Fran Foley

Fran Foley (born ) is an American former football player, coach, executive and administrator. He is best known for his brief stint as de facto general manager of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL), a post he held from January to May 2006.

After playing college football for the Framingham State Rams, Foley had assistant coaching positions at Worcester Academy, for the Colgate Raiders, The Citadel Bulldogs, Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Boston College Eagles between 1983 and 1991. He then served as an executive with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL from 1994 to 2002, and with the San Diego Chargers from 2003 to 2005 before being hired by the Vikings in 2006. After a brief tenure of three months marked with controversy and what was perceived as poor selections in the 2006 NFL draft, Foley was dismissed by the team. After his NFL career, he worked with the Maryland Terrapins in an administrative role.

Early life Foley was born in 1961 or 1962 and grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he attended Worcester Academy and played football under coaches Mike Sherman and Kirk Ferentz. He then played college football as an offensive tackle for the Framingham State Rams from 1980 to 1981, missing the following two years due to injury.

Coaching, executive and administrative career Foley began his coaching career while still attending Framingham State in 1983, serving as a volunteer football coach at Worcester Academy. From 1987 to 1990, Foley was an administrative assistant at Rutgers. He helped them win the division title in his second season with the team, their first since 1992. He also became the team's de facto general manager, although he was not all-powerful in the team's personnel department, being part of what was called the "Triangle of Authority", which featured him, coach Brad Childress and executive Rob Brzezinski working together to make decisions.

In mid-April, less than three months into his tenure, his hiring was put under scrutiny when it was revealed Foley's media biography gave "embellished" details about his playing career at Framingham State, which Foley called a "clerical error". Soon after, it was revealed that his biography also overstated information about his coaching stints at Colgate, The Citadel and Rutgers, and his roles with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Three days after the 2006 NFL draft, when the Vikings made several selections that were widely criticized, the team announced that Foley had been fired, just three months into his tenure. He sued the team for wrongful termination, claiming that he had only left the Chargers due to his Vikings contract being three years guaranteed, and that the Vikings in firing him had breached that contract. They reached an undisclosed settlement in August 2006.

Personal life Foley is married and has two children.