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Dennis Franchione Might Be Top Candidate For San Diego State Head Coach Position

With final exams going on right now, there aren't very many Aggie athletic events to comment on until the men's and women's basketball teams play on Saturday. I've been looking around to see what else is happening in college football, and came upon some tidbits covering the various head coaching searches going on right now. According to Tom Dienhart, Fran is a leading candidate for the San Diego State head coaching job. I don't know if it is possible for a school to make a bigger mistake than hiring him.

San Diego State is in the Mountain West Conference, and as far as I know, no one runs the pure spread option we ran under Fran from 2005-07, so he might have a schematic advantage there. He might be able to get enough of an offense going that they'll be able to win 7-8 games every year in the MWC, and go to bowl games. With the exception of Utah and TCU, no one really plays defense in the Mountain West Conference, and with the focus on wide-open offenses, Fran's emphasis on a power option running game would be a paradigm shift that could yield positive results. I never liked Fran's CEO mentality as a head coach, because I don't think you can have a successful football program when trying to run it like a business with a corporate culture, but in California, they may think it is wacky enough to make it work. Lacking that, the MWC defenses may be so mediocre that Fran will be successful in spite of himself. Regardless, if Fran does end up at SDSU, I will be watching with great interest to see if Gary Darnell follows him there.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that former Minnesota coach Glen Mason or former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green would be a better fit in San Deigo.  

I really think former Franchione assistant and current TCU head coach Gary Patterson is the perfect fit for Auburn. He is a defensive-minded coach who has done a brilliant job in keeping TCU nationally relevant despite their position in a non-BCS conference. Patterson's teams feature an aggressive defense that will shut you down, and a multiple offense that features the run and some option in order to control the clock and shorten games. Watching TCU when they are playing well is like watching a boa devour its next meal. The defense squeezes and squeezes and squeezes until all of a sudden, you're out of time (air), and can't score (breathe) enough to escape a loss (death). I think the War Eagles would love the attitude and defense Patterson would bring to the  Plains.

If Dennis Green doesn't end up at San Diego, I'd like to see him at Mississippi State or at New Mexico State. NMSU is looking to hire a minority coach to rival New Mexico's hiring of Mike Locksley, and Green is a perfect candidate for that job. I also think Green would be able to build on the solid foundation Sylvester Croom has established at Mississippi State. Whichever school doesn't take Green should take a long, hard look at Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong. He is ready for a head coaching position, and he has the experience and resume to back him up.

 

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hah

I figured he would get a job sometime.
I just can’t wait until we play them in a bowl game…and lose. That would be pretty fitting, with how the whole Fran thing went. His best game came when he was basically already gone.

by carsondude on Dec 9, 2008 8:43 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Fran

Hey Beergut….SDSU is in the Mountain West not the WAC…although I think their record would’ve been better (except this year…pee-yuuu LOL). If Coach Fran does get hired and
A&M plays SDSU in a bowl game…..it’ll be a major dissappointment for A&M and I’d bet the boosters will be calling for Sherman’s head!! Meanwhile the long suffering SDSU fans will be jumping up and down jubillantly! There was a time when the foul odor at Qualcomm Stadium was the team SDSU routed. Nowadays,. the odor has been the SDSU football team and it seems to linger this year when the Chargers play…..or is it the Chargers creating their own (LOL)?

by SD Dean on Dec 9, 2008 9:58 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

fixed

thanks for the note

For some reason, I was convinced SDSU stayed in the WAC when the schools who formed the MWC broke off.

by Beergut on Dec 10, 2008 3:23 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Dennis Green

The SDSU boosters would love to have Dennis Green. He already teaches a sports management class at SDSU but has downplayed any interest in the job basically saying that he moved to San Diego to retire. I heard Green on the radio and he didn’t come across as being excited about coaching again. He may no longer have the fire to coach again although if he does he’d draw some top flight recruits and wake up the alumni. Glen Mason has sort of dropped off as has Mike Martz.. The known candidates are Coach Fran and DeWayne Walker (UCLA DC, U of Washington’s choice to replace Ty W. at the end of 2007 season) who will be both interviewing a second time (Sign On San Diego). Personally, I’m excited because the program has no where to go but up and unless the administration botches this hire (Not at all out of the question based on track record -LOL) I’ll be once again buying season tickets after a two year hiatus hopeful of a program on the way up.

by SD Dean on Dec 9, 2008 10:41 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

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