Are you still on the Gus Bus?

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

I saw this topic on another thread site and figured I would bring it to light here.

The guy on the site I read this on made a very good point in that if Gus's records were switched around, meaning he went 7-6 his first year; 8-5 his second year; and 12-2 his third year, then there wouldn't be a whole lot of negativity about where we were as a program and we would consider ourselves a team with one of the best coaches in America. He also said he thinks Gus did a pretty good job coaching this year given the quirky circumstances that transpired early last season, in that he got the guys to never give up and keep fighting. He ended producing a winning season and a momentum-building bowl win.

Personally, I am definitely still on the Gus Bus. I think Malzahn is the right guy to have at the reigns for Auburn. We are not Alabama. We are not a pro-style offense, and we do not need to try and be anything like that. We need to play tough, ground and pound Auburn Football, and spread it out right when they think we're gonna go back to the ground game. I think Gus needs a quarterback and I think Gus needs to reconsider some of his first down and red zone play calling, but overall, I think this will happen, and that we will see a different, more polished team on both sides of the ball come fall.

Defensively, it sounds like we are becoming really solid (so long as we can keep our starters out of off-the-field trouble). We've been saying it for a few years but I'm ready to see that swarming Auburn Defense again. I'm a little too young to know what it was like in the 80's or early 90's, but I do know what it's supposed to look like. We saw it in 2004-2007 and a little of it in 2010. We even saw flashes of it in 2008 but no one remembers that due to just how bad our offense was. Remember, except for the Alabama game we did not lose games by many points in 2008. We were in every game until at least when the fourth quarter began. This was primarily because of our defense. It seems as if they turned a corner last year. I know we are not all absolutely crazy about Will Muschamp after his leaving after just one year, but I do believe that his time here as DC in the Malzahn era may be one of the most instrumental things to happen for Auburn Football since Cam Newton was recruited here. He changed the attitude of the defense, and reminded them of how good they could be. He brought aggression and excitement back to them. If this can carry over, it will be partly due to his presence in 2015.

Auburn Football looks bright. We need some things to fall in place, but every great team does. I am still on the Gus Bus, and fully believe its taking a big U-turn back towards the top of college football.

[alexava 6,972]

Second paragraph agree.

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

I saw this topic on another thread site and figured I would bring it to light here.

The guy on the site I read this on made a very good point in that if Gus's records were switched around, meaning he went 7-6 his first year; 8-5 his second year; and 12-2 his third year, then there wouldn't be a whole lot of negativity about where we were as a program and we would consider ourselves a team with one of the best coaches in America. He also said he thinks Gus did a pretty good job coaching this year given the quirky circumstances that transpired early last season, in that he got the guys to never give up and keep fighting. He ended producing a winning season and a momentum-building bowl win.

Personally, I am definitely still on the Gus Bus. I think Malzahn is the right guy to have at the reigns for Auburn. We are not Alabama. We are not a pro-style offense, and we do not need to try and be anything like that. We need to play tough, ground and pound Auburn Football, and spread it out right when they think we're gonna go back to the ground game. I think Gus needs a quarterback and I think Gus needs to reconsider some of his first down and red zone play calling, but overall, I think this will happen, and that we will see a different, more polished team on both sides of the ball come fall.

Defensively, it sounds like we are becoming really solid (so long as we can keep our starters out of off-the-field trouble). We've been saying it for a few years but I'm ready to see that swarming Auburn Defense again. I'm a little too young to know what it was like in the 80's or early 90's, but I do know what it's supposed to look like. We saw it in 2004-2007 and a little of it in 2010. We even saw flashes of it in 2008 but no one remembers that due to just how bad our offense was. Remember, except for the Alabama game we did not lose games by many points in 2008. We were in every game until at least when the fourth quarter began. This was primarily because of our defense. It seems as if they turned a corner last year. I know we are not all absolutely crazy about Will Muschamp after his leaving after just one year, but I do believe that his time here as DC in the Malzahn era may be one of the most instrumental things to happen for Auburn Football since Cam Newton was recruited here. He changed the attitude of the defense, and reminded them of how good they could be. He brought aggression and excitement back to them. If this can carry over, it will be partly due to his presence in 2015.

Auburn Football looks bright. We need some things to fall in place, but every great team does. I am still on the Gus Bus, and fully believe its taking a big U-turn back towards the top of college football.

If my aunt had nuts she would be my uncle.

As far as Gus? I'm on the fence. LOTS and LOTS of red flags coming from the program right now. I'm going to give Gus this year to put me firmly on one side of the fence or the other. JMO.

[McLoofus 35,182]

I'm going to give Gus this year to put me firmly on one side of the fence or the other. JMO.

Yup.

He had excuses last year. He does not this year, unless there's a freakish rash of injuries that includes 2 QBs. And even then, I dunno, sometimes you just throw your hands up and say "This just isn't working."

[ToomersStreet 795]

Of course we are on the Gus Bus........................Now that Lashlee is not driving it.

[aubiefifty 16,658]

gus said a while back he expected us to be really good the next three or four seasons. that is a lot of confidence for someone on the hot seat. i believe he learns from his errors. he gave up his ceo type duties. so i got no problem giving him another season or even two if we seem to improve.

[alexava 6,972]

Yes

[Strychnine 1,802]

As far as Gus? I'm on the fence. LOTS and LOTS of red flags coming from the program right now. I'm going to give Gus this year to put me firmly on one side of the fence or the other. JMO.

I suspect most reasonable people are supportive, but on the fence. Personally, I think Gus may have made the transition from head coach at a high school to head coach at a major FBS program too quickly, and has suffered teething problems as a result. I'm not concerned with a coach that makes mistakes, but I am concerned if he ends up being a coach that doesn't learn from them. Like you, this season will tell the tale for me. If 2016 shows that we are on the right track (or better), then he will have my full faith moving forward. That said, my faith in him is ultimately of no consequence.

[lca408 366]

Like WDEWDE said, arbitrarily switching around records gives us nothing. We could rearrange anyone's records to make them look better. Chizik would look like he deserved another year if he went 8-5 in 2012 instead of 3-9. Means nothing. In fact, it's counterproductive. The record indicates things are trending down and that's the exact opposite of improvement.

Are we often too harsh on Gus? Probably. Then again, he's the head coach of the 13th winning-est program in college football and is paid a healthy sum of money to run that program. No one needs Gus to win a championship every year but we do need some consistency. It might be too early to say that Gus can't get Auburn into the 9-10 win a year average we're pining for but none of us need to feel sorry for the guy. He became Auburn's head man after just 1 year of college head coaching experience and fell into a fantastic situation in 2013 - from which he landed a contract extension, a hefty raise, and an enormous buyout from ole JJ. Auburn University, Auburn Athletics, and it's donors are out an awful lot of money to maintain Gus Malzahn and his staff. They have the right to question how he is spending their money with the results on the field. When those results don't meet what the standard should be, there's gonna be some justified heat. Again, I'm not sure I've heard anyone demanding that Malzahn go undefeated every year and win championships every year. But Auburn has the resources and the commitment from fans to be able to win 8-9 games a year on a consistent basis, with the occasional 10-11 win season and appearance in Atlanta maybe every 4-5 years. That's not an unreasonable expectation for a program like Auburn and it will probably be the norm for Alabama once this current reign of terror comes to an end in the near future. Right now, we have little to indicate that is going to happen consistently except for the recruiting classes we keep bringing in. But as the Chizik era showed us, top 10 recruiting classes don't mean anything if no one is coaching them up.

I think 2015 was an aberration in a lot of ways. A lot of things went wrong very quickly from discipline issues to injuries to the perceived starting QB completely collapsing. I think the coaches did a good job of holding it together and keeping it from complete collapse and I think all the pieces are in place for Auburn to be very successful - if realized. Unfortunately, I'm not so confident that the current staff knows quite how to harness all that potential and get the most out of it. We shall see.

[Dshep4au 266]

Yes. I have thought all along that Gus was a "head coach in training" I don't think anyone could have predicted the collapse of JJ last season and I think we would have won several more games if Sean White had stayed healthy. My main concern is the play calling on the offense. Hopefully, Gus can get the offense productive again. I do not want to have to go through another coaching change. Our program needs some stability and I hope Gus can get the job done.

[AURex 1,978]

I'm at the bus stop, waiting for it to arrive.

[auburnphan 6,050]

I agree with WDE

[autigersj 122]

I don't know if I am necessarily off of the Gusbus... But that is the least excited I have been for an Auburn football season that I can remember....

[Tiger 8,817]

The trend is very troubling but I'm still on it until the wheels start to fall off.

I was with Chizik until the Arky game in 2012. Unless we see the program unraveling before our eyes I'm on board.

But some would say the unraveling has already begun with all the red flags. Let's hope not.

[DAG 33,949]

The simple answer is yes. This year, he seems to have taken the reigns, in a manner as if to say "we are going to do it my way." Honestly, we are one efficient QB away from being one of the favorites of the west, again. QB play absolutely throttled Auburn last year. Personally, I love the years where there isn't any crazy media expectation for the tigers. They tend to wreak havoc during this time. It is the tenure when we are favorites, where we fall very short. Curse? I have no clue.

[AUIH1 1,515]

I was solidly on the bus until uga embarrassed us in 2014 then I started moving toward the exit. The 2015 season made me step off of the bus. If we win at least 9 regular season games in 2016 with one of those 9 wins against either spuat or uga, then I am willing to reconsider boarding the bus again.

The above was my response in that thread on the other site. I will add that I desperately want Gus to be successful and am pulling for him to be, but he has to show me.

wde

[PUB78 1,353]

I am still on the Gus bus. He is the type of man that I want directing the FB program. However, if the team doesn't produce this year, especially now that they are so thin at RB, I will be one of those saying 2017 will be his make it or break it year.

I do look for the defense to be very good this year.

[tbone4jc 2,238]

I'm on the Gus Bus but it's getting hot in here!

[gravejd 3,266]

I'm with the fence riders. Its very true that even though we had a bad year last year, Gus DID NOT lose the team like chizik did. They continued to play hard for him and that means something to me. But he has made some bad decisions and is trending in the wrong direction. He f'd up by hiring Muschamp, he seems incapable of developing a QB, and the offense last year was down right horrible. I don't care who what or why is was horrible last year, it Gus' job to make it not horrible. So if Steele turns out to be a good hire and Gus can find a QB and win some games i'll feel much better about where we are heading.

[Tiger 8,817]

Did he mess up by bringing Muschamp because he left after one season? Or because of competency? This board was on fire with positive vibes when we hired CWM and the entire universe considered it the best move anybody made in the off-season.

[AU Counsel 64]

I'm ready to jump off the bus.

1. "Auburn fast" is a fraud. Gus does not adhere to his own professed philosophies, and has gone away from much of what worked for him.

2. Our wide receivers are blocking backs 1st and receivers 2nd. I'm excited about the crew Dameyune left behind but Gus is more into coaching his scheme than fundamental football skills.

3. The Rhett hire was an abuse of power by Gus, and our poor quarterback play is a direct result of both that move and Gus's lack of QB coaching skill.

4. We have talent on our roster, and I think Gus has a better than average staff, yet I don't have confidence in Gus consistently having a sound gameplan each week. He seems to micromanage.

I hope it is a great season, but I have a bad feeling about it...

[SaltyTiger 7,757]

completely-no other bus to catch at this date-disappointing that the staff was blindsided by the QB situation last year but look for good things this year even if JJ trots out at QB against Clemson.

remember how everyone was ready help Jason Campbell pack and get out of town early on

[AuburnNTexas 7,124]

Yes - I am he saw the big need was improving the D. He has addressed that with Hiring Boom and improving the quality of D - Players we have recruited we lose Boom and he brings in Steele. Did O go down last year yes but historically Gus has a very good O to a great O. Last year with all the issues JJ Meltdown, SW hurt, Duke Williams meltdown and enough dropped passes to turn a season around we were not very good on O. Two years ago bumper O-Line class, Last year bumper WR class, while thin at RB they are very talented and if you add the FB to RB list we actually have decent depth. The key this year is how quick O-Line gels if they gel quickly I expect the O to be solid this year and if one of the QB's steps up we could be great on O. The negative is the quality of our opponents. We have the schedule from he"double hockey sticks".

So bottom line I am on the Gus Bus and I expect it to start picking up speed unless we panic. If I see progress this year on the field on D and on O even if we don't have a great record then watch out for Auburn and the Gus bus.

[lca408 366]

I think the Muschamp move was smart at the time. Remember, everyone knew Muschamp would be taking off eventually, we all just thought it would be after 2 or 3 years instead of 1. When you have that opportunity, there's no way you don't take it. To be honest, the ramifications of the Muschamp hire will not be truly felt until after this year, after we see what impact Steele can have on the defense continuing the scheme and terminology of the Muschamp D. Already, recruiting seems to be moving along at roughly the same pace, at least in terms of interest and targets (even though commits are on the light side because of 6-6 in 2015) and losing Muschamp didn't really affect Derrick Brown or others. I can't blame Malzahn for Muschamp and I totally understand what he's doing with Steele.

I think management of the staff and team is what has been lacking and that may just be due to Malzahn's inexperience as a head man. It takes a couple of seasons to figure out the best way to work for each coach and it's different for everyone. 2015 was a learning experience for Malzahn in the same way that 2012 was for Chizik. He says he's learned from it but we'll see if he's learned enough to rise above it and improve the team. There's a lot of skepticism surrounding the offense this year (with good reason) both because of the failures of last year and the hiring decisions of the offseason. Malzahn is an offense coach at heart and if the defense improves - that's awesome. But Malzahn will be judged according to how good or bad the offense is. He's basically his own worst enemy at this point because of his prior success - success at Arkansas in 2006, #1 offense at Tulsa in 2007 and 2008, improved offense in 2009, MNC in 2010 at Auburn, 12-2 in 2013 and still a high-scoring offense at Auburn in 2014. A dramatic drop-off and a failure to return it to a better level is going to hurt him big time in terms of perception. That's the reason we've had like 30 posts started asking if he or Lashlee can actually develop a QB. He's paid a lot of money to make Auburn successful - he needs to deliver at a better level than 6-6 while continuing to lose to the big rivals like Alabama, Georgia, and LSU.

He deserves a chance to right the ship in 2016. He doesn't have to go 12-0, but he needs to show improvement both in production on the field and in the win column.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

I've always hated the term "Gus Bus".

But I'm with those on the fence.