The e-mails started soon after Dennis Franchione bolted Alabama for Texas A&M.

The Aggies will regret it, they read. Coach Fran is a fraud. Good riddance.

Frankly, they seemed like the wounded laments of a jilted lover, meaning no rational person should read too much into them.

Coach Fran lacked grace in executing the proper exit from Alabama, but he was a good hire for A&M. Maybe even a great one.

He’d been successful everywhere he’d worked, hadn’t he? Pittsburg State, Southwest Texas, New Mexico, TCU, Alabama, he’d had winning records at all but one, and even then, he guided New Mexico to its first bowl in more than 30 years.

So when he finally got back to Texas to one of the jobs he’d always wanted, how come he left Aggies feeling as bitter as Crimson Tide fans?

Why didn’t he win?

The question has bugged media for months, even years. No one likes to be proved wrong, particularly when it’s a matter of public record.

Coach Fran seemed the perfect choice. He’d bring degrees of Mack Brown’s organizational skills and recruiting prowess, and he’d rival Bob Stoops’ game management.

Given time and proper recruiting, he might even upset the balance of power in the Big 12 South.

He not only didn’t fulfill those expectations, he didn’t come close. The Aggies skidded from third wheel to fourth, behind Texas Tech.

Consider these factors as contributions to what was, because of expectations, one of the most disappointing tenures in Aggie football history.

A misleading track record: Except for his six seasons at New Mexico, where his overall record was 33-36, and five at A&M, where he had a losing record in Big 12 play, Franchione never coached anywhere for long at the Division I-A level. He built the foundation of his resume in lower divisions and at programs where expectations weren’t excessive or competition wasn’t as fierce.

When he got to Fort Worth, he hit it big with a player he inherited from Pat Sullivan, LaDainian Tomlinson. LT powered the offense, while Franchione’s top assistant, Gary Patterson, one of the nation’s best defensive coaches, ran the other side of the ball, just as he had when New Mexico went to a bowl.

In fact, Patterson not only sustained what Fran started after he left TCU, he improved upon it. The question became which coach had the greater impact in Fort Worth?

A poor management style: When Franchione got to College Station, he inherited a roster that, for the first time in years, had little pro potential. But R.C. Slocum also handed him the keys to Reggie McNeal, the best quarterback prospect at A&M since Kevin Murray.

Early in his stay at A&M, McNeal showed more promise than Vince Young. Though not as powerful, McNeal was just as elusive and a significantly better passer. But McNeal’s promise withered under Franchione.

A distant personality: Long before a secret, $1,200 e-mail service made apparent the disconnect between Franchione and everyday Aggies, the rank and file felt no attachments to the head coach.

Franchione’s lack of charisma didn’t help. As a communicator, he’s a low-talker. His dry wit surfaced too late with media and players to warm up an image only an IRS agent would covet.