| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1960-12-01)December 1, 1960 (age 64) |
| Playing career | |
| 1980–1982 | Duke |
| 1983–1984 | Tampa Bay Bandits |
| Position(s) | Running back,tight end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1985 | Tampa Bay Bandits (RB) |
| 1986 | VMI (WR/TE) |
| 1987–1989 | Duke (RB) |
| 1990–1992 | Florida (RB) |
| 1993 | Florida (TE) |
| 1994 | Florida (ILB) |
| 1995–1998 | Florida (OC/RB) |
| 1999–2003 | Duke |
| 2004–2012 | South Florida (RB) |
| 2014–2022 | Bethune–Cookman (RB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 7–45 |
Carl Franks (born December 1, 1960) is a formerAmerican football coach and player. He most recently served as therunning backs coach atBethune–Cookman University.[1] Franks served as the head football coach atDuke University from 1999 to 2003, compiling a record of 7–45.[2] He played football at Duke where he was an AcademicAll-ACC selection.[3]
Franks was as an assistant coach underSteve Spurrier for 12 years. He served as Spurrier'srunning backs coach with theUnited States Football League'sTampa Bay Bandits in 1985, at Duke from 1987 to 1989 and at theUniversity of Florida from 1990 to 1992 and again from 1995 to 1998, serving as the position coach for futureNational Football LeaguePro BowlerFred Taylor.[4][5][6] He was Florida'stight ends coach in 1993 and insidelinebackers coach in 1994.[7]
Franks then served as the 19th head coach of his alma mater, Duke, from 1999 to 2003.[7] Appointed as head coach on his 38th birthday, he was dismissed five years later after amassing a 7–45 record, including 0–11 seasons in 2000 and 2001.[8] Despite the poor record, Franks was lauded for the academic success of his players, and his program won the Academic Achievement Award from theAmerican Football Coaches Association in 2003.[9]
Franks was the running backs coach at theUniversity of South Florida from 2004 to 2012 under head coachesJim Leavitt andSkip Holtz.[10] He was the Bulls' interim head coach for six days in January 2010, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the program, between the firing ofJim Leavitt and the hiring ofSkip Holtz.[11][12] After Holtz's firing in December 2012,[13] new head coachWillie Taggart did not retain Franks on his staff.[10] After spending the 2013 season out of coaching, in 2014, Franks was named running backs coach atBethune-Cookman.[14]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Blue Devils(Atlantic Coast Conference)(1999–2003) | |||||||||
| 1999 | Duke | 3–8 | 3–5 | T–5th | |||||
| 2000 | Duke | 0–11 | 0–8 | 9th | |||||
| 2001 | Duke | 0–11 | 0–8 | 9th | |||||
| 2002 | Duke | 2–10 | 0–8 | 9th | |||||
| 2003 | Duke | 2–5* | 0–4* | * | |||||
| Duke: | 7–45 | 3–33 | *Final 5 games coached byTed Roof | ||||||
| Total: | 7–45 | ||||||||