Fran McCaffery was allegedly fired as the University of Iowa’s men’s basketball head coach Friday after a 15-year-old stint running the program.
McCaffery’s firing came only one day after he was thrown out of a blow -up loss to Illinois in the BIG 10 Tournament on Thursday. The team will miss the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.
Recordings of the draft circulated on social media after Iowa’s losses of 106-94.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
Just minutes after McCaffery’s firing was reported by several businesses, his son Connor, a former Iowa player, current butler -men’s basketball assistant head coach and girlfriend to Caitlin Clark, released three clown emoji on X.
Connor’s last two X-positions were a retweet of a festive position by his father who reached the 200-Win brand at Iowa and two Heart Emoji over a video of his father’s emotional conversation after a win over Rutgers in February.
Connor played for Fran in Iowa for six seasons from 2017-23.
Huge Caitlin Clark Milestone surpassed by Teen Phenom Juju Watkins in the middle of the quest to steal all the time scoring crown
Head coach Fran McCaffery clamps son Connor McCaffery from Iowa Hawkeyes after a game against Auburn Tigers in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Legacy Arena in BJCC 16 March 2023 in Birmingham, ala. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
During his six seasons, Connor played in 166 games that rank number two in the Iowa story. He dealt with injuries in most of his college career, but a red-shirt year and the Covid-19 campaign awarded him six seasons of eligibility.
He reached the NCAA tournament in each of his full seasons except for his Covid season. He average 4.5 points and three rebounds and played in 111 wins and tied Jordan Bohannon for the most in the program history. His career-assisted-to-turnover ratio of 3.59 (527 assists to 147 revenue) is the second best in the NCAA story.
Main coach Fran McCaffery Klemmer Son Connor McCaffery from Iowa Hawkeyes during the second half against Auburn Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Legacy Arena in BJCC 16 March 2023 in Birmingham, ala. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Iowa is also where Connor met Clark when she played the lead role for the women’s content from 2020-24. The couple started dating in April 2023 after Clark led Iowa on a race to the NCAA title game. Connor was a senior at the time and began his coaching career after education.
Fran McCaffery will leave Iowa after he led the team to seven NCAA tournament, and went on to the second round four times, but never reached the sweet 16. The coach would have led eight NCAA tournament teams if the Covid-19 pandemic did not result in cancellation of the 2020 tournament.
For 15 seasons as Hawkey’s main coach, McCaffery had a record of 297-207 and will leave the program as the all-time winner leader.
