A REAL journalist weighs in.

[michigancat]

My favorite parts are bolded.  Love how he doesn't mention gpc.com or even acknowledge Fitz is a journalist.

Kansas State’s hard-earned football reputation—established during the Bill Snyder era—is in jeopardy. It’s vital for K-State’s administration to hire an effective coach. Former AD Tim Weiser played a major role when Ron Prince was selected and it’s fortunate that he’s no longer involved.

Bill Snyder proved that Kansas State can put football teams on the field that can compete with the best in the nation. Many K-State fans are hoping that Snyder comes out of retirement and takes over the faltering program. That would be a mistake. College football coaching is a young man’s game and Coach Snyder is no longer a young man—he’s 69 years old.

Dennis Franchione would be an excellent choice for the Wildcats. He had outstanding teams at tcu and moved on to do an efficient job at Alabama and Texas A&M.

Franchione can recruit Texas and he knows what it takes to win at a place like Kansas State. Another consideration is that K-State would likely be able to keep Franchione if he revitalized the program.

tcu’s present coach, Gary Patterson, would also be a perfect fit for K-State. In his eighth season at tcu, Patterson has a 71-27 record. Late last week, a rumor was started on the Internet that Patterson was already hired. That was denied by all involved.

In fact, the premature publicity might have hurt the Wildcats’ chance of hiring Patterson. After the article became public, Patterson issued a statement of his own and said, "I don’t appreciate the way the whole thing has been handled. If anything, it would probably give Kansas State a far less chance of me even picking up the phone and talking to my alma mater. I’m disappointed in the way the whole thing was handled." That doesn’t sound like a coach who has already been hired.

Coaching changes are costly in more ways than one:

Firing Coach Prince is going to cost K-State close to one and a half million dollars because of the buyout clause in his contract.

After a coaching change, the new staff has to become well-acquainted with the players and other coaches.

Returning players have to learn new offensive and defensive systems and this takes time.

Whoever takes over as the new coach is going to be way behind in this year’s recruiting. In reality, a year of recruiting is lost following a coaching change.

Just because the Prince era didn’t succeed, K-State shouldn’t rule out young and talented head coaches from smaller schools in conferences like the Mid-America.

The main thing a new coach must have to succeed at K-State is outstanding recruiting ability. And contacts in Texas are a must. There aren’t nearly enough players in Kansas to even start to build a winning football program.

The worst thing K-State could do is to settle for a head coach who has been average at some other university. A perfect example would be Kirk Ferentz, who’s reportedly in trouble at Iowa. If a coach like Ferentz can’t get it done at Iowa, he sure can’t win at Kansas State.

K-Staters should hope that Bill Snyder is significantly involved in the process of selecting a new coach; no one knows better what it takes to win in Manhattan.

There’s no foolproof scheme to hire the right man for the job. And Prince’s successor isn’t going to be able to match Snyder’s record; that was a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. Nevertheless, Kansas State can hire a coach who is capable of developing entertaining and competitive football teams that can challenge for the Big 12 North and go to bowl games.

http://www.ksallink.com/pages/?page=sports_ed

[cireksu]

I wished he would have called it the "web"  or the "world wide web"

[KSU187]

Or "interweb"

[Bookcat]

Ferentz=Francione?

Ferentz<Francione?

Ferentz>Snyder no way

McCarney>Ferentz


maybe

[jester66]

A lot of you would rather lap up your own vomit, but Franchione might just be our best bet.  He's proven he can turn around programs quickly in multiple conferences.  His son gives us the equivalent of 'Te's DC Assault connection to valuable Texas talent.  Coaches in KS and TX Juco's/HS's love the guy.  He's from our state and very well understands how to sell a kid to playing in KS.  He's had very loyal assistant coaches wherever he's been.  He's well respected by the media, so they might not be so quick to bash our program nationally.  Our gray hairs with deep pockets will be pleased with the hire so it will be easier to get the money for need improvements.  3 years ago, he was beyond our reach and now he's in a situation where if he came, he would probably stay. 

Let's not overlook this unique opportunity.

[Chingon]

A lot of you would rather lap up your own vomit, but Franchione might just be our best bet.  He's proven he can turn around programs quickly in multiple conferences.  His son gives us the equivalent of 'Te's DC Assault connection to valuable Texas talent.  Coaches in KS and TX Juco's/HS's love the guy.  He's from our state and very well understands how to sell a kid to playing in KS.  He's had very loyal assistant coaches wherever he's been.  He's well respected by the media, so they might not be so quick to bash our program nationally.  Our gray hairs with deep pockets will be pleased with the hire so it will be easier to get the money for need improvements.  3 years ago, he was beyond our reach and now he's in a situation where if he came, he would probably stay. 

Let's not overlook this unique opportunity.

I think following are quite arguable: proven, turn around, quickly, multiple.

But other than that...

[KSUTOMMY]

And Prince’s successor isn’t going to be able to match Snyder’s record; that was a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.

I just cant buy into this - what LSnyder did was unbelieveable, but I think there is a chance the right coach can match and continue the legacy known as KSU Football

[KSUTOMMY]

A lot of you would rather lap up your own vomit, but Franchione might just be our best bet.  He's proven he can turn around programs quickly in multiple conferences.  His son gives us the equivalent of 'Te's DC Assault connection to valuable Texas talent.  Coaches in KS and TX Juco's/HS's love the guy.  He's from our state and very well understands how to sell a kid to playing in KS.  He's had very loyal assistant coaches wherever he's been.  He's well respected by the media, so they might not be so quick to bash our program nationally.  Our gray hairs with deep pockets will be pleased with the hire so it will be easier to get the money for need improvements.  3 years ago, he was beyond our reach and now he's in a situation where if he came, he would probably stay. 

Let's not overlook this unique opportunity.

Let's not forget that Fran was out-recruited by FPrince for James Johnson out of Blinn JUCO... FWIW, Fran's son is the HC at Blinn, so that should have been a 100% infallable pipeline to aTm... BUT Scary Smart out-smarted Fran.

[ksu_FAN]

A lot of you would rather lap up your own vomit, but Franchione might just be our best bet.  He's proven he can turn around programs quickly in multiple conferences.  His son gives us the equivalent of 'Te's DC Assault connection to valuable Texas talent.  Coaches in KS and TX Juco's/HS's love the guy.  He's from our state and very well understands how to sell a kid to playing in KS.  He's had very loyal assistant coaches wherever he's been.  He's well respected by the media, so they might not be so quick to bash our program nationally.  Our gray hairs with deep pockets will be pleased with the hire so it will be easier to get the money for need improvements.  3 years ago, he was beyond our reach and now he's in a situation where if he came, he would probably stay. 

Let's not overlook this unique opportunity.

Yeah, I'm not sure what to think.*  Was aTm just the wrong place at the wrong time?  I mean, 8 years ago he WAS the Gary Patterson hire.  'Bama hired him for goodness sake.  Other than really his last year at aTm, he has pretty much gotten ever program he's ever been part of progressively better.  He may be past his prime, I don't know, but its amazing what a couple bad years at aTm can do to his reputation...

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl Coaches# AP°
Southwestern College Moundbuilders (NAIA) (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1981–1982)
1981 Southwestern College 5–2–2 5–2–2 2nd    
1982 Southwestern College 9–2–0 8–1–0 1st W Sunflower  
Southwestern College (NAIA): 14–4–2 13–3–2  
Pittsburg State Gorillas (NAIA) (Central States Intercollegiate Conference) (1985–1988)
1985 Pittsburg State 8–2 6–1 1st Quarterfinals NAIA Playoffs  
1986 Pittsburg State 11–1 7–0 1st Semifinals NAIA Playoffs  
1987 Pittsburg State 11–1 7–0 1st Semifinals NAIA Playoffs  
1988 Pittsburg State 11–1 7–0 1st Semifinals NAIA Playoffs  
Pittsburg State (NAIA): 41–5 27–1  
Pittsburg State Gorillas (Div. II) (Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1989–1989)
1989 Pittsburg State 12–1 10–0 1st Quarterfinals DII playoffs  
Pittsburg State (DII): 12–1 10–0  
Southwest Texas State Bobcats (Div. I-AA) (Southland Conference) (1990–1991)
1990 Southwest Texas State 6–5 2–3 3rd    
1991 Southwest Texas State 7–4 4–3 4th    
Southwest Texas State (Div. I-AA): 13–9 6–6  
New Mexico Lobos (Western Athletic Conference) (1992–1997)
1992 New Mexico 3–8 2–6 9th    
1993 New Mexico 6–5 4–4 T–6th    
1994 New Mexico 5–7 4–4 5th    
1995 New Mexico 4–7 2–6 T–7th    
1996 New Mexico 6–5 3–5 T–7th (Pacific)    
1997 New Mexico 9–4 6–2 1st (Pacific) L Insight.com  
New Mexico: 33–36 21–27  
tcu Horned Frogs (Western Athletic Conference) (1998–2000)
1998 tcu 7–5 4–4 5th W Sun  
1999 tcu 8–4 5–2 T–1st W Mobile Alabama  
2000 tcu 10–1 7–1 T–1st L Mobile Alabama
Bowl coached by Gary Patterson 15 (pre-bowl)
18 (final) 13 (pre-bowl)
21 (final)
tcu: 25–10 16–7  
Alabama Crimson Tide (Southeastern Conference) (2001–2002)
2001 Alabama 7–5 4–4 T–3rd (West) W Independence  
2002 Alabama 10–3 6–2 1st (West) Ineligible  11
Alabama: 17–8 10–6  
Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12 Conference) (2003–2007)
2003 Texas A&M 4–8 2–6 5th (South)    
2004 Texas A&M 7–5 5–3 T–3rd (South) L 38–7 Cotton  
2005 Texas A&M 5–6 3–5 4th (South)    
2006 Texas A&M 9–4 5–3 3rd (South) L 45–10 Holiday  
2007 Texas A&M 7–5 4–4 T–4th (South) L 24–17 Alamo
Bowl coached by Gary Darnell  
Texas A&M: 32–28 19–21 Source: [45]
 
*Hopefully I don't get too beat up for posting.

[michigancat]

Fran vs. the B12N:

ku:  2-1
KSU: 2-0
MU: 1-2
NU:  1-2
CU:  1-1
ISU: 1-1

[ECN]

dont get me started on fran

[ksu_FAN]

Fran vs. the B12N:

ku:  2-1
KSU: 2-0
MU: 1-2
NU:  1-2
CU:  1-1
ISU: 1-1

Good point. 

My question; what the heck happened to go from a 'Bama hire to a failure at aTm?  Doesn't make sense.

[michigancat]

Fran vs. the B12N:

ku:  2-1
KSU: 2-0
MU: 1-2
NU:  1-2
CU:  1-1
ISU: 1-1

Good point. 

My question; what the heck happened to go from a 'Bama hire to a failure at aTm?  Doesn't make sense.

The players he had at Bama almost got them the death penalty.  When you think about it like that, it makes a ton of sense.

[catzacker]

I want nothing to do with Fran.  Fran hasn't stayed anywhere as long as GP.  GP has gone through multiple recruiting cycles and remained a consistent winner.  Fran has stayed everywhere long enough to (a) use up the existing recruits and leave or (b) get fired for not being able to sustain the use of the existing recruits and was a complete dipsh*t.  

[Chingon]

Fran vs. the B12N:

ku:  2-1
KSU: 2-0
MU: 1-2
NU:  1-2
CU:  1-1
ISU: 1-1

Good point. 

My question; what the heck happened to go from a 'Bama hire to a failure at aTm?  Doesn't make sense.

Bama also hired Mark Price and Li'l Shula.

Evaluating coaching talent is not their forte

cheating is.

[ksu_FAN]

I want nothing to do with Fran.  Fran hasn't stayed anywhere as long as GP.  GP has gone through multiple recruiting cycles and remained a consistent winner.  Fran has stayed everywhere long enough to (a) use up the existing recruits and leave or (b) get fired for not being able to sustain the use of the existing recruits and was a complete dipsh*t.  

This makes sense.