AUwent

Completely agree. Before someone brings up tOSU-PSU 2016, our losses in that scenario would’ve been far better than PSU’s losses, and tOSU’s resume was better than UAT’s to that point.

He narrated the best season we ever had in both football and in basketball. RIP Rod.

Exactly what I've been saying ad nauseam the last six or so months. Gus, and certainly Grimes, staying after this year would be DISASTROUS. I know that some have argued that if we fired him after this year it would be a Dooley-like situation. But I would respond that the longer we let this mess continue, the more undesirable we will be talent-wise.

Our offensive line is ALL SENIORS, and our recruiting for that unit at the moment is ABYSMAL. I shudder at the thought of him being around another year after this...or at very least, keeping JB Grimes. I don't give two craps what Sexton tries to do, if we're having conversations similar to what's bolded by 12/2, we should pull the plug.

Anyone still defending CJBG after reading this?

Do I want all this to happen? Sure! But like you, I don't expect it. And I think if we have a good year but our OL recruiting remains the same, Gus will stay on, and our OL recruiting will continue to crumble for another year after that. No one forced him to keep Grimes another year...or re-hire him in the first place.

It's a long term thing. Our recruiting is absolutely crumbling right now. And given that a 10-win season in 2017 didn't exactly do much for our recruiting at key positions, I would say that a good season this year won't change much on that front. The longer Gus stays, the longer our recruiting stays bad. It sucks, but that appears to be the case.

I'm sorry, but you only need to look through the last few pages to know how far behind we are. Without even mentioning UAT, look at Clemson. Look at Georgia. Look at LSU. Look at Texas A&M. Look at Florida. The longer Gus--and especially Grimes--stays here, the further and further we fall back. We lose our entire offensive line after this year, and thus far I have zero reason to believe that we are capable of even adequately filling our needs at that spot. As a result, the worst thing that could happen this year would be the bare minimum needed for him to stay, whatever that might be. Considering he always seems to deliver that bare minimum, I'm a little nervous. The good news is that JJ isn't our AD anymore, so MAYBE Greene will make a strong hire when he gets the chance.

Grimes HAS GOT TO GO! Simple as that. And honestly, so does Gus. I hope 8-4 with losses to the big 3 would do the trick.

He completely nailed it IMO.

And this is why a good season this year could be highly detrimental in the long run. OL coach hires will be Gus's end. Our recruiting class is ranked TWENTIETH. And the OL guys we have committed we beat out UK and Louisville for. MMW: If Grimes is still our OC OL coach after this year, it will take until 2023 for us to be relevant again.

Just getting to this post, but Washington was 8-0 and ranked #5 in the CFP when we scheduled them. https://fbschedules.com/auburn-washington-2018-chick-fil-a-kickoff-game-atlanta/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_rankings

Kinda amazing that team beat two Heisman winners. Still, Exhibit GodKnowsWhat of why I think we're all sick of Gus.

The ridiculous contract extension was negotiated between athletics directors. And the "reduced buyout" saga was the product of Josh Moon's head...or rather his behind.

What makes you say that? I normally would find such a claim absurd but given how accurate you were last year, even after we had beaten Washington, I do take your predictions very seriously.