For the first time since Dennis Franchione’s private “VIP Connection” went public two weeks ago, no one from Texas A&M came to the coach’s defense Thursday.
Not his players.
Not his boss.
Not a soul.
In an emotional statement last week about his job status, Franchione incorrectly characterized his athletic director’s support. He won’t make that mistake again.
This was the best that Bill Byrne could say about Fran at Thursday’s news conference:
“Dennis Franchione is our football coach.”
Hardly a ringing endorsement, is it? You could almost hear the dangling ” … for now.”
If you still aren’t sure about Franchione’s prospects, here’s all you need to know: Mike McKenzie, Fran’s personal assistant, no longer is employed by the university. Asked why McKenzie is taking the fall, Byrne said it was because he actually wrote the e-mails, which were kept secret from A&M’s administration.
But wasn’t McKenzie just doing what his boss told him to do?
It’ll all be in the performance review, Byrne said.
Hey, Fran: Better be trailing a long winning streak when you come to the negotiating table.
Judging from the mood Thursday, all that seems to be saving Franchione’s job at the moment is the team’s record. The Aggies are 5-1, which isn’t bad. Better than Texas, anyway, a preoccupation at A&M.
Even after the debacle in Miami, which looks worse by the week, the Aggies have positioned themselves well. Yes, the most difficult part of the schedule still awaits. Still, it’s not unreasonable to think they could win four more games in a weak Big 12.
Pull the plug on Fran’s job now, and who suffers most? Byrne admitted Thursday that he’s worried about the “distractions” the e-mail controversy has caused A&M players so far.
If he’s worried about the effects up to now, imagine if he fired Fran in the middle of the season.
First of all, who takes over? Gary Darnell, the defensive coordinator? He’s been on staff a little more than a year. Les Koenning? Offensive coordinator in name only.
Of course, R.C. Slocum is still in town. Gene Stallings is on the board of regents. But even their deep Aggie loyalties wouldn’t mitigate the effects of uprooting a coach at midseason.
You also have to consider how the players would react to a coaching change now. Stephen McGee, the quarterback, defiantly backed his coach when the story first broke. He followed that defense by rounding up his teammates in a resounding show of support at Franchione’s news conference last week.
The mood Thursday was in stark contrast to those public displays. Instead, Byrne apologized to students, alumni and “the citizens of Texas.” He called the Aggies “embarrassed.” He even said his “best guess” was that Fran’s failure to tell him about the secret correspondence was “an attempt to keep it from us.”
If McKenzie talked Franchione into the goofball idea, he deserved what he got. A former sports writer, McKenzie has cast a strange figure at A&M: running interference for Franchione, interpreting the coach’s thoughts in secret e-mails, sitting in on coaches’ meetings, wearing a headset on the sideline.
And if McKenzie was just doing Franchione’s bidding? The other shoe has yet to drop.
Until then, all Franchione can do to help his cause is win. And hope there’s nothing ugly about the AD in any found e-mails.