The challenge ahead for Kevin Steele

[C'viewTiger 242]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Bird, I for one would rather have the teacher and devel op er. The recruiting will come as the performance speaks for itself.

[bigbird 60,445]

Do we, as fans, have the patience necessary for a developer to work while waiting for the "stud" recruits everyone wants and expects?

[AU64 10,122]

Do we, as fans, have the patience necessary for a developer to work while waiting for the "stud" recruits everyone wants and expects?

short answer: not lately....

We fired Allen before we hired after USF's bowl game.

[around4ever 4,139]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

It is a really good question. However, there is only so much a coach can do w/o the talent to compete against SEC teams that are loaded with it.. I'll take a loyal recruiter every time. Size and speed cannot be coached.

While I agree that recruiting supreme talent is critical, there is a different mindset in being a great high school player and being a great college player. In high school a great talent can dominate because only a select few are as talented. In college, more than likely, the guys on the other side of the ball are also great talents. Being a great college player takes learning and development. A great teacher / developer earns a reputation as that and that reputation will get him the recruits needed. So, I'll take the teacher / developer.

[Timeslider 6 269]

The objective is to outscore the opponent. A little more offensive output and the D this season would have been more than adequate.

I'm of the school of thought that says we paid too much for CWM but it's like in ML baseball during the stretch run when the contenders go out and pay a fortune for pitcher they think will get them into the play-offs. They over-pay and it's a short-term deal....happens all the time...and sometimes it works and sometimes not.

JMO but time to put that behind us and try to build some stability and continuity in our coaching staff....or we will continue to find ourselves paying too much for short-term solutions that may or may not work out.

Yep. We're like a car going into ever-increasing fishtailing. Every turn of the wheel is making things worse. It's time to stop all the instant gratification nonsense and give well qualified coaches time to do their jobs.

i agree with you Mikey, however, how do we impress that viewpoint onto the PTB?

[cooltigger21 0]

A teacher is crucial. He can do more with less, at least in the near term. We've seen immensely talented teams fail due to not being taught properly. We as a fan base are going to have to show patience with the program. I believe that if they are given the time, this staff can and will be tremendous.

[TheBlueVue 177]

When it comes to Xs and Os and coaching technique, believe it not most guys who make it to coaching positions in the SEC are pretty dang good coaches. They all go to the same clinics and they are all exposed to a lot of the same stuff. Being a good coach is really about being able to connect with a kid and convince him that, with the proper work ethic, he can get better. So, in a sense, its about being an effective communicator. I have a hard time believing that a really good coach can remain at an elite level if he hasn't got adequate talent to go to work with.

If a great DL coach isn't effective in bringing in the kind of talent in the form of size and athleticism and ends up with a bunch of under sized kids who lack the athleticism to compete that coach wont be there for long - 250 pound defensive tackles wont win the in SEC. 5'9" 190 LBs wont win in the SEC. DBs that cant run and react cant cover and wont win in the SEC.

i agree with Al Borges....winning is more about Jimmys and Joes that Xs and Os.

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

Really wish we could have kept Thompson on staff. Don't like the idea of a whole new defensive concept. Gonna be real tough on the guys. Hope they embrace it

[JDUBB4AU 5,110]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Great teacher.

Teacher. Tubbs was an excellent teacher and a subpar recruiter. Those were the glory days for AU defense

[around4ever 4,139]

Really wish we could have kept Thompson on staff. Don't like the idea of a whole new defensive concept. Gonna be real tough on the guys. Hope they embrace it

The coaches will be different with different coaching techniques but I don't think the schemes or concepts are going to be that different.

[TheBlueVue 177]

Do we, as fans, have the patience necessary for a developer to work while waiting for the "stud" recruits everyone wants and expects?

Are you kidding? Of course not! Patience and fandom do not go hand in hand especially in the SEC where coordinators are now making insane money. Its a different day and time now, obviously, there aren't any coaches like Shug who never made more than $50K a year who hang around coaching at the same spot for 25 years. They either win or they get canned...especially at Auburn.

[AUIH1 1,515]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Great teacher and developer 1st and foremost. With a large staff you can always hide a poor teacher/developer at a position like TE coach or ST coach if he is great recruiter. I think position coaches like QB coach, OL coach, DL coach. DB coach should be great teachers and developers 1st, recruiters 2nd.

wde

[Timeslider 6 269]

I know most will disagree with me, however, i would rather have a coach who can coach up a player and get the most from them, regardless of their ability. Than a team full of 4 and 5 star players who coaches try to get the most out of. I just have seen coaches from teams that weren't very talented win a lot of ball games and some championships. One thing that appears to be the problem with our current coaching staff is they either don't know how or they just don't develop their players. IDK and it is frustrating watching them at times, especially when you know that Sean White is too good to play like he does at times.

[TheBlueVue 177]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Great teacher.

Teacher. Tubbs was an excellent teacher and a subpar recruiter. Those were the glory days for AU defense

BTW...what happened to ole Tubbs?

[MDM4AU 331]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Teacher and developer, hands down.

[johnnyAU 3,630]

We are doing a lot of talking about our defense lately. I'm more concerned about the challenge ahead for Malzahn and the offense than I am on anything on the other side of the ball honestly.

[InfernoOrangeSS 321]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Great dancer

Fire Jacobs

Hire Tracy Rocker

(Saving a4e the trouble of posting.)

[around4ever 4,139]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Great question! Good debate topic. It may need it's own thread.

[CR 2,438]

If I had to pick, give me the recruiter. Especially at this level. No matter how great of a teacher a coach may be, if talent is not there you've got no chance in this conference. May be cheating here, but hopefully my recruiter is also a good talent evaluator, therefore being able to spot some under the radar guys to complement the top players with the obvious skills.

[AUIH1 1,515]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Great question! Good debate topic. It may need it's own thread.

I agree.

wde

[autigeremt 6,589]

Great teacher and developer....because his work will speak for itself on the field and players will want to come play for him. Bud Foster comes to mind.

[AU64 10,122]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

Great teacher.

Teacher. Tubbs was an excellent teacher and a subpar recruiter. Those were the glory days for AU defense

BTW...what happened to ole Tubbs?

Good question....tried to fire him after his 4th year I believe it was....and finally got him 4 years later....if at first you don't succeed.....you're gone ....

[leglessdan 1,934]

Do we, as fans, have the patience necessary for a developer to work while waiting for the "stud" recruits everyone wants and expects?

I miss Tubs, I don't mind grabbing 3* recruits if they're coachable and have the heart. The return is greater more times than not IMO. Sure 5* recruits have more talent, but they also have more of an ego than most and lack work ethic. As of late our coaching staffs haven't been able to beat that out of those guys, save a few.

[cooltigger21 0]

We are doing a lot of talking about our defense lately. I'm more concerned about the challenge ahead for Malzahn and the offense than I am on anything on the other side of the ball honestly.

The offense will be fine. I'm not worried about that side of the ball. We'll see an offense much closer to what we're used to seeing from Malzahn.

[fredst 9,064]

Hypothetical:

Would you rather have a coach that is a great teacher and developer or a great recruiter.

Don't say both. Choose one or the other

I vote teacher/developer. I think Auburn will attract good,sometimes elite, talent based on its tradition, location, etc. To see us attract elite talent and not develop it over past few years has been particularly frustrating. Unfortunately, we are facing competition across the state that is doing both at an unprecedented level right now which is making it tough for Gus or whoever is at AU because of the inevitable comparisons.