Transcribed from today's media luncheon:

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Cohen: "Did you already think you were probably going to kick the FG if you didn't convert the third down?"

Fran: "No... uh-uh... did not know until I..." [then goes on to describe the Tellus/Alexander passing options 3rd down play]

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If he is to be believed, then apparently he doesn't think a move ahead. It's like watching a five year old play chess.

I heard that and I was really surprised he said that.

honestly, it just gets worse for me with each passing day. While it should be getting better, I am thinking way more objectively than ever and finally realizing we were all taken for a ride with this coaching staff, and we have just continued to believe he'll get us there. The numbers don't lie, this program is not anywhere near where it needs to be. The rebuilding effort is taking WAY too long.

I'm not sure if it's worse if he's telling the truth or lying.

If he's telling the truth, that is pretty damning evidence on his ability to gameplan and adjust during ag ame.

If he's lying, it's a pretty pathetic lie. Something like what a 4 year old would say because they think it might get them out of trouble but really only accomplishing to further dig himself into a hole.

What is the real world equivalent to Stoops vs Fran in the 4th Quarter?

I wish Bill Simmons would weigh in. This goes beyond getting "outcoached"

maybe he thought they were going to score on the third down play, so he really didnt' think about kicking a FG?


yes bash me now please.

This is more of an example of why he is a bad coach.

When Stoops called his crucial 3rd and 2 play, he left the option open for going for it on 4th down so he ran the ball knowing that he'd most likely get closer to the 1st down marker if he didn't get there. It's called planning ahead.

Calling a pass play from the 2 yard line is most likely going to end up as an incomplete pass, a turnover, a TD, but it rarely ends up getting you closer to the goalline without getting in.

Conference USA coach. Nothing more.

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What is the real world equivalent to Stoops vs Fran in the 4th Quarter?

I wish Bill Simmons would weigh in. This goes beyond getting "outcoached"

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I don't know about the real world, but a lot of people here have compared it to the coaches on Water Boy, with Fran being the weaker one of the two.

I find it interesting that no sunshine pumpers or Fran supporters have said anything on this thread yet. Honestly, I find it very difficult to defend him after a quote like this.

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maybe he thought they were going to score on the third down play, so he really didnt' think about kicking a FG?

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what the crap type of response was that....either he really didn't know.... or he hasn't gotten much sleep this weekend...



BEAT THA HELL OUT OF n.u.

This just bolsters my belief that Fran has too much involvement in the offense to also manage the game.

If he doesn't want to relinquish his role in the playcalling, then he would be wise to appoint a bright GA as a 'game management consultant' to advise him of options on timeouts, clock management, going for it on 4th down, etc. He simply botches too many of those decisions.

Actually, regardless of his role in the offense, I think he'd benefit from having an advisor in that role.

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I find it interesting that no sunshine pumpers or Fran supporters have said anything on this thread yet. Honestly, I find it very difficult to defend him after a quote like this.

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thats because this is the quite possibly the biggest stretch at criticism this board has ever seen...some of you people hang on every word fran says just to pick it apart....



Those who can, do; those who can't, coach; those who never could, complain about the first two.

Before the world wide web, village idiots usually stayed in their own village.

Keegan, I think you are spot on.

Keegan I would agree with your comment.

The idea in theory is good. I just dont think Fran would allow someone else to have control. Of course if he did, he could just simply lay the blame.

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thats because this is the quite possibly the biggest stretch at criticism this board has ever seen...some of you people hang on every word fran says just to pick it apart....

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In most cases I would agree with this, but not in this case. He's either trying to deflect responsibility or admitting he is incapable of managing a game. Neither is good, imo.

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thats because this is the quite possibly the biggest stretch at criticism this board has ever seen...

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What's a stretch about it? Our coach was asked if he was thinking about what he would do if the play didn't succeed, and he said "No."

Either:

a) He's lying
b) He's telling the truth and is incompetent
c) He had some other thoughts rolling around in his head and gave practically the worst response possible to the question.

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The idea in theory is good. I just dont think Fran would allow someone else to have control.

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That's why it would be an advisory role of sorts. This person would constantly be monitoring things and "crunching the numbers", so to speak, and when the time came to make a decision, he could present Fran with a concise summary of the data.

Points to consider for the context of the question by Rachel....

1. That red zone trip in the fourth quarter was the first redzone trip the Aggies made since very early in the second quarter.
2. Since the TD at the beginning of the second quarter, the Aggies had a total of 56 yards over 6 possessions with 5 punts and an interception.

Fran should friggin know that information just by being around football for 30 years. And if he doesn't, someone needs to tell him that information. With that information, any sane person debates going into four down territory mode the minute you get first and goal. Then, when you get to 3rd and goal from the 2, any remotely gifted coach knows that it is four down territory.

Pathetic, pathetic.

I agree with Keegan. Yes, there have been coaches that called the plays and still had great success, but far too often I've seen playcalling coaches end up being overwhelmed and sacrificing game management. And it's too valuable to sacrifice even the slightest.

Where I disagree is that I don't want a game management advisor. I want my HC doing it, and being the "advisor" to the playcalling done by the OC. Problem right now is I don't really trust Les either.

[This message has been edited by Bob the Enzyte Guy (edited 11/7/2006 4:48p).]

Memo to Mike Mckenzie: More and immediate damage control required. Fran effed up again.

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Where I disagree is that I don't want a game management advisor. I want my HC doing it, and being the "advisor" to the playcalling done by the OC. Problem right now is I don't really trust Les either.

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I really think even the best coaches would benefit from someone in this role. Even as a spectator, my buddies and I can have a nearly uninterrupted conversation throughout the game just discussing the game management decisions presented, the possible choices, and their consequences. I think there's more than enough data to analyze throughout the course of the game to justify having a person in that role.

Seriously, how can anybody be surprised with Fran's answer? Cohen asks a good and direct question. Fran answers it honestly. His honest answer is basically, "No, I had no clue what I would do on 4th down, I was only thinking 3rd down."

Two down territory in that situation never really crossed Fran's mind. Which means, leaving OU with the ball on its own 1 yard even if you didn't get it on 4th down also never crossed Fran's mind. For many of us, this simply highlights the problem with how Fran manages a game. These thoughts MUST go through your mind in that situation if you are the coach. You may process this and still elect to kick the field. That is the coaching decision. The problem many of us have, myself included, is Fran is making coaching decisions without thinking about these things, which means he is making decisions without first going through this critical analysis. That's the problem.

not surprising. Just adds to the litany of questionable or non existant gameplanning by Fran & Co.

Maybe he wanted to make the decision after he saw how the 3rd down play went? I'm not an avid Fran supporter, but some of you need to get over trying to convince his supporters not to support him. I disliked the call, but to say you decide to go for it before third down is asinine. What if we fumbled and lost five yards???? Well we already decided to go for it so we have too!!!!!

After seeing it in person and reviewing it later, these are my conclusions:

1) The play was going to Bennett. This is based on me seeing Fran grab Bennett after the failed attempt in a "What happened?" discussion.

2) Supposition on OU defensive scheme: we can't stop Lane, so let's drop our LBs in coverage and pray they try to throw. This is basically what OU did. They gave us the run up the middle figuring they had a small chance of stopping it and were all over our receivers.

3) If all this is true *and* Fran's plan was to kick the FG if it failed, then he should have told McGee that. It was obvious that McGee didn't know we wouldn't go for it on 4th down because he would have tried to duck his head and run it in (no matter how futile) instead of throwing the ball away to protect field position (a 25yd FG isn't much different than a 19yd FG).

It really stings that all the fans wanted to see Lane run the ball in that situation, OU basically gave us that play, and we didn't do it. We second guessed ourselves.

Finally, I would have been unhappy with the loss, but satisfied with the call if we had run Lane twice and failed. In that scenario, which I view as unlikely, OU would have stopped our best play twice, thereby earning the win.

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Maybe he wanted to make the decision after he saw how the 3rd down play went?

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Obviously, you wait to see how it turns out. But coaches are paid $2MM partly to think a few steps/plays ahead. You see teams call something that seems fairly conservative on 2nd and 12+ all the time to try to get a manageable 3rd down. And when you are in the situation we were on on Saturday, you SHOULD at least be thinking about the repurcussions your 3rd down call could have on a possible 4th down attempt. It doesn't mean it would change his call, but it should at least be considered.

[This message has been edited by Bob the Enzyte Guy (edited 11/7/2006 5:55p).]

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2) Supposition on OU defensive scheme: we can't stop Lane, so let's drop our LBs in coverage and pray they try to throw. This is basically what OU did. They gave us the run up the middle figuring they had a small chance of stopping it and were all over our receivers.

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Actually, Stoops showed his remarkable coaching skills on this play as well. Stoops, because of the formation, personnel, or tendacy, nearly ran on the field right before the play grabbing the attention of Nic Harris, the person who covered Martellus on the play, to tell him is assignment on the play. If you notice, Harris subsequently was not fooled at all by the playaction fake.

Once again, it is another example of Fran and Les K.'s inability to formulate an effective passing offense. While they are innovative in the running game, the passing game (along with the development of the QBs) leaves much to be desired because of its simplicity and unoriginality.

Why are you bashing the guy for not knowing if he wanted to kick the fg or not? Stoops admitted he didn't know if he wanted to go for the 4th down or punt. Is this not the same?

What in hell is wrong with some of you. Don't you even realize that him not thinking what he would do if we did not get the td on 3rd down is insane. All of us in the stands were thinking that if we did not get the td on 3rd down we would give the ball to lane AGAIN! And guess what, we are not getting paid 2 million dollars a year to realize this. But he is. So he should damn well be thinking about it. So if he is telling the truth, then he is admitting he never even considered what might happen if he used lane and lane was able to get up near the goal line. How in the name of all that is football can you not think about that with lane on your team? Stupid, stupid, stupid. YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT OR YOU ARE GOING TO GET YOUR ASS FIRED.

Now I could be wrong here and I apologize if I am. Fran may have meant that if we lost 50 yards on the 3rd down play he was not sure if he would kick the fg. So he really may not have known what he was going to do. But he still should have at least assumed that if we did not get the td we would be in no worse a situation so there should have been some idea in his mind what he would do on 4th and goal from the 2.

[This message has been edited by Maroonaide (edited 11/7/2006 6:35p).]

The other problem is we've run that play with the pass option to either Alexander or Martellus on the right side many times around the goal line this year.

As I recall, against ULaLa we ran it twice. Both times resulted in TDs for Alexander, I believe.


You can't put a play on film that many times and expect a top-flight coaching staff like Stoops and Co. to not have their D prepared for it.

[This message has been edited by Keegan99 (edited 11/7/2006 6:37p).]

he knew he had a special play he was just to busy searching for it in his arse

I am with a lot of you. I was excited when he was hired. Got word personally from a friend because his boss was flying him in.
Now, I believe we were sold a bill of goods.
If you look at his history, everywhere he has been he built the program up and then left.
Where has he ever been that he built a program up and then sustained it for two or three years?

And of course, we are still waiting to build our program up.
Do not give me the reply that this year we are 8-2 and it proves he has built it up. BS, the schedule is too easy. Sam Houston could have beat half the teams we beat.

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You can't put a play on film that many times and expect a top-flight coaching staff like Stoops and Co. to not have their D prepared for it.

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Exactly Keegan. And this just proves the point that fran has problems coaching against better coaches. Our talent can overcome against teams like army. But when we face teams with talent like ou or more wiley coaches like leach then fran is now a liability. He needs to change how he is thinking these games through.