Retaining Fran

[hawk2012]

The Fran hire was as good as the Lickliter hire was bad. Barta really got this one right. He plays a fun style of basketball, he retains players, he finds underrated talent, he develops players, he keeps the best players in-state, and he wins - a lot. His teams have been better each year for the past five years. I doubt that is true of many teams.

Is anyone else worried that some program is going to make a run at hiring Fran this year? He would be my first call if I was an AD. His record of rebuilding programs is about as good as it gets. The job he has done at Iowa is pretty miraculous considering how bad things got before he came. I'm sure everyone is wary of long contracts in light of the problems with the football program. However, I think Fran may deserve a pay bump this year, especially if we win a game or two in the tourney.

That being said, I am doubtful that he would leave this year with Gessel, Clemmons, Woodbury and Uthoff as seniors next years. And I doubt he will leave anywhere after Connor arrives and until Patrick leaves. So basically if we can hang onto him next season we are golden.

 

[mopkins]

He's not going anywhere. He's in the Big Ten and his kid seems to be crushing it at Iowa City West with another on the way shortly....and both are very likely to play with him at Iowa. He's 55 years old and he's already signed until 2020.

At this age and point in his career he's probably sick of rebuilds and he's already at a power conference that he's proven he can win at.

 

[damnfinn]

recently in an interview with Dan Dakich, Fran was asked, is this Heaven? Fran replied, no, its IOWA!

 

[coralville]

I want to see his two boys play at iowa

 

[SpecialKHawk]

What got the football program in trouble is the contract gave complete and total leverage to the coach.

I am all for bumping him up in pay and/or extending but make sure the leverage conditions are split between the coach and university. Not a one sided contract. I would also like to see the assistants taken care of.

 

[BigD]

What got the football program in trouble is the contract gave complete and total leverage to the coach.

I am all for bumping him up in pay and/or extending but make sure the leverage conditions are split between the coach and university. Not a one sided contract. I would also like to see the assistants taken care of.

I have some shady contacts that will do just about anything for $500, but I don't understand what you have against Fran's assistants....... Just kidding, just kidding.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

This is a destination job for a guy like Fran, especially at his age. All the years spent rebuilding smaller programs were to get to this point.

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

Thought I remembered reading somewhere that he said this was his dream job. I can't seem to find it at the moment.

edit: still cant find the exact place I read it but I found this:

http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0111/pro02.html

It’s that mantra, simple though it may be, that pushed McCaffery to his first head-coaching job as a 26-year-old at Lehigh, helped him lead the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and Siena College programs to stunning turnarounds, and, most recently, allowed him to land what he calls his “dream jobâ€￾ as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Iowa.

 

[Cardinals54]

I'm not disagreeing with anything in the thread, but this one's really funny / strange / ironic compared to a few threads after the UNI game. Amazing how sentiments can change for some fans in such a short time. (Know I'm not pointing fingers or referring to anyone here.) If you want to see an amazing difference, go back in the archives and check some of those out. There was one calling for Fran to be fired the next day, and wanted Barta right behind him.

 

[judzeehawk]

I'm not disagreeing with anything in the thread, but this one's really funny / strange / ironic compared to a few threads after the UNI game. Amazing how sentiments can change for some fans in such a short time. (Know I'm not pointing fingers or referring to anyone here.) If you want to see an amazing difference, go back in the archives and check some of those out. There was one calling for Fran to be fired the next day, and wanted Barta right behind him.

Glad your not pointing fingers at anyone and just want people to go and check it out for themselves. Yes people get passionate and say dumb things like you reminding people about it. The HAWKS are trending in the right direction and people are ecstatic about it so enough already! I'm sure everyone is aware! Go HAWKS!!!

 

[Cardinals54]

Glad your not pointing fingers at anyone and just want people to go and check it out for themselves. Yes people get passionate and say dumb things like you reminding people about it. The HAWKS are trending in the right direction and people are ecstatic about it so enough already! I'm sure everyone is aware! Go HAWKS!!!

Was just making the point that some time and some wins give people a whole different perspective in athletics, that was all. Sorry you found it dumb.

 

[judzeehawk]

Was just making the point that some time and some wins give people a whole different perspective in athletics, that was all. Sorry you found it dumb.

I must of read it wrong.... it didn't read that way to me...but I like your clarification. Thanks.

 

[JG10Hawk]

Fran making the tournament this year gives him 2 more years onto his contract and a $200,000 bonus. In other words, he will be signed through the 2021-2022 season. This is Fran's third contract with Iowa, if other programs start to sniff around, I think it's safe to assume Barta will take action.

From an article before this season:

Iowa men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery opened the 2014-15 season Friday with a contract extension.

McCaffery, 55, in his fifth season as the Hawkeyes' coach, had a year added to his previous deal, extending it through the 2019-2020 season.

McCaffery's salary for this season -- $1.8 million – didn't increase. It will escalate $50,000 annually through the term of the contract. Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said that McCaffery will also receive a one-time bonus of approximately $200,000 for another NCAA Tournament appearance. And an NCAA bid would add two years to his deal.

http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...ffery-gary-barta-contract-extension/19049997/

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

I'm not disagreeing with anything in the thread, but this one's really funny / strange / ironic compared to a few threads after the UNI game. Amazing how sentiments can change for some fans in such a short time. (Know I'm not pointing fingers or referring to anyone here.) If you want to see an amazing difference, go back in the archives and check some of those out. There was one calling for Fran to be fired the next day, and wanted Barta right behind him.

Yeah this board was brutal from the end of Feb last year until the last couple days, so many short sighted fans that can't step back and see the bigger picture. Hopefully people will have a little more perspective after the next Iowa loss.

 

[1hawkeye1]

I support Fran 100% and always have. But I don't waste time worrying about if he's leaving or not. I remember chewing my nails worrying that KF would go to the NFL. Now I wish he would've.

It's next man in with players and the same goes with coaches. I love Fran, but if he feels he wants to move on, then good luck to him and welcome to the next guy. Go Hawks!

 

[hawkjunkie]

He's not going anywhere. He's in the Big Ten and his kid seems to be crushing it at Iowa City West with another on the way shortly....and both are very likely to play with him at Iowa. He's 55 years old and he's already signed until 2020.

At this age and point in his career he's probably sick of rebuilds and he's already at a power conference that he's proven he can win at.

Not to mention he has to think of his wife and family. Moving a family is incredibly tough. No way he leaves. If Fran has the ability, he can win it all at Iowa. Iowa basketball has been to the top of college basketball(and bottom, once) multiple times, over multiple decades. If Fran has it, he will do it. That said, I think he has it. We will be an Elite 8 team at some point in Fran's career at Iowa. I would not be surprised if that happened more than once.

NOW, do not over pay the guy and have him hold you be the balls for almost a decade! Use you Fn brain when negotiating a contract - Keep it incentive based...

 

[InGoodCo]

It's just the reality and irony of the situation. Several times through out the year, this board was on a witch hunt to run Fran out and find the next best thing. Same with Aaron White.... he's been bashed on here throughout his career for not having a jumper and not being really "that good". Most posters could find more holes in his game then strengths.....now the general consensus of the board is if he doesn't make 1st team All B1G, it will be some tragedy. All off season, the board replaced Mike with Trey Dickerson, before he even played a minute of basketball in Iowa City. Such is the world of HawkeyeNation hoops message board... i just like to sit back and watch and throw out snarky posts when I get the chance.

 

[longtimer]

Things are not usually as bad as they seem nor are they as good. Has Fran done a good job this year with a nice run down the stretch? Yes This is a pretty good team with some talent. Did Iowa have a shaky period during the season? Yes but we were playing some pretty good teams. Even North Western is playing well (better be ready to play hard Saturday)
Its been a fun couple of weeks and like everyone I am optimistic about the remainder of the year but Im not quite ready to put Fran in the John Wooden category. I think I would like to wait until this time next year. Will we make the tournament? Could be tough. Will he use this positive year to break through on some top recruits? So how would the board respond to negatives for both questions? On the other hand if he does break through I would imagine everyone will be a Fran fan. Until then i think Ill go with the philosophy Fran and his team seem to use Dont get to high or too low and try to keep an even keel. And hold back on paying Fran a Zillon dollars for awhile. Im sure he can live comfortably on what he makes

 

[1977Hawkeye]

It's just the reality and irony of the situation. Several times through out the year, this board was on a witch hunt to run Fran out and find the next best thing. Same with Aaron White.... he's been bashed on here throughout his career for not having a jumper and not being really "that good". Most posters could find more holes in his game then strengths.....now the general consensus of the board is if he doesn't make 1st team All B1G, it will be some tragedy. All off season, the board replaced Mike with Trey Dickerson, before he even played a minute of basketball in Iowa City. Such is the world of HawkeyeNation hoops message board... i just like to sit back and watch and throw out snarky posts when I get the chance.

People are going to be negative and complain when things are going poorly (far too much sometimes though, yes) and they are entitled to take a different viewpoint when things turn around and the team wins 5 straight conference games. That's the name of the game.

Who among us doesn't view this season differently today as they did after the UNI game, or even after losing to Minny & NW back to back? Let's not act like this season hasn't taken a dramatic turn for the better these past few weeks, just like last year, when the team fell apart. A run of 5-8 games or so can define your season, as we've seen these past two years.

As for Fran's contract - I'd be fine with a nice bump in annual salary and perhaps an extension of a year or two. Fran seems like an excellent coach and is getting it done, but let's just not go overboard and extend him to 2027 or something nuts (that means you, Gary Barta). As others have pointed out, that's what got us in trouble with the KF deal. Keep Fran happy, but don't give him such a great contract that he turns into a fat cat.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Thought I remembered reading somewhere that he said this was his dream job. I can't seem to find it at the moment.

edit: still cant find the exact place I read it but I found this:

http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0111/pro02.html

It’s that mantra, simple though it may be, that pushed McCaffery to his first head-coaching job as a 26-year-old at Lehigh, helped him lead the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and Siena College programs to stunning turnarounds, and, most recently, allowed him to land what he calls his “dream jobâ€￾ as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Iowa.

I also remember the comment but not the exact wording. Fran's intent is to retire from the Iowa job. So that's at least 8 more years if he stays until Patrick is done...longer if he sticks around to coach Jonathan.