***Official Iowa vs Ohio State Game Thread 7:00PM-FS1***

[Herbie2]

He can put Deon Thomas on staff. Time heals all wounds.

Trips to Champaign would be glorious.

Thomas has a very fitting job title.

 

[Brad Wesley]

Fran got lucky as fuck with the Murrays. Helped mask the ongoing issues of roster construction and atrocious defense.

 

[AZmessDAWG]

While we’re all shitting on him now, and yes he got lucky w the Murray’s, he also deserves credit for seeing their potential.

 

[Fletch]

While we’re all shitting on him now, and yes he got lucky w the Murray’s, he also deserves credit for seeing their potential.

So does Billy Wright.

 

[CamelTones]

I’m not as confident as others that they’ll make the move to end this. They’ll have to negotiate it out and I’m not sure Fran wants that. Paying Fran $4.1 million on top of another coaches buy out on top of revenue sharing starting next year plus trying to get money for a Carver renovation.

I think there’s a better chance they let it play out 1 more year.

I’m also not as high on Beth as others are. She hired Jan as an internal candidate. She hired Tracy Claeys at Minnesota, and yes I get she was just interim. Barbara Wilson made the Brian decision. They’ve been talking about basketball attendance for years now. If they were serious about it they would have done something about it by now.

 

[BillyBob]

I don’t think Fran was lucky with the Murrays. He saw something in them (when no one else did, pwned us all) and did a great job developing them as players, as he did with a lot of recruits.

He has some good accomplishments and turning around the program after The Criminal was as difficult a task as there was in college basketball at that time.

unfortunately he had some glaring flaws, the program is completely dead now, and fran has mailed it in.

 

[Hawkstrat]

It's just the nature of people, instead of simply admitting that Fran has been pretty good, but his flavor of pretty good has gotten frustrating and it's time for someone new. People want to strengthen their argument by discounting his entire tenure.

I get that being pretty good with gigantic glaring weaknesses gets old, especially when those issues are never addressed. It starts to feel, if not overtly intentional, certainly neglectful.

But saying that somehow the Murrays don't count is such a dumb argument. Fran recruited them, you can't pretend they covered up roster construction when they were part of roster construction.

 

[Brad Wesley]

While we’re all shitting on him now, and yes he got lucky w the Murray’s, he also deserves credit for seeing their potential.

I give Fran a ton of credit for finding Garza. The Murrays were legacy Iowa kids. I don’t recall the time line, nor will I research, but I believe they were offered relatively late in the recruiting cycle and felt like the ultimate fallback recruits.

 

[Kamala]

The past, and whatever Fran should have or should not have received credit for, is irrelevant to his employment going forward. The bottom line is that the team isn’t very good, they are not enjoyable to watch, and Iowa fans do not want to go to games. That is unlikely to change while Fran is still here. Is the athletic department ok with that or not? That’s the only question that matters and we should know the answer in the next 60 days.

 

[6deuce]

It's just the nature of people, instead of simply admitting that Fran has been pretty good, but his flavor of pretty good has gotten frustrating and it's time for someone new. People want to strengthen their argument by discounting his entire tenure.

I get that being pretty good with gigantic glaring weaknesses gets old, especially when those issues are never addressed. It starts to feel, if not overtly intentional, certainly neglectful.

But saying that somehow the Murrays don't count is such a dumb argument. Fran recruited them, you can't pretend they covered up roster construction when they were part of roster construction.

I forget how did Iowa do in the tournament with the Murray boys in the lineup?

 

[Lee Beevers]

I forget how did Iowa do in the tournament with the Murray boys in the lineup?

Not sure.

 

[BillyBob]

We’re gonna learn a lot about BDBG at the end of the season.

I’m cautiously optimistic, but will remain ready to lash out online.

 

[Brad Wesley]

I don’t see Fran negotiating a settlement. Fran is going to take the full contract value whether he’s coaching or not.

Given the university’s obligation to directly pay players going forward, is there an appetite to pay Fran out, buyout a current coach’s contract (Devries or someone else) then pay the new guy $4-5 million year one? A $15 million year one hit is sizable.

I don’t know how much game day revenue is being left on the table with small crowds/poor ticket sales but even a doubling of ticket sales might not make much of a difference when looking to offset $15 million.

 

[Hawkstrat]

I forget how did Iowa do in the tournament with the Murray boys in the lineup?

 

[Uli Kunkel]

I assume it's because firing coaches is not common in the Iowa AD culture, but other schools with less money do this all the time. Weird how we pretend it's very difficult at Iowa. Granted, other schools don't award the contracts and buyouts for mediocrity that Barta did, but still.

 

[AZmessDAWG]

I’m not as confident as others that they’ll make the move to end this. They’ll have to negotiate it out and I’m not sure Fran wants that. Paying Fran $4.1 million on top of another coaches buy out on top of revenue sharing starting next year plus trying to get money for a Carver renovation.

I think there’s a better chance they let it play out 1 more year.

I’m also not as high on Beth as others are. She hired Jan as an internal candidate. She hired Tracy Claeys at Minnesota, and yes I get she was just interim. Barbara Wilson made the Brian decision. They’ve been talking about basketball attendance for years now. If they were serious about it they would have done something about it by now.

Lol

 

[Dr. Zaius]

Fran deserves credit for the Murrays, sure. He also deserves to be raped over the coals for not playing them both over Patrick

 

[Orestes]

Fran deserves credit for the Murrays, sure. He also deserves to be raped over the coals for not playing them both over Patrick

Goddamn I want this to be a want of bee and not purposeful or a typo.

 

[BuffettHawk]

Fran deserves credit for the Murrays, sure. He also deserves to be raped over the coals for not playing them both over Patrick

 

[6deuce]

At the end of the day no one fucking cares when you have never made it to the 2nd weekend of the tournament. Even 1 sweet 16 would've made a lot of fans STFU. I will not DMOFR, but how many wins does Fran have in the tournament at Iowa 2 maybe 3? That alone should've gotten him fired.

 

[Fletch]

I count 4. Temple, Davidson, Cincy and Grand Canyon.

 

[Hawkstrat]

At the end of the day no one fucking cares when you have never made it to the 2nd weekend of the tournament. Even 1 sweet 16 would've made a lot of fans STFU. I will not DMOFR, but how many wins does Fran have in the tournament at Iowa 2 maybe 3? That alone should've gotten him fired.

 

[CamelTones]

Lol

Explain why you laughed.

Also Frans contract allows the university to pay out the $4.1 million over 3 years so it’s likely not a hindrance to getting rid of him.

 

[Saul Berkley]

It's just the nature of people, instead of simply admitting that Fran has been pretty good, but his flavor of pretty good has gotten frustrating and it's time for someone new. People want to strengthen their argument by discounting his entire tenure.

I get that being pretty good with gigantic glaring weaknesses gets old, especially when those issues are never addressed. It starts to feel, if not overtly intentional, certainly neglectful.

But saying that somehow the Murrays don't count is such a dumb argument. Fran recruited them, you can't pretend they covered up roster construction when they were part of roster construction.

Fran did an excellent job bringing this program out of the gutter and for that, I will always be thankful. But this relationship has run its course and its time to move on and find another dance partner.

 

[Greg Obrecht]

Sounds….Hawt

 

[Kamala]

Outside of the Hawkeyes, the coaches of the sports teams I follow routinely get fired. So I’ve read a lot of firing-related message board posts. One thing I find unique about Iowa fans who want a coach fired is the compulsion to qualify their feelings with he’s a good man but…. or He’s done a lot of great things but…

I don’t see that anywhere else. Most fans of other teams just get to the point. Not a judgement just an observation.

 

[hawkeyealum]

Fran deserves credit for the Murrays, sure. He also deserves to be raped over the coals for not playing them both over Patrick

A disgrace

 

[Thomas Wolsey]

Outside of the Hawkeyes, the coaches of the sports teams I follow routinely get fired. So I’ve read a lot of firing-related message board posts. One thing I find unique about Iowa fans who want a coach fired is the compulsion to qualify their feelings with he’s a good man but…. or He’s done a lot of great things but…

I don’t see that anywhere else. Most fans of other teams just get to the point. Not a judgement just an observation.

STFU, you coward.

 

[Kamala]

STFU, you coward.

That’s a weird response.

 

[RiotFan]

Outside of the Hawkeyes, the coaches of the sports teams I follow routinely get fired. So I’ve read a lot of firing-related message board posts. One thing I find unique about Iowa fans who want a coach fired is the compulsion to qualify their feelings with he’s a good man but…. or He’s done a lot of great things but…

I don’t see that anywhere else. Most fans of other teams just get to the point. Not a judgement just an observation.

Don’t forget about the regular Iowa Fan take of “be careful what you wish for” when talking about firing a coach.

 

[Thomas Wolsey]

That’s a weird response.

I thought it was funny. So there.

 

[Stu Beagle]

Outside of the Hawkeyes, the coaches of the sports teams I follow routinely get fired. So I’ve read a lot of firing-related message board posts. One thing I find unique about Iowa fans who want a coach fired is the compulsion to qualify their feelings with he’s a good man but…. or He’s done a lot of great things but…

I don’t see that anywhere else. Most fans of other teams just get to the point. Not a judgement just an observation.

This is not a serious program. Nearly half a century since a conference title.

 

[BillyBob]

Can people please just act like they’ve been there before.

plz

 

[Kamala]

I thought it was funny. So there.

Oh

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Don’t forget about the regular Iowa Fan take of “be careful what you wish for” when talking about firing a coach.

there is a far better than 50% chance that the next guy is worse than Fran. Even current Fran.

 

[CurdMan]

Don’t forget about the regular Iowa Fan take of “be careful what you wish for” when talking about firing a coach.

I mean half the fan base are rural Iowan farmers who just hope the boys have fun and don’t get hurt. What’s funny is most of those fans were completely turned off by Fran’s tirades early on in his career. It’s over for Fran because he lost the Iowa Nice fans almost immediately and he’s now lost the rest of us who used to appreciate the fire he brought. There are a lot of people who would never want Kirk fired because of the good will he has built as a stand up, respectful man who gives back to the community. Those fans don’t really exist for Fran.

 

[Alan Lomax]

I mean half the fan base are rural Iowan farmers who just hope the boys have fun and don’t get hurt. What’s funny is most of those fans were completely turned off by Fran’s tirades early on in his career. It’s over for Fran because he lost the Iowa Nice fans almost immediately and he’s now lost the rest of us who used to appreciate the fire he brought. There are a lot of people who would never want Kirk fired because of the good will he has built as a stand up, respectful man who gives back to the community. Those fans don’t really exist for Fran.

Was the ref stare-down early in his career or late in his career? Because that was really fucking stupid.

 

[Revolver]

Ideally we have a new coach and retain those non-white commits next season.

 

[Hawk&Balls]

Wasn't that a year or two ago

 

[JamesMouton]

Wasn't that a year or two ago

Yeah, that was the Michigan State comeback OT win two seasons ago.

 

[Billy Butters]

Was the ref stare-down early in his career or late in his career? Because that was really fucking stupid.

I still find it hilarious and we had one of the greatest comebacks I've ever seen. Odd thing to hold on to. With that being said Fran does suck now.

 

[Billy Butters]

there is a far better than 50% chance that the next guy is worse than Fran. Even current Fran.

A far better than 50% chance we are down 15+ in pretty much every conference game? That last statement is ridiculous.

 

[Hawkstrat]

I mean half the fan base are rural Iowan farmers who just hope the boys have fun and don’t get hurt. What’s funny is most of those fans were completely turned off by Fran’s tirades early on in his career. It’s over for Fran because he lost the Iowa Nice fans almost immediately and he’s now lost the rest of us who used to appreciate the fire he brought. There are a lot of people who would never want Kirk fired because of the good will he has built as a stand up, respectful man who gives back to the community. Those fans don’t really exist for Fran.

The perception of Fran vs that of Kirk is always funny to me.

One runs an almost embarrassingly clean program but gets red in the face when he is mad. The other has had dozens of players accuse the program of racial bias, but he has sort of an 'aww shucks,' attitude.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

A far better than 50% chance we are down 15+ in pretty much every conference game? That last statement is ridiculous.

I mean, are you going to ignore the past success? Or is RIGHT NOW the most important?

Fran has had awful years and bounced back. But attendance is an issue.

 

[Kamala]

I mean, are you going to ignore the past success? Or is RIGHT NOW the most important?

Fran has had awful years and bounced back. But attendance is an issue.

Your own post said “even current Fran”. The word current means right now

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Fran went 14-19/4-14 and made the next 5 tourneys.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Your own post said “even current Fran”. The word current means right now

we are 4-5 in the conference.

 

[Kamala]

we are 4-5 in the conference.

Exactly. And non-competitive in 80% of the losses

 

[L. Wade Childress]

That’s as many conference win as The Criminal had his last year.

 

[Billy Butters]

we are 4-5 in the conference.

Nope