Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne acknowledged fans who were "embarrassed and angry" about last week's 34-17 loss to Miami in his weekly Internet column.
Byrne also said he's heard plenty from fans about coach Dennis Franchione. But no coaching change is imminent, and Byrne encouraged fans to support A&M (3-1) against Baylor in both teams' Big 12 opener Saturday.
"I've heard aplenty about how our coaches are evaluated," Byrne said. "In fact, some want me to fire everyone right now. That's not the best way to conduct business. My process remains the same - we never discuss a coach's evaluation until the season is over, regardless of the sport.
"That's how it's been in the five football seasons that we have been here, and throughout my career," he continued. "It won't change now."
Byrne publishes his column on A&M's athletic Web site each Wednesday. He could not be reached for further comment after this week's column was posted after 4 p.m.
Franchione, who is 28-24 in four-plus seasons at A&M, is signed through the 2012 season. He's beaten only three ranked teams during his tenure and is 2-10 against Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech.
On Tuesday, Franchione said he's isolated from fan criticism inside the Bright Football Complex. But Byrne admitted that players, coaches and the entire athletic staff were hurting in the Orange Bowl locker room.
"First thing I want to talk about is the game at Miami," Byrne said. "I heard from a lot of you who said you were embarrassed and angry. And so were all of us. No one liked what we saw last Thursday night.
"We've asked you to buy into the program, and many of you have done so. That's why the game in Miami hurt so much.
"A few have written that you'll never come to another game," Byrne continued. "I hope that was just the frustration speaking, because we have eight more tough conference games left.
"Baylor is coming to town this Saturday, and they'd like nothing more than to come to Kyle Field and outscore the Aggies. They don't very often, but they think we are vulnerable - and without you we are. We need you at Kyle and in full voice. Please hang in there with your fellow Aggies when they need you most."
Jarah Mariano
Cheney Larschied
Heisman Winners: Best NFL Careers
SI's Pictures of the Week
Comments (0) Add A Comment
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.