The Francis name has been associated with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles almost as long as has the name of Art Teece.
That relationship turned another page Tuesday when former player and assistant coach Bob Francis was named Eagle head coach in a 12:30 p.m. Salt Palace press conference hosted jointly by the Eagles and the parent Calgary Flames.Francis, 30, succeeds 33-year-old Paul Baxter, who returns to the Flames as assistant coach as part of a front-office restructuring. A simultaneous press conference was held in Calgary Tuesday.
Francis is the son of Emile Francis, who, as general manager of the St. Louis Blues and later the Hartford Whalers, signed working agreements with the Eagles and provided them with players and guidance from 1977-83 and from 1984-87.
The younger Francis has been part of the Salt Lake franchise since 1984, when he signed on as a player the first season the Eagles were independent - their first year in the International League - after torturing his father's St. Louis farm teams for a couple of years as an opponent and Central League MVP, Rookie of the Year and league-leading scorer in 1981-82.
Francis, who refused his father's help, had signed as a free agent out of college with the Calgary Flames and was a farmhand for them in Birmingham, Oklahoma City and Denver before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings.
The next year, he signed again with Denver, but that team folded with the CHL, and former Eagle general manager Chuck Schell convinced him to become an Eagle.
"When St. Louis was here," said Francis, "I used to love coming to play here. I would have loved to have played here."
But he didn't want to use his father's influence. "As soon as he left (when St. Louis changed ownership), I came here. It's funny how that worked," Francis said.
Francis always wanted to coach, but being turned down the first time he applied for a coaching position may have been the best thing for him. He was one of two candidates for the Merrimack (Massachusetts) College job. "Fortunately, they took the older guy, or I might never have tried the professional game," said Francis.
Playing with independent Salt Lake gave him his first coaching break as he was player/assistant to Wayne Thomas for two seasons, helping win the Eagles' first Turner Cup championship. In that last playing season ('86-87), he was the Eagles' leading scorer.
When the Eagles and Flames signed a full working agreement two seasons ago, Francis interviewed with Baxter and was chosen to be his full-time assistant on July 2, 1987.
Since May, it's been apparent that some restructuring would be done by the Flames and that the changes would possibly involve Baxter and Francis. Neither was sure then what the future would be.
But, said Francis, "I never felt as prepared or as confident as a player as I do as a coach."