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You will find that Calvin believed in the free will of man. Please note his interpretation on Ephesians:

On one side, we must look at God; and, on the other, at man. God declares, that he owes us nothing; so that salvation is not a reward or recompense, but unmixed grace. The next question is, in what way do men receive that salvation which is offered to them by the hand of God? The answer is, by faith; and hence he concludes that nothing connected with it is our own. If, on the part of God, it is grace alone, and if we bring nothing but faith, which strips us of all commendation, it follows that salvation does not come from us.

Ought we not then to be silent about free-will, and good intentions, and fancied preparations, and merits, and satisfactions? There is none of these which does not claim a share of praise in the salvation of men; so that the praise of grace would not, as Paul shews, remain undiminished. When, on the part of man, the act of receiving salvation is made to consist in faith alone, all other means, on which men are accustomed to rely, are discarded. Faith, then, brings a man empty to God, that he may be filled with the blessings of Christ. And so he adds, not of yourselves; that claiming nothing for themselves, they may acknowledge God alone as the author of their salvation.

I would note along with Mr. Calvin that man come to God with nothing. God must grant him faith. It is only by God granting faith can a man come to God. And man, will come to God, simply because of the faith that God has granted him. Augustine saw this dilemma. What others would like to believe is that God gives faith to everyone; but if that were so, then everyone would come to God because they have faith in God.

In reality some have faith and some don't. Those who have faith were given that faith by God. Those who do not have faith were not given it by God. Would you disagree?

It isn't that man doesn't have free will. He just cannot exercise it. As far as Calvin being a coward that I don't know. But he certainly wasn't as bad as some of the Popes who ran out of the Vatican when people were storming the gates. So much for the chair of St. Peter.