Had Dennis Franchione accepted Alabama's 10-year, $15 million contract extension offer in December 2002, Nick Saban may never have landed in Tuscaloosa.
Franchione led the Tide to a 10-win 2002 season, his second with the team following three years at TCU. After delivering Alabama's first bowl win in five years, he was offered the gigantic deal, which he declined and accepted the job at Texas A&M, who had just dismissed R.C. Slocum.
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The abrupt departure led Alabama to hire Mike Shula, a former Tide quarterback who had zero college football coaching experience. He lasted just four years, going 26-23 and was fired after a 6-6 mark in 2006. And that opened the door for Nick Saban, who resigned from his post with the Miami Dolphins in January 2007 and took the Alabama job.
The rest is history.
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Now that we've given you one, how many other predecessors of the most notable longest-tenured college football coaches can you name?
