Former TCU, Alabama, Texas A&M coach Franchione once again has to fight cancer
Dennis Franchione beat cancer once and he will have to do it again.
Friends and former players of the former head football coach at TCU, Alabama, Texas A&M and Texas State said he fell recently and x-rays revealed he has cancer.
“Prayers are huge!” Franchione said in a text message.
The fear is this time this type of cancer is more aggressive than the cancerous tumor that was discovered on his kidney in 2016.
A group of his former players at TCU plan to visit Franchione at his home at Horseshoe Bay near Austin.
During an extensive interview at his house in December of 2018, he said, “All I ever wanted to do was play ball, now it’s just a golf ball. Now I want to be sure to enjoy what I have, and what time I have left.”
Fran’ is 70 years old. He retired from coaching after four years at Texas State in December of 2015.
Although current TCU head coach Gary Patterson receives most of the credit for the resurgence of the football team, it was Fran’ who started the process when he was hired away from New Mexico in 1998.
It’s been more than 20 years since Fran was at TCU, but his fingerprints still remain throughout the campus.
Patterson was the defensive coordinator for Fran’ at TCU, and for two seasons at New Mexico.
Franchione coached TCU for three seasons where the team began the slow process of becoming a national name in college football.
In his first season, TCU finished 7-5 which included a stunning win over USC in the Sun Bowl.
Over the next two seasons TCU was one of the better teams in the nation with running back LaDainian Tomlinson as a Heisman contender in 2000.
The Frogs were 25-10 in his tenure in Fort Worth. He had become the hottest name in college coaching, and left TCU to become the new head coach at Alabama shortly before TCU’s bowl game to conclude the 2000 season.
He stayed at Alabama for two seasons but left for Texas A&M after a 10-3 season at Tuscaloosa in 2002. He left mostly because of a disagreement over his contract.
Despite high expectations, Fran’s tenure in College Station did not pan out. The Aggies never won 10 games in his five years before he was fired after the 2007 season. His final win at Texas A&M was a 38-30 victory over No. 13 Texas on Nov. 23, 2007.
As the head coach at TCU, the Frogs beat rival SMU. As the head coach at Alabama, the Tide defeated Auburn. As the head coach at Texas A&M, the Aggies defeated Texas.
He’s the only person who can claim that.
Before becoming the head coach at New Mexico in 1992, Fran was successful at the lower levels of college football, most notably at Pittsburg State in Kansas where the Gorillas were 53-6 in his five years there.
Fran’ returned to coaching in 2012 where he led Texas State for four seasons. He had coached at the school in 1990 and ‘91, when it was named Southwest Texas State.
On his second run in San Marcos, the Bobcats had one winning record in his tenure.
He retired from coaching after the 2015 season. He has since enjoyed the majority if his time spending time with his wife, Kim, their children and grandchildren, playing with dogs, golfing and relaxing. He also kept up watching college football.
He beat cancer once.
God willing he will do it again.
