Iowa Hawkeye media members recall Fran McCaffery and wife’s mistreatment of Gary Dolphin, others
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images, Dylan Widger-Imagn Images Fran McCaffery was ousted as the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ men’s basketball team in 2025 following a 17–16 campaign, his worst record with the program since 2018. After 15 seasons in the role, and as the returns diminished on the floor, things seemed to have been just as tumultuous behind the scenes. Reporter Scott Dochterman revealed on Friday’s episode of Legends & Listeners that McCaffery and even his wife, Margaret, were brutal to the media in the final years of his tenure with the Hawkeyes, including toward Iowa staple Gary Dolphin, the longtime play-by-play voice for the football and men’s basketball teams for Learfield/IMG College and the Iowa Hawkeye Sports Network.
“Gary Dolphin had it the worst… [McCaffery] tried to force him out twice,” Dochterman said. Dochterman went as far as to provide an example, saying that after Dolphin innocuously asked a player about turning around a losing streak, Margaret lost her composure and screamed at him. <span class="mce_SELRES_start" data-mce-type="bookmark" style="width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;"></span><span class="mce_SELRES_start" data-mce-type="bookmark" style="width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;"></span> “Margaret came unglued, F-bombed him, screamed at him to the point where the leadership of both Iowa and Learfield had to be called in… She would scream at them when she’s there, ‘I don’t need to be babysat!
’ and this is to keep the coach’s wife from yelling at the, the Voice of the Hawkeyes. ” It’s far from the first time the McCaffery’s mistreatment of the media has been touched on. Earlier this week, WHO-TV sportscaster Keith Murphy spoke about the McCaffery family’s bullying tactics on Murphy & Andy , recounting a story from when he hosted the annual Coaches Versus Cancer event, during which the McCafferys were upset about Murphy’s coverage of Fran’s contract extension.
Here is the story of Fran McCaffery insisting the emcee of Coaches Vs Cancer be removed or he would no longer attend. His wife also heckled Keith Murphy as he was talking at the event. You truly don’t hate this family enough.
Anything to say? @connor_m30 pic. twitter.