Can a school of thought adopt an opinion that contradicts the the founder's opinion?

The emergence of the madhhabs began with the emulation of the sayings of the mujtahid jurist, then evolved to become the "madhhab," a jurisprudential institution extending through time, concerned with the specific jurisprudential methodology of one of the imams, along with its subsequent development and refinement. The jurists of the madhhabs may dissent from the original imam's saying if the situation warrants it, by establishing a new saying based on an independent ijtihad that represents the "madhhab as a school" rather than "the individual's madhhab." Such dissents are limited and often based on extrapolations or other narrations from the imam himself. The madhhab, for later scholars, means that by which fatwas are issued, and what the imam and his companions said according to his method and principles, not merely what he alone concluded. Hanafi jurists may prefer the evidence of the companions over the evidence of the imam, and the mufti who is a muqallid (imitator) must follow the preferred opinion. The relied-upon position in the madhhab may contradict the explicit text of the imam, but it must adhere to his rule and jurisprudential methodology.