Dennis Franchione, the college football coach who resurrected TCU in the late 1990s before leading Alabama and Texas A&M through turbulent chapters of their history, died on Tuesday at age 75. His family confirmed the news to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and TCU announced his death in a statement from the athletic department.
Franchione died at 75 years old after a lengthy battle with cancer. He had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his kidney in 2016, was again diagnosed with cancer in 2021 but reached full remission, and his family told the Star-Telegram the cancer returned earlier this year before he entered hospice care earlier this month.
From Kansas high schools to a 213-win career
Franchione coached 40 years in total, starting as an assistant at Kansas State in 1978, and compiled a 213-135-2 overall record over 30 seasons as a head coach. Before reaching the FBS level, he built winning programs at NAIA Southwestern College and Division II Pittsburg State, his alma mater.
His major-college head coaching stops included Alabama from 2001-02, Texas A&M from 2003-07, New Mexico from 1992-97, TCU from 1998-2000 and Texas State from 2011-15. He also helped guide Texas State's transition from FCS to FBS during the 2012 season.
The TCU turnaround that changed a program
Franchione inherited a TCU team and promptly turned their fortunes around, going from 1–10 the year before to 7–5 and a berth in the Sun Bowl, where the Horned Frogs defeated Southern California. He again led the Horned Frogs to a bowl game in 1999 on the legs of junior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson, who led the nation in rushing.
The program's rise continued into 2000. The Frogs finished that season 10–1, were co-champions of the Western Athletic Conference, and accepted a bid to the Mobile Alabama Bowl. Franchione left for Alabama before the bowl game, and his defensive coordinator, Gary Patterson, took over as head coach, eventually building TCU into a national power that reached the College Football Playoff era under Sonny Dykes.
Tributes from Fort Worth
TCU's current staff honored the man players still called « Coach Fran ». « College football is in a better place for having Dennis Franchione's influence on it, and today is a great loss to all who knew him, » TCU coach Sonny Dykes said in a statement. Athletics director Mike Buddie added, « TCU mourns alongside the Franchione family at the passing of 'Coach Fran.' »
Alabama breakthrough, then a controversial Texas A&M exit
Franchione's two seasons in Tuscaloosa remain among the most debated of his career. He took over a team that had posted a 3–8 record the prior season and led it to a 7–5 record in 2001 and a 10–3 record in 2002; the 2001 team won the Independence Bowl, Alabama's first bowl win in five seasons, and the 2002 squad finished first in the SEC West.
A stunning departure for College Station
Alabama reportedly offered him a 10-year contract to stay, but with NCAA sanctions looming from violations under a previous coach, Franchione stunned the college football world by leaving to replace R.C. Slocum at Texas A&M. His tenure with the Aggies was doomed from the start, bottoming out in a historic 77-0 loss to Oklahoma in 2003, and with rival Texas competing for national championships, Franchione was unable to turn the tide in College Station.
Pressure mounted after it was revealed that he was privately selling a newsletter to top donors that gave inside information about the team, and Franchione was fired after the 2007 season. Still, his five years in Aggieland included a signature win: in 2006, he led the Aggies to a 9-3 record, including a 12-7 win over No. 11 Texas in Austin.
A legacy carried on by Tomlinson, Patterson and Dykes
Franchione's greatest on-field impact may be measured through the careers he launched rather than his own win total. His players included Hall of Famers LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Urlacher. And in Fort Worth, the coaching tree he started kept growing: Franchione was replaced at TCU by his defensive coordinator, Gary Patterson, who had winning records in 15 of his 22 seasons as head coach, including an undefeated 13-0 season in 2010 when the Frogs finished second after a win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Franchione closed his career the same way he started it, helping a smaller program grow. He ended his coaching career in 2015 after four years at Texas State. That program, which he had also coached in the early 1990s under its former name, has continued climbing the ranks of college football — a trajectory now followed closely by outlets covering the sport, including coverage like this week's top matchups and ongoing storylines such as Alabama's current season.
Franchione is survived by his wife, Kim, and his family, according to TCU's statement. Tributes continued to pour in Tuesday from the programs and players he shaped across more than four decades on the sideline.