COLLEGE FOOTBALL Franchione cashes in with A & amp;M

He'll be the third-highest paid coach in the country.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Dennis Franchione has a lot more in common with Bear Bryant than Alabama thought.
Reversing the path Bryant took more than four decades ago, Franchione bolted Tuscaloosa for Texas A & amp;M on Thursday, replacing the fired R.C. Slocum.
Franchione agreed to a five-year deal with A & amp;M worth nearly $10 million, the San Antonio Express-News reported today. An A & amp;M source told The Dallas Morning News that the deal was worth $1.75 million a year for five years, making him the third-highest paid college football coach.
Full contract details were expected to revealed during a news conference today when Franchione was officially hired.
After completing contract talks in Dallas on Thursday afternoon, Franchione flew to College Station, where he emerged from a private jet onto a maroon carpet.
The 51-year-old coach brushed aside questions as he rushed to a waiting vehicle bound for the A & amp;M campus. His only comment: "I'll talk to all of you tomorrow."
They like him
A & amp;M board of regents chairman Erle Nye said he celebrated with school president Robert Gates and other regents Thursday when they learned that Franchione would join the Aggies.
"We think he's special," Nye said. "We think he brings some new perspective to add to a really strong program. I think [change] is healthy. Testing new ideas and having new perspectives is good."
Franchione's arrival ends a busy week at A & amp;M that started Monday with Slocum's dismissal. The Aggies finished a 6-6 season last week with a 50-20 loss to Texas.
Tuesday, A & amp;M hired former Nebraska athletic director Bill Byrne to replace outgoing AD Wally Groff. Groff was asked to resign by Gates and will complete his tenure Dec. 31.
Earlier in the week there were signs that Franchione was on his way out of Alabama. He canceled speaking engagements Wednesday night in Columbus, Ga., and Thursday in Montgomery, Ala.
Franchione returns to Texas after leading the Crimson Tide to a 10-3 finish this season.
Before Alabama, Franchione coached at TCU in Fort Worth from 1998 until 2000, amassing a 25-11 record with the Horned Frogs.