This will not be a popular opinion, but my take...

[TitanTiger 20,471]

Auburn should not have lost to Georgia yesterday.  The UGA offense is anemic and our defense totally controlled it aside from a few amazing passes from Eason.  They held them to two FGs the entire game and anytime that happens, you should win.

At the same time, Auburn is a very beat up team, far more beat up that the coaching staff has let on.  Sean is obviously not himself and unable to generate any velocity on passes beyond 5-10 yards without really screwing up his mechanics and thus his accuracy.  I think it's also causing him to throw the ball quicker to try and avoid hits because any strong hit could spell the end of the season in his mind and it's painful.  Kerryon is not the same back he was early in the year because of the ankle and Pettway just bring another dimension to this offense.  Not having all of those key pieces working properly are just too much to overcome.

And finally, the JF3 thing has been an extreme disappointment not only in terms of evaluation by the staff (in hindsight we should have signed Jerod Evans) but in JF3's own development.  He simply should be better now so that when Sean isn't 100% the offense can do something.  But this is not a problem unique to Auburn.  A&M is a totally different team without Trevor Knight.  Louisville is a 3 or 4 loss team without Lamar Jackson.  Who knows what Clemson is without Watson?  You name me a team and virtually any of them are going to suffer greatly without their starter.  Most backups are not stars who just haven't gotten their chance.  They are backups because they are either flat out not as good, or because they are young and not ready for the lead role and there will be tremendous dropoff.  

All of that said, I feel like in many ways Gus has taken some steps forward as a coach this year.  We finally have a defense that can carry a team and keep us in any game.  That hasn't happened since Tubs was here.  He finally understands his role as a HEAD coach and is allowing his assistants to do what he hired them to do.  And while we are paying the price for missing on Jerod and JJ's mental breakdowns, I think what this team did when it was healthy shows great promise.  

So what do we do?  We are likely to lose to Alabama and finish 8-4.  Is it time to repeat the 4-year "Auburn gets a new head coach" cycle?  Thoughts on that:

1.  Well, I don't want to break up this defensive staff especially.  It's taken 6-7 years to get an Auburn defense back around here and I love what T-Will and McGriff have done.  And our D-line is killing it.  It's nice to know we don't have to score 40 points every outing to have a chance.

2.  Yesterday showed that every coach is susceptible to losing games they shouldn't.  Clemson lost at home to unranked Pitt (giving up 43 points in the process), Michigan lost to unranked Iowa, only scoring 13 in the process, and Washington lost to USC, managing only 13 points at home.  And other coaches have had their struggles this year:  Jimbo at FSU, Stoops at Oklahoma, Herman at Houston.  This is not an exact science.

3.  What coach do you realistically think we go after and get?  Herman maybe, but like Gus he's learning on the job as well.  Jimbo has shown himself to be a monumental whiner and without Jameis is having a hard time of it.  Petrino is having a great year but I don't think he's leaving Louisville a second time so quickly and the PTB at Auburn just aren't going to hire him.  Briles is radioactive for a few years.  So I'm struggling to come up with someone.

Taking all of the above into consideration, I think we're better off staying with Gus for another year, hopefully adding Stidham as QB this offseason, getting Woody Barrett ready after a redshirt year and anticipating Joey Gatewood after him.  It's not going to make a lot of folks happy, but I just don't think blowing things up again after 4 years is the right way to go.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,287]

4 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Auburn should not have lost to Georgia yesterday.  The UGA offense is anemic and our defense totally controlled it aside from a few amazing passes from Eason.  They held them to two FGs the entire game and anytime that happens, you should win.

At the same time, Auburn is a very beat up team, far more beat up that the coaching staff has let on.  Sean is obviously not himself and unable to generate any velocity on passes beyond 5-10 yards without really screwing up his mechanics and thus his accuracy.  I think it's also causing him to throw the ball quicker to try and avoid hits because any strong hit could spell the end of the season in his mind and it's painful.  Kerryon is not the same back he was early in the year because of the ankle and Pettway just bring another dimension to this offense.  Not having all of those key pieces working properly are just too much to overcome.

And finally, the JF3 thing has been an extreme disappointment not only in terms of evaluation by the staff (in hindsight we should have signed Jerod Evans) but in JF3's own development.  He simply should be better now so that when Sean isn't 100% the offense can do something.  But this is not a problem unique to Auburn.  A&M is a totally different team without Trevor Knight.  Louisville is a 3 or 4 loss team without Lamar Jackson.  Who knows what Clemson is without Watson?  You name me a team and virtually any of them are going to suffer greatly without their starter.  Most backups are not stars who just haven't gotten their chance.  They are backups because they are either flat out not as good, or because they are young and not ready for the lead role and there will be tremendous dropoff.  

All of that said, I feel like in many ways Gus has taken some steps forward as a coach this year.  We finally have a defense that can carry a team and keep us in any game.  That hasn't happened since Tubs was here.  He finally understands his role as a HEAD coach and is allowing his assistants to do what he hired them to do.  And while we are paying the price for missing on Jerod and JJ's mental breakdowns, I think what this team did when it was healthy shows great promise.  

So what do we do?  We are likely to lose to Alabama and finish 8-4.  Is it time to repeat the 4-year "Auburn gets a new head coach" cycle?  Thoughts on that:

1.  Well, I don't want to break up this defensive staff especially.  It's taken 6-7 years to get an Auburn defense back around here and I love what T-Will and McGriff have done.  And our D-line is killing it.  It's nice to know we don't have to score 40 points every outing to have a chance.

2.  Yesterday showed that every coach is susceptible to losing games they shouldn't.  Clemson lost at home to unranked Pitt (giving up 43 points in the process), Michigan lost to unranked Iowa, only scoring 13 in the process, and Washington lost to USC, managing only 13 points at home.  And other coaches have had their struggles this year:  Jimbo at FSU, Stoops at Oklahoma, Herman at Houston.  This is not an exact science.

3.  What coach do you realistically think we go after and get?  Herman maybe, but like Gus he's learning on the job as well.  Jimbo has shown himself to be a monumental whiner and without Jameis is having a hard time of it.  Petrino is having a great year but I don't think he's leaving Louisville a second time so quickly and the PTB at Auburn just aren't going to hire him.  Briles is radioactive for a few years.  So I'm struggling to come up with someone.

Taking all of the above into consideration, I think we're better off staying with Gus for another year, hopefully adding Stidham as QB this offseason, getting Woody Barrett ready after a redshirt year and anticipating Joey Gatewood after him.  It's not going to make a lot of folks happy, but I just don't think blowing things up again after 4 years is the right way to go.

I only hope people like you are in charge of the decisions. Good post.

 

You CAN'T fire Gus. Not yet. He's still winning more than he's losing and we aren't losing games and giving up at halftime.

[Mikey 16,550]

You make too much sense. Clearly, that won't do at all. the "Fire Gus or fire somebody or let's just riot" group will be after your head and it will be sooner rather than later. Duck and cover!

[AUDynasty 585]

Great points. I wholeheartedly agree with you. 

Also, not popular, but I believe that if we lost to a team not named Georgia, we'd chalk this as a "bad break" and "injury bug just got us." But because we lost to a hated rival in Georgia, and throw in the fact that they pretty much owned us for a while, you're bound to have a meltdown on the boards. 

[tombigbeetiger 223]

would you agree, though, if we go 7-5/8-4 next year, with this level of talent,( talent that is not being properly utilized) that he should be let go?....factoring in the continued boneheaded stubborness and lack of good game planning and adjustments

[jared52 4,354]

Pin this thread.

[WarTiger 3,896]

I agree Titan. It would colossally stupid to make a head coaching change now.   The one thing we have lacked for a very long time is continuity.  You don't establish that by making coaching changes every 4 years.   Leave Malzahn alone and let him coach.  The defensive staff we have is too good to be a casualty of a head coaching change. 

[Jgarrett7 957]

I cannot like this post enough. I said basically the same thing to a friend of mine who was "at a loss for words" yesterday. You should change title to "All Member Must Read!"

[RunInRed 16,360]

The case for holding the defense together is the strongest argument.  Offense is a hot mess and sans a few bright moments, has been for some time.

[jared52 4,354]

3 minutes ago, tombigbeetiger said:

would you agree, though, if we go 7-5/8-4 next year, with this level of talent,( talent that is not being properly utilized) that he should be let go?....factoring in the continued boneheaded stubborness and lack of good game planning and adjustments

How is the talent being improperly utilized exactly? Who is out of position or not getting on the field who should?

[johnnyAU 3,630]

He might need to keep his job, and the D staff, but that O needs to be retooled. No way we can continue this lack of talent evaluation or development at the QB position. We don't use the TE, we hardly use the middle of the field, our WR's have a terribly small route tree and there were apparently no viable options other than leaving an obviously injured White in the game, who couldn't throw it 20 yards down field without floating it, in a critical SEC game in November. 

That is unacceptable. 

[TitanTiger 20,471]

Just now, jared52 said:

How is the talent being improperly utilized exactly? Who is out of position or not getting on the field who should?

About the only one I can come up with that could be valid is not having the freshmen WRs as the starters over guys like Marcus Davis, Ryan Davis and Tony Stevens.  Other than that, I think the rest of the positions and talent utilization is spot on.

[GBAU83 212]

Gus will be our Coach next year.  Jacobs already said that before the season started.  Finishing 8-4, having beat LSU will help JJ cause to keep Gus.  And I agree that is the right move (not that my opinion matters to the PTB).  We made through 2010 and 2013 without any major injuries.  Not as lucky this year and it showed yesterday.  No Pettway, KJ, stil not 100% on that ankle, Truitt got banged up early, Cox out with knee issue and whatever injury White has really affected his throwing ability.  My opinion is that he could not come up over with his throws and release by his ear, left the throw a bit more sidearm and that is why the throws seemed to be to the right of the receiver.  With that JJ will understand the injuries being bad and affecting the game.

What I don't understand is after 3 three-and-outs in the second half, why not send in JFIII and Kam Martin and Stove and run some sweeps and just try and move the ball running knowing White could not pass.  Heck, even a bad pass from JFIII would not have been any worse than what an injured White was doing and JFIII gave us a better run threat (and we don run on them in the first half).  That is my only concern with the coaching.

[TitanTiger 20,471]

Just now, johnnyAU said:

He might need to keep his job, and the D staff, but that O needs to be retooled. No way we can continue this lack of talent evaluation or development at the QB position. We don't use the TE, we hardly use the middle of the field, our WR's have a terribly small route tree and there were apparently no viable options other than leaving an obviously injured White in the game, who couldn't throw it 20 yards down field without floating it, in a critical SEC game in November. 

That is unacceptable. 

We don't have a TE to utilize, though the Jalen Harris kid is coming along.  And it's not a failure to recruit, we just had some bad breaks with Jakell Mitchell and the kid whose name escapes me having to be dismissed over a sexual assault complaint.  

I agree the offense needs to be retooled.

[AidiAU 1,270]

I don't want to see Gus go because I don't want to start over again. Even though we have had a great, okay, horrible and....surprising? Four years with him as HC, I feel like he has brought the program some much needed stability and I believe he is respected by his coaches and the team - the fans are of course, another story...

BUT...

 I am frustrated (especially with all the other teams losing last night), but then again, no one ever expected that we would control our destiny this year. I also can't recall an Auburn team having so many critical injuries. Regardless, last night's performance should not have happened. Was it Rhett? Gus? I would have benched my WR that dropped the balls and put in the freshman, especially since we just stalled in the second half. However, I have zero football experience and always want to go for it on fourth down. ?

I believe some changes (maybe just reallocations) and additions need to be implemented on the offensive side of the staff, but can honestly say I am happy (character wise) how the coaches represent AU. 

 

WDE....although I am still mad. 

[alexava 6,973]

I think it's obvious now that Sean is a good qb just maybe a little fragile. I hope for JS to transfer in now. We should have been so deep at RB but the top 3 left to no fault of anyone. Kerryon is not as strong as before the injury. Cox and trust got gimpy in the game. Kmart dropped an important pass. He has done great for a true freshman. It just all piled up. Gus probably could have got JJ or jf3 ready and had a different outcome. But I can't put this on Gus. He is not Mr Meogee.

[shabby 1,956]

I am absolutely for giving another season to Gus. I do think we would benefit with someone less conservative in the offensive coordinator that has a higher level of automony to integrate new ideas into the system. We also need to do a  better job evaluating and developing talent in the qb department. I love Sean White. But what you stated about any team being greatly impacted is only relatively true. Auburn probably would not have won a single conference game without White as the starting quarterback. we have no back up and that is on the coaches. 

[WeagleTheBeagle 60]

Absolutely, totally agree.  People need to calm down.  3 of the top 4 teams looked awful yesterday.  We have a good coach and I for one am happy to have him.  That said, it was a total nightmare yesterday.  Hate that it happened against UGA.  Time to get healthy before IB.  The fact that we were in the SEC West for so long and even in the CFB playoff discussion was waaaay more than anyone would have predicted at the beginning of the season.  War Eagle!

[Auctoritas 2,826]

Yeah, fire Gus! after all, its not like we've only lost 3 games this year, will likely end up with an 8-4 record headed to a nice bowl after losing to 3 teams in the top 10 after everyone had already written this season off before it even started.

As a matter of fact, I feel like I should go back and find the "what would make this a successful season" thread from before September and see how many people said "8-4 or 9-3". IIRC, everyone had set that as a high water mark for the season.

Well guess what, we got there, and this team (at times) has looked much better than any of us thought it would. Hell, even last night the defense fought their tail off. Last night was a hard fought game that we came out on the losing side of. And it wasn't ULM or Utah State - it was friggen UGA. They are an SEC team playing in a huge rivalry game. We aren't that much better than everyone that every game is a given (not that any game is a given, anyway- 2, 3, and 4 lost last night to unranked teams too).

If you are on the "Fire Gus" bandwagon because of last night's loss, you need to hop on over to some Bammer forums because your sense of entitlement has no place here, and frankly, you're a bunch of idiots.

[YankeeTiger24 98]

Agreed,Titan

[AubieAH3 238]

I wholeheartedly agree with this, with one big asterisk:

*If we see this coaching staff KILL another potentially good QB in Woody, then it's time for Gus to go. QB development has been non-existent. The only QBs that Gus had real success with were guys who developed somewhere else and then transferred to save the day. 

I agree with all your points, especially about the defense. However, if Gus can't humble himself, realize the problem, and go find someone better on the offensive side (especially to work with the QBs) then the great defense won't matter. 

[Eltorpedo 15]

2 minutes ago, Auctoritas said:

Yeah, fire Gus! after all, its not like we've only lost 3 games this year, will likely end up with an 8-4 record headed to a nice bowl after losing to 3 teams in the top 10 after everyone had already written this season off before it even started.

As a matter of fact, I feel like I should go back and find the "what would make this a successful season" thread from before September and see how many people said "8-4 or 9-3". IIRC, everyone had set that as a high water mark for the season.

Well guess what, we got there, and this team (at times) has looked much better than any of us thought it would. Hell, even last night the defense fought their tail off. Last night was a hard fought game that we came out on the losing side of. And it wasn't ULM or Utah State - it was friggen UGA. They are an SEC team playing in a huge rivalry game. We aren't that much better than everyone that every game is a given (not that any game is a given, anyway- 2, 3, and 4 lost last night to unranked teams too).

If you are on the "Fire Gus" bandwagon because of last night's loss, you need to hop on over to some Bammer forums because your sense of entitlement has no place here, and frankly, you're a bunch of idiots.

I 110% agree with this! 

[leglessdan 1,934]

Nailed it

[AuburnNTexas 7,128]

What kind of sick poster are?

Who gave you the right to POST a cognizant well thought out post?

Thank you,

AuburnNTexas

[Nova1121 2]

25 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

About the only one I can come up with that could be valid is not having the freshmen WRs as the starters over guys like Marcus Davis, Ryan Davis and Tony Stevens.  Other than that, I think the rest of the positions and talent utilization is spot on.

But if not for some unusual circumstances Pettway would still be a #2 H-back. If he hadn't gotten injured Dampeer would probably still be at center