

[shrinkhawk]

Fran one thing you 'haven't seen' is a Sweet 16 at Iowa.

 

[HawkOptimist]

Other than a handful of fans, the Iowa men’s basketball fanbase has become apathetic. Time for a change at the top.

 

[Franisdaman]

Fran one thing you 'haven't seen' is a Sweet 16 at Iowa.

 

[ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAWK]

Other than a handful of fans, the Iowa men’s basketball fanbase has become apathetic. Time for a change at the top.

I still think the guy I trust was right.

He’s been gone since October before the season started.

 

[mizzy2442]

Fran one thing you 'haven't seen' is a Sweet 16 at Iowa.

Or at any school in his 45 year coaching career.

 

[hawkjt]

I still think the guy I trust was right.

He’s been gone since October before the season started.

So he is flat out lying to recruits or not?
If he has been recruiting telling them to come be coached by himself while knowing he is leaving it would be harmful to our program going forward.....did not think fran who refused to go dirty in recruiting for 15 years would consciously mislead young men to their face like that ....guess we will find out in 3 weeks.

 

[HawkBall23]

I think OP is against Fran leaving because he'll feel the need to change his screen name when he does, at some point.


Start reserving some form of Franisnotdaman or Franisnolongerdaman now. 😁

 

[Franisdaman]

So he is flat out lying to recruits or not?
If he has been recruiting telling them to come be coached by himself while knowing he is leaving it would be harmful to our program going forward.....did not think fran who refused to go dirty in recruiting for 15 years would consciously mislead young men to their face like that ....guess we will find out in 3 weeks.

And we had a mid-season guy transfer from Miami (FL) to Iowa.

I know most want Fran gone but he's acting like he'll be back next year.

 

[tweeterhawk]

And we had a mid-season guy transfer from Miami (FL) to Iowa.

I know most want Fran gone but he's acting like he'll be back next year.

Either Fran is throwing up a smokescreen to hide fact he already has a deal with BG to retire after this year or he’s trying to inflate the buyout in case she tries to push him out. I don’t take any of his comments as proof he’s staying.

 

[ozzie8]

Iowa please don’t **** this up

 

[IChawkeye45]

If Fran comes back I think one positive, in terms of resources, is that they can label Carver Hawkeye as an additional library for the non-conference slate. Without Iowa State coming to Iowa City, can we just imagine how dreadful the non-conference home schedule will be?? Might get more students to show up by really pushing the library angle!

 

[HawkLogic]

So he is flat out lying to recruits or not?
If he has been recruiting telling them to come be coached by himself while knowing he is leaving it would be harmful to our program going forward.....did not think fran who refused to go dirty in recruiting for 15 years would consciously mislead young men to their face like that ....guess we will find out in 3 weeks.

I agree Fran is doing his job---he has to or he can be fired for cause and not get a full payout. Also, there is the legacy/reputation aspect---does he want to be known as the guy that quit on his team/school/contract because he wanted to force the school to fire him? Doubtful.

That doesn't mean Fran won't be let go or agree to a buyout. As to hurting recruits or the program---these are mercenaries, paid athletes at this point. None of the guys Fran got committments from Iowa have ties to the state of Iowa. They just sign with another school or if Iowa is promising a good NIL package based on revenue sharing, they stay with the new coach that comes in. No harm to anyone.

I do agree we will know if Fran is back in a few weeks. I think we are headed for a similar year next year if Fran returns, which means he ends up getting fired next year. His contract is through 2028---not going to get renewed, so he is old man lame duck.

 

[TampaHawkfan]

Teary-eyed Fran after the Rutgers game made me think he is NOT checked out.. Not completely, anyway. I think Beth is probably gonna have to fire him if there's going to be a new coach next year. Just my educated guess.

 

[Beattheohiostate]

And we had a mid-season guy transfer from Miami (FL) to Iowa.

I know most want Fran gone but he's acting like he'll be back next year.

That's true. And maybe he is planning to be back. But he shouldn't be the one making that decision. His boss, Ms. Beth, should be making the call, and when you look at the entire body of work at Iowa and the state of the fan base now, how you could retain Fran is beyond my comprehension. Beth was brought in with the claim she could make the tough decisions. Well, this decision doesn't seem that tough. But will she make it?

 

[Etalicus]

He doesn't offer anything to bring Iowa back no one is offering NIL money for men's basketball the fans don't care about him anymore thank goodness we had Clark to watch for 4 years but she is gone now and so should he be.

 

[tweeterhawk]

He doesn't offer anything to bring Iowa back no one is offering NIL money for men's basketball the fans don't care about him anymore thank goodness we had Clark to watch for 4 years but she is gone now and so should he be.

This point may be more valid than we realize. Fran has lost not only the fan base but Iowa’s (admittedly limited) NIL donor base. If an energetic coach managed to put together a decent team that looked like it was on the upturn, I suspect there’d be more donors and more money given to buy better players.

I can’t see Fran turning that around with even the most aggressive PR campaign. Fran ball is old, stale. We’re ready to move on.

 

[hawkfan2024]

Fran haters will read this as "Fran said it wasn't his fault!!!!!!!"

 

[Franisdaman]

Teary-eyed Fran after the Rutgers game made me think he is NOT checked out.. Not completely, anyway. I think Beth is probably gonna have to fire him if there's going to be a new coach next year. Just my educated guess.

$4.2M buyout!!

 

[Max_Rebo]

Seems to me he's acting like a guy who is under contract to produce a competitive basketball team, including ongoing recruitment for said basketball team. I wouldn't expect his words or actions to change until he is no longer under contract.

I doubt anything has been formally decided yet. Not by Fran, and not by Beth. They may be leaning in one direction or another, but anything is still possible. That being the case, Fran is going to keep doing everything he can to make the team better. And even if he leaves, he would likely want to leave the program in a good place. While you sometimes see guys go scorched-earth on their way out the door, most people genuinely care about the place they are working and the legacy they leave.

All this to say I read nothing into comments like this from Fran. You routinely see coaches talk about the future, then quit or get fired the next week.

 

[BrewHawk]

Bottom line, in order to generate fan interest, you have to win in March.

Fran's lack of defense/rebounding philosophy will only win in March if the team shoots lights-out.

The odds of that happening is very slim.

The other problem is that other teams ramp up their defense in March, which makes it even more difficult to shoot lights-out.

Can we please go with a philosophical approach that might actually have a chance at the Sweet Sixteen?

 

[doughuddl2]

$4.2M buyout!!

You could coach at Drake for nothing with that payout.

 

[Hawksfor3]

You just approach everything as business as usual.

BAU.

 

[Franisdaman]

You could coach at Drake for nothing with that payout.

 

[nosok23]

Iowa hasn’t had to pay any coaches big time buy outs like a lot of teams around the country! It’s there turn now! Do the right thing BG! I see the Coach Smith at Utah just got canned! It’s part of the business and Iowa’s program is stagnant! A coaching change is a must!

 

[MikeyHawk]

With revenue sharing starting soon, now is the perfect time to get a new coach.
less than 1/3 of Carver full for the game against Purdue should be a sign to the AD

 

[BirdistheWord]

Fran one thing you 'haven't seen' is a Sweet 16 at Iowa.

He has seen the NIT Sweet 16 and is hoping to make the B1G Sweet 15

 

[tweeterhawk]

If Fran comes back I think one positive, in terms of resources, is that they can label Carver Hawkeye as an additional library for the non-conference slate. Without Iowa State coming to Iowa City, can we just imagine how dreadful the non-conference home schedule will be?? Might get more students to show up by really pushing the library angle!

Set up tables on the concourse, free wi-fi, sell Starbucks, scones and $4 craft beers. I can see it.

 

[ISUBryce]

I will say it sounds like Iowa has the worst NIL in the Big 10, or close to it for MBB.

If that's the case you might as well keep Fran, because it's going to be extremely difficult to attract another good coach if that's the war chest they are dealing with.

 

[pink shizzle]

Fran one thing you 'haven't seen' is a Sweet 16 at Iowa.

 

[MikeyHawk]

I will say it sounds like Iowa has the worst NIL in the Big 10, or close to it for MBB.

If that's the case you might as well keep Fran, because it's going to be extremely difficult to attract another good coach if that's the war chest they are dealing with.

No

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[BrewHawk]

I will say it sounds like Iowa has the worst NIL in the Big 10, or close to it for MBB.

If that's the case you might as well keep Fran, because it's going to be extremely difficult to attract another good coach if that's the war chest they are dealing with.

The money won't come unless you win. Fran isn't winning.

 

[SCHawkFan]

Fran is a professional, and he acts as such. He is coaching and recruiting until he is no longer a coach at Iowa. Good for him.

 

[ISUBryce]

The money won't come unless you win. Fran isn't winning.

Maybe, but it’s also going to be extremely hard to attract a good candidate with that anchor if it’s true.

 

[Hawksfor3]

The money won't come unless you win. Fran isn't winning.