Jack won't be a Hawkeye

SomersHawk said:
I would guess this is what it is all about. By the time Jack would be a senior Fran will be SEVENTY YEARS OLD. Screw that! Why would he want to put himself through that, versus kicking back and slowing down to enjoy a more stress free life? And just be a parent enjoying from the sidelines. Coaching is a life consuming profession. If Jack is a Hawk, Fran is stuck working till he graduates.

I highly doubt the microscope Connor and Patrick have been under would be different anywhere else. Such is the life of coaching one's kid at any level, in any sport. I lived that. Patrick has had lots of personal struggles and I suspect that is the lone reason he isn't interested in a bonus year. Some people just choose to move on with life. Warnock passed up an opportunity to be part of another historic team.

Whatever any of them choose to do I wish them well. And I will thank Fran for coming to Iowa and bringing the program back to life. Wow, we have had some fun times under his run! Yeah sure we all wanted more, but we sure suffered through a lot less.

Whenever Fran sets sail I will be sad, and then get behind the next guy, hoping he takes us forwards and not backwards...
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When a player (even more so when it's multiple players) play for their Dad... they will always be under more scrutiny. Comes with the territory.

I'm sure on some level Margaret is defending Patrick because of all the kid has been through. Being a teenager is tough enough but cancer, depression, pressure of D1 athletics with your Dad as coach. The young man has dealt with it all. Any Mom would be protective.

This latest situation with Jack has to put them into the "F-it let's retire" mode. Who wouldn't be worn out.

Just don't blame it all on IOWA and the fans, Margaret. Be a professional.
 
With all these events coming together, I don't see Fran around after Patrick has graduated. Fran's had some stellar players on the team, and yet with all the stats of improvement over previous coaches, he still cannot go deep in the Dance. Plus with Jack's situation, new AD, and Fran getting up in age, especially for coaches, I just see him sailing off into retirement.
 
Whatever happens, it should be an interesting next couple of years for men's basketball and football.

My gut tells me that Fran will continue coaching for at least another 5-6 years. Whether that's at Iowa remains to be seen, but it's hard to picture him retiring unless he does so just for a short hiatus then ends up back in the game. Jack wanting to play somewhere else is not necessarily a bad omen. As others have pointed out, it's not uncommon to see the younger of siblings decide that they want to carve out their own legacy.

Whatever Fran is thinking, it's not impacting his recruiting efforts. He recently offered several high-profile recruits across the country and seems to be casting a wider net than normal. Whether that's a good sign or a "What the hell, I'm going to be gone anyway." sign is hard to say.
 
#1DieHardHawk said:
Whatever happens, it should be an interesting next couple of years for men's basketball and football.

My gut tells me that Fran will continue coaching for at least another 5-6 years. Whether that's at Iowa remains to be seen, but it's hard to picture him retiring unless he does so just for a short hiatus then ends up back in the game. Jack wanting to play somewhere else is not necessarily a bad omen. As others have pointed out, it's not uncommon to see the younger of siblings decide that they want to carve out their own legacy.

Whatever Fran is thinking, it's not impacting his recruiting efforts. He recently offered several high-profile recruits across the country and seems to be casting a wider net than normal. Whether that's a good sign or a "What the hell, I'm going to be gone anyway." sign is hard to say.
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Somethings up, the offers are to so many more and different type of players than Fran tries normally to recruit. Desperate, ambitious, optimistic, it's hard to say. Not the norm for Fran, for better or worse.
 
dahlhawk said:
Somethings up, the offers are to so many more and different type of players than Fran tries normally to recruit. Desperate, ambitious, optimistic, it's hard to say. Not the norm for Fran, for better or worse.
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Guessing Goetz has allowed for more NIL $$.
 
I think getting this statement out is good for all parties. I'm sure Jack wouldn't get recruited too hard if other power 5 schools assumed he was staying at Iowa. Maybe internally Fran feels he doesn't want to coach for another 7 years, so by having Jack 'open' up his recruitment he will have some options. If Fran decides he wants to remain Iowa's HC, maybe Jack decides to stay.

Fran is old school so if with his age, and he doesn't like the NIL & portal transfer market, maybe he calls it a career once Patrick is done.
 
JRD90 said:
I think getting this statement out is good for all parties. I'm sure Jack wouldn't get recruited too hard if other power 5 schools assumed he was staying at Iowa. Maybe internally Fran feels he doesn't want to coach for another 7 years, so by having Jack 'open' up his recruitment he will have some options. If Fran decides he wants to remain Iowa's HC, maybe Jack decides to stay.

Fran is old school so if with his age, and he doesn't like the NIL & portal transfer market, maybe he calls it a career once Patrick is done.
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When he gets the high major offers maybe fans will admit he's worthy of a scholarship at Iowa.
 
Hawkboys said:
I kind of wonder in the back of my mind that this isn't just a negotiating tactic to get bigger NIL from the Swarm. If he did come out and say he was playing elsewhere, everyone would just assume he's playing for dad.
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Doubtful. I think Fran is close to the end. Last season had to be frustrating. One and done again in the tourney...overshadowed by the women's program...his kids get criticism (along with him). Fran will step down after the 23-24 or 24-25 season.
 
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Grady said:
You might be right. But you also may be way off.
If things were so terrible and the entire family couldn't wait to get out of Iowa City, why did Connor stay his extra year? The fan base and entire state gave Pat overwhelming support during his in-season struggles...no one could possibly expect anything more there.
Not everybody 16 yr old wants to follow closely in their brother's footsteps. It's possible Jack just wants to branch out and create his own identity. I'm just sayin', there could be a lot of factors at play we don't know about.
And that doesn't diminish the possibility that Fran is ready to hang it up rather than deal with all the complications of NIL, the portal, etc. Certainly couldn't blame him.
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I have zero insight so this is all speculation on my end but after reading the article I didn't see anything from him that came out and said he didn't necessarily like Iowa City or the Iowa fan base, but rather I say it as someone that wants to get out on his own and make a name for himself.

Coaches kids are always under a microscope and maybe while his brothers dreamed about playing at Iowa maybe Jack say it as Iowa has always been a part of his life and wanted to try something different. I see Fran the same way. If he didn't want to be here he wouldn't be.
 
kicker22 said:
I have zero insight so this is all speculation on my end but after reading the article I didn't see anything from him that came out and said he didn't necessarily like Iowa City or the Iowa fan base, but rather I say it as someone that wants to get out on his own and make a name for himself.

Coaches kids are always under a microscope and maybe while his brothers dreamed about playing at Iowa maybe Jack say it as Iowa has always been a part of his life and wanted to try something different. I see Fran the same way. If he didn't want to be here he wouldn't be.
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Yeah, both Connor and Patrick were unmercifully crucified over and over

But there were occasions for rabid praise

For instance, Connor making 4 threes in a single game and the same for Patrick

And who can forget the game-tying three in the last second against the Badgers even though
we lost in OT

I know, for certain, that I will enjoy every game on the hardcourt

:cool:
 
Nepotism and coaching families are a funny thing. I think if BF was just Brian Smith, and the offense stunk as bad as it has the last two years, and KF brought him back for another year, we would just think that KF was loyal to a fault and really dumb. As is, we just think he is a father who can't fire his son.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Nepotism and coaching families are a funny thing. I think if BF was just Brian Smith, and the offense stunk as bad as it has the last two years, and KF brought him back for another year, we would just think that KF was loyal to a fault and really dumb. As is, we just think he is a father who can't fire his son.
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Evidently he can't even reassign him. He doesn't even need to fire him.

Can anyone out there think of a division one player who's father was an active D 1 head coach and the player didn't play for his father? I can recall one, and even then the coach he played for was close to his father. Marc Raveling played for Rudy Washington at Drake around 1992, 1993 or so while his father George coached at USC. Of course Rudy was an assistant on Raveling's final staff at Iowa.
 
After last month's tragedy I'm sure this is a very emotional time for the entire family. But most of us endure tragedies in our lives and, while painful, we get through it. I'm sure over time the McCaffrey family will as well.

All in all, the McCaffrey's have it made, IMO. Fran is making mega bucks, again IMO, and they are Iowa City royalty if not state of Iowa royalty. With that comes some criticism. Still, all in all good. Sometimes in emotional situations people to make geographic changes, which works for some not for others.

Fran has been a good but not great Hawkeye coach. I've enjoyed his teams. If Jack doesn't play for Iowa and Fran moves on, life will go on. I suspect in the end they will realize they have it pretty good and stay right where they are.

go hawks
 
Let Jack go where he needs to go, I hope he is a great player somewhere and I hope his dad stays a few more years and achieves something in the tourney before he settles down and plays golf. I have always respected Frans competitiveness that he brings to his job.
 
JMac tweeted out today that he has received an offer from Wake Forest, coached by Lone Tree native and former Southwestern Community College coach Steve Forbes.

In an article written by Pat Harty of HawkFanatic in the last few days, Forbes should be on a short list of candidates for Iowa if Fran were to leave Iowa. He did state Fran has earned the right to coach at Iowa as long as he wants but it's always good to have a short list.
 
thedukeofearl said:
Yeah, both Connor and Patrick were unmercifully crucified over and over

But there were occasions for rabid praise

For instance, Connor making 4 threes in a single game and the same for Patrick

And who can forget the game-tying three in the last second against the Badgers even though
we lost in OT

I know, for certain, that I will enjoy every game on the hardcourt

:cool:
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Yup
 
HuckFinn said:
Fran has the luxury of doing what ever he damn well pleases. Stay at Iowa and retire rich. Go to another job, up, down or lateral with a very good contract. Don’t under estimate this guy. He is in charge of his life and knows it. Read it and weep! He is to be admired.
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Totally agree.
 
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