Dennis Franchione called this Alabama team "his team" Thursday.
We thought that was just typical coach-speak, that he was referring to the fact that he'd had a year with these players, had put in his system, knew them all by name, and felt comfortable that the players were ready to reflect his coaching style and philosophy.
Now we know that Fran meant this was "his team," literally.
Apparently, University of Alabama officials have offered a new contract that will make Fran a very rich man, worth an estimated $15 million over 10 years. According to reports, all of that money is guaranteed, which means if Alabama suddenly changes its mind about Fran being the man, officials might have to tear down that $10 million upper deck on Bryant-Denny Stadium and give it to Fran as a fabulous parting gift.
With a 10-year guarantee in his pocket, Fran can do just about anything he wants with "his" team. Tide officials are pretty much saying it's Fran's program, from school colors to traditions. If he doesn't like the current shade of crimson and white, who is going to tell him he can't order a change? If he wants a new office that includes a Jacuzzi, wet bar and lava lamp, what's to stop him from redecorating?
Given the current $100 million capital campaign drive Alabama is involved in to improve Alabama's athletic facilities, Fran's new wealth could put him in a position to buy the name "Bryant" off the stadium. And if Alabama is so committed to keeping Fran happy, who is to say they wouldn't be willing to go along?
Is any coach worth $15 million? Is any player worth $10 million a year? (And no jokes about whether or not Albert Means was worth $200,000. Given Means' academic prowess, are we sure he knows the difference, on paper, between $20 and $200,000?)
It's not the amount of money that should give Tide fans reason to pause. It's a free market out there in the sports world, and Fran's new annual paystub of $1.5 million is not out of line with other coaches at comparable programs.
Of course, usually you have to win something more than a Dec. 27th bowl game in Shreveport, La. Is it too much to ask for some kind, any kind of championship before they start throwing the really big money at his feet? (What am I saying? He beat Auburn, and put Tommy Tuberville on the hot seat. Isn't that enough?)
But today's' sports economy is not about rewarding individuals for what they have done, but rather for what they might possibly, potentially, providentially accomplish somewhere down the road.
Hey, if a guy can get a million for coaching football, I'm all for him. And I know Alabama has the money. I was at the Board of Trustees meeting where they voted to raise tuition at the three University System schools. Now I understand why.
With all the money problems the university system is having, how do you think this $15 million deal is going to play over in the College of Fine Arts, or in the geology professor's lounge? Why, for $15 million, Fran could bail out UAB's athletic department, at least for the next two years. (Watson Brown, are you paying attention?)
Honestly, this is the first coach Alabama has hired since Paul "Bear" Bryant first set foot on campus who deserved the Alabama job. Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, Mike Dubose -- they were all losers before someone handed them the keys to the Crimson Tide kingdom. Whatever they paid those four, only Stallings proved worth it, and even Bebes wound up leaving with the program on probation.
Fran came in as the one thing those other men were not: a proven, successful head coach. Fran won everywhere he had been. He won in tough situations, and won championships. He legitimately earned the right to coach a program with the history, tradition, and record of an Alabama. Unlike 1987, when Alabama blew off Bobby Bowden for the aforementioned Curry, this time no one had to rationalize the decision.
But 10 years? Guaranteed? Did anyone remind Mal Moore that he's no longer allowed to accept money from Logan Young? If Fran doesn't work out, it's going to cost Alabama.
It might cost Alabama anyway. Mark Gottfried has at least won a conference championship. Jim Wells has packed the baseball stadium and won a few trinkets. Sarah Patterson, with the current national championship trophy residing in her office, is awaiting a new contract.
And what if Fran is wildly successful? Has anyone thought about that? How long do you think it will take Fran's agent to hit the school up for a substantial raise the day after Fran leads "his" team to its first real title?
The big winner in all this is neither Alabama nor Dennis Franchione. The big winner is every college football coach in the nation. What one gets, the others soon want. It isn't the money that will change the face of college coaching; it's the length of the contract, the degree of the guarantee.
Why, all 12 coaches on the Tide's schedule this fall ought to just let Alabama win, just to see how much higher Fran's deal can go.
After what he has done for the profession, they owe him that.
Ray Melick's column appears each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in the Birmingham Post-Herald.
