end the hot seat talk

[aubiefifty 16,713]

1. Auburn Football

Time to nuke the notion of Gus Malzahn on the hot seat

Updated Nov 11, 9:04 PM; Posted Nov 11, 8:06 PM

 

 

 

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Gallery: Auburn vs. Georgia: Nov. 11, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

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By Kevin Scarbinsky

kscarbinsky@al.com

It always sounded crazy on the surface, that Gus Malzahn could lose his job for losing games to the nation's top two teams, but nobody does crazy like Auburn.

Above and below the surface, in feisty chat rooms where fans vent and smoky back rooms where career decisions are made, the discontent was real. A fourth straight sweep at Amen Corner looked like it could be the broom for Malzahn.

Then came No. 10 Auburn 40, No. 1 Georgia 17.

Forget the broom. Can you say Boom?

It wasn't the biggest win of Malzahn's career, but it was the most emphatic statement at the most critical time. It didn't clinch a title, but it did turn the Iron Bowl into the SEC West Championship Game and perhaps a playoff game as well.

It didn't eliminate all the doubts about the head coach, but it should end the discussion over his tenure. Someone in a position of authority at Auburn, preferably the new school president, should stand up, speak up and make it clear.

Unless it's his own choice, Malzahn isn't going anywhere. There's enough uncertainty elsewhere on the Plains.

 

Instant analysis: Auburn dominates top-ranked Georgia

AL.com's instant analysis of No. 10 Auburn's 40-17 win against No. 1 Georgia.

 

I'm not saying extend his contract or give him a raise or forget all the times he came up short. I'm saying give the man his due. In a win-or-go-home kind of year, short of a catastrophic event next week against Louisiana Monroe, Auburn will carry all its goals into the final regular-season game.

Saturday, in a win-or-go-home kind of game, Malzahn went for the throat and taught Kirby Smart a lesson.

Malzahn tried a few tricks, but for the most part, he realized tricks are for kids, and the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry is a man's game. Georgia wasn't man enough this time. Auburn was. That mismatch in the trenches put a stop to Georgia's three-game win streak in this series.

On the subject of manhood, it needs to be said right here. No man in the league has been more valuable this season than Auburn's Kerryon Johnson. A unique combination of thoroughbred and workhorse, the SEC player of the year in waiting rushed for 167 yards, or 119 yards more than Georgia studs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combined.

It helped that, as has become the norm, Auburn's Jarrett Stidham was the most efficient and effective quarterback on the field.

 

Auburn RB Kerryon Johnson tops 1,000 yards rushing

Kerryon Johnson is Auburn's newest 1,000-yard rusher.

 

Now back to Malzahn.

He was the winning head coach for the Mother of All Iron Bowls in 2013, but that career highlight started to feel a bit fortunate after seasons of 8-5, 7-6 and 8-5. Now he'll welcome Nick Saban back to the Plains in two weeks for the Son of the Mother of All Iron Bowls.

In the Age of Saban, playing Alabama twice in five years in the final regular-season game with conference and national championship hopes on the line - for both teams - is the opposite of a fireable offense.

Auburn is in this position despite losing last year's leading rusher to injury and dismissing its most talented receiver. The Tigers can still dream big dreams of becoming the first two-loss playoff team despite last month's crushing collapse at LSU, the kind of defeat that would've splintered a lesser team.

Malzahn and his staff kept this team together through all the noise, and this team kept getting stronger, but the Tigers needed to prove their true worth against the first undefeated Georgia team they'd faced since the days of Herschel Walker.

All the old doubts crept back when Georgia took the opening kickoff and drove to a touchdown. The Bulldogs wouldn't find the end zone again until two minutes and change remained. By then, the biggest party in this house in four years was on.

That was a testament to Jeff Holland off the edge and Deshaun Davis in the middle and Tray Matthews everywhere, earning his first win in this series after standing on both sides. Mostly, Auburn's defensive dominance was a statement by and for coordinator Kevin Steele, who continues to do the best work of his career.

Kudos to Chip Lindsey, too, as the Tigers have scored 40 or more points in all six of their SEC wins. On both sides of the ball, this was the most complete Auburn performance against a high-quality opponent since the Kick Six itself. That was the last time the Tigers beat the No. 1 team in any major ranking.

This giant-killing couldn't have come at a better time. In two weeks, Malzahn and company will get a chance to make an even larger statement. Doubt them at your peril.

 

[gr82be 14,402]

Thanks for posting @aubiefifty.  The fact that Auburn has scored 40 points or more in all SEC wins is impressive but what makes the difference is the defense stopping people. In 2014 Auburn scored 44 on Bama but gave up 55. This defense won't do that. Auburn won't have to score 40 to beat Bama but if they did it would be a lopsided score that would give Auburn fans a blowout Iron Bowl that hasn't happened in roughly 40 years. I'll take a win in any fashion but to humble another number one team in two weeks would be beyond my wildest orange and blue dreams. 

[auskull 239]

A win here and the coaching staff would have done something I had lost hope of; changing our expectations. In a matter of two seasons expecting to win and to do so in a way that puts us in every game we play and not necessarily be the underdog but the big dog seemed impossible. From the follies and silliness of formations and play calling over the last two seasons to supreme game planning and execution makes me feel like I found a worm hole to another dimension, were Auburn competes almost every season for championships.

[aubiefifty 16,713]

i believe when gus has a quality qb he does well. lets hope he pulls in more quality qb's .

[EagleReedle 14]

Our team is clearly behind him, it'd be nice if a little more of our fanbase was as well. 

 

I'm all in. 

 

 

aufamily does not seem to be all in 

[caleb1633 1,418]

One thing no one could ever take away from Gus is that at no point during his tenure here has he ever lost the team. I don't know how he's able to keep them focused with all the viral hatred being dished out on social media, but he has been able to do it.

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

This was a special game.  The coaches and players had something to prove and they went out and executed their mission with perfection. And they did not let off the gas. The fans were there to support the players with an intensity I haven't felt since the kick six. It was incredible and truly special.  We have been hungry for this. We need to do it all again in two weeks!

[AUIH1 1,515]

4 minutes ago, 3rdgeneration said:

This was a special game.  The coaches and players had something to prove and they went out and executed their mission with perfection. And they did not let off the gas. The fans were there to support the players with an intensity I haven't felt since the kick six. It was incredible and truly special.  We have been hungry for this. We need to do it all again in two weeks!

Totally agree. Gus finally showed some alpha tendencies as a HC and it was much needed and appreciated.

wde

[tiger88 934]

Nuke it? No way. He is off the hot seat but.it is warm pending our performance in the bama game. I expect us to win or be highly competitive there. Then, I want a solid post-season performance, whatever that involves. Gus needs consistency, period. Not 8-4 consistency. 

 

I want him to succeed. I loved watching the players celebrate last night. I loved watching Gus get all excited as the clock ticked down. I want more of those types of wins consistently. Not every 4 years or so.. We have the pieces in place, we just need a stubborn coach to keep learning and stop digressing. Hopefully, we are there now, but the hot seat is still there if needed. 

[auskull 239]

15 minutes ago, tiger88 said:

I want more of those types of wins consistently.

I agree, this should become the norm. This also shows that our QB is maturing and making better plays. I don't think Gus necessarily readily adapts to a game manager at QB. I don't know what would have happened if we could not have run the ball in the second half either. But it is what it is and in the 5th year with solid players we should be competing for championships. I am so tired of being the underdog and being pleased and excited when we upset a top team. Maybe we are finally ready for the challenge. Just maybe we have turned the corner.

[WFE12 9,191]

32 minutes ago, tiger88 said:

Nuke it? No way. He is off the hot seat but.it is warm pending our performance in the bama game. I expect us to win or be highly competitive there. Then, I want a solid post-season performance, whstever that involves. Gus needs consistency, period. Not 8-4 consistency. 

 

I want him to succeed. I loved watching the players celebrate last night. I loved watching Gus get all excited as the clock ticked down. I want more of those types of wins consistently. Not every 4 years or so.. We have the pieces in place, we just need a stubborn coach to keep learning and stop digressing. Hopefully, we are there now, but the hot seat is still there if needed. 

Yes thank you for saying it. We may seem like buttholes for saying it but we can't be so quick to let him off the hook. He finally let Chip coach again. He just needs to stay out of the way like he did yesterday and we're good. We got the talent to dominate consistently. This needs to branch off into more big wins. No more miracles..We have a championship team and we can't waste it. We are afforded top 10 recruiting just like bama and uga and we need to act like it.

[Mikey 16,550]

11 minutes ago, auskull said:

I don't know what would have happened if we could not have run the ball in the second half either.

What would have happened is what would happen to any team that can't successfully run the ball against major competition. You lose the game. That's true for Gus, Saban, Butch Jones and any other coach you'd care to name.

[REInvestingTiger 2]

It was ONE win...and a nice one at that!  We now have a record of approximately 3 - 11 against ranked opponents. Yay!

 

Let's keep perspective here. Is the article really saying one really good win every five years is good enough?  Have our standards dropped that much since CGM has been here?  We want to continue with CGM because BOTH the offense and defense actually played well in the same game?  

 

If we look at the offensive play calling...does anyone here really believe CGM called those plays?  If not, what value is CGM bringing?  I can see the value of our DC, and possibly our OC.  I, for one, actually believe the more CGM is involved, the less likely our chances of a good showing.  Glad we won...still off the Gus bus...

[wildlife alumni 304]

I hope this is a sign of Gus turning the corner as a coach. Win or loose, if AU looks this good the rest of the season you have to stick with him. There is going to be so much coaching turn over this year, in the SEC that it should be a similar scenario in the SEC next season. AU will also have a great chance in recruiting this year. I hope for this season, you have to nuke the idea of fireing Gus and hope he has figured this thing out. War Eagle and great win!

[auskull 239]

20 minutes ago, Mikey said:

What would have happened is what would happen to any team that can't successfully run the ball against major competition. You lose the game. That's true for Gus, Saban, Butch Jones and any other coach you'd care to name.

Yea I really do understand that, however I was thinking about the LSU game where we could not run the ball and doggedly continued pounding the rock without any success or adjustments. Would we have made timely in-game adjustments this time to help the running game. Do you lose the LSU game if timely adjustments are made to help the running game? Just curious.

[Aucater 150]

You can pound the rock, you just cant do it right up the center every 1st down. Now they are varying the attack.

[auburnphan 6,050]

For the first time in Gus' career he dominated a quality opponent, no fluke plays or luck involved.  He did so by coaching less.  Does he deserve credit sure, but it does not prove completely that he can commit to stop being the problem?  He has a couple of more chances to prove it, hopefully he does.

[AU_Tiger_88 417]

38 minutes ago, REInvestingTiger said:

It was ONE win...and a nice one at that!  We now have a record of approximately 3 - 11 against ranked opponents. Yay!

 

Let's keep perspective here. Is the article really saying one really good win every five years is good enough?  Have our standards dropped that much since CGM has been here?  We want to continue with CGM because BOTH the offense and defense actually played well in the same game?  

 

If we look at the offensive play calling...does anyone here really believe CGM called those plays?  If not, what value is CGM bringing?  I can see the value of our DC, and possibly our OC.  I, for one, actually believe the more CGM is involved, the less likely our chances of a good showing.  Glad we won...still off the Gus bus...

It was a dominating win over the #1 team.  We finally have a QB.  We missed on a few the past couple of years.  I guess you just dislike CGM so much that you won't give him any credit.  I imagine that it wasn't the play calling in the losses this year that you think it was CGM.  You can't have it both ways.  Las couple of years our QB was hurt pretty badly.  We are finally seeing what a CGM team can do with a great defense and a good QB and line.  We didn't have this good of D in 2013 but we again had seniors on O that executed.  We are going to have some issues next year on the line but hope that they can gel early.

[shabby 1,956]

It's not just about this year, but expectations for next year. Gus has recruited and put together a team that should be ready to compete next year for a title despite a horrific away schedule. Let's face it. This year was a growing year to some extent. New coordinator and Gus growing to accept the need to change some of his philosophies and tendencies. I am eager to see this team continue to develop. That is why Gus isn't even close to being on a hot seat.

[auburnatl1 4,847]

I've  been frustrated, mad, and I'm sure will be at times in the future. Gus is smart, innovative, quirky, stubborn, and flawed.  And he'll sometimes break your heart.

He's in the same state with the most dominant recruiting machine in a generation, probably ever. UAT has become the preeminent NFL farm system - loaded and dominant (also cold and joyless). Even harder, in a state that doesn't have near the population or amount talent of Georgia, Texas, or fla, Gus has found a way to stay top 5-10 in recruiting.  Consistently.  

I get that he starts the season slow, struggles with quarterbacks (though this seems to be the norm these days), goes way too conservative with a lead, and can be predictable with play-calling.  He can and I believe will self correct these quirks (i.e. he didn't used to see defense as a priority). In my experience, if he was  dumb or non creative - that's would kinda be a much bigger problem....

Bottom line - I stayed on bus, been driven crazy many times on it, but on it for the long haul.

[tigertaft 7]

53 minutes ago, REInvestingTiger said:

If we look at the offensive play calling...does anyone here really believe CGM called those plays?  If not, what value is CGM bringing?  I can see the value of our DC, and possibly our OC.  I, for one, actually believe the more CGM is involved, the less likely our chances of a good showing.  Glad we won...still off the Gus bus...

Does anyone really believe you crush the #1 team by 23 points by reluctantly giving more power to subordinates?  No.  You crush the #1 team by 23 points because everyone is working TOGETHER at a high level.

I have no idea if Gus called any specific plays or if he overruled any of Chip's plays, but it doesn't really matter.  It's obvious that they designed and implemented a fantastic offensive plan; capitalizing on the trust and rapport that's been built since spring, but more specifically in the last 9 games.

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

We should steal TNT's motto. "Auburn. We Know Drama"

I haven't gotten back on the Gus Bus, but I'll be around the corner waiting for it. Don't leave me hanging Gus!

[jAUSon 2,836]

I, for one, think he's locked in. Front office turmoil. Buyouts. Half the conference is on the market, etc. He can easily correct the problems that has him on the hot-seat. This summer I thought he had: Turn over the offense. Upgrade at qb. Start the season with known weapons (kp). But there were still 2 glaring tendencies he didn't overcome that made me madder than ever: 1. Be actually ready to play early season 2. Stop forfeiting big games by being a chicken. 

If we can escape ULM without major injuries, we will be highly competitive in the Iron Bowl, with a very good chance of winning it. 

The hot-seat idea is now nuked. 

[REInvestingTiger 2]

44 minutes ago, tigertaft said:

Does anyone really believe you crush the #1 team by 23 points by reluctantly giving more power to subordinates?  No.  You crush the #1 team by 23 points because everyone is working TOGETHER at a high level.

I have no idea if Gus called any specific plays or if he overruled any of Chip's plays, but it doesn't really matter.  It's obvious that they designed and implemented a fantastic offensive plan; capitalizing on the trust and rapport that's been built since spring, but more specifically in the last 9 games.

I hear what you are sayin' Tiger.  They worked together for one game...glad we won it.  It is a shame that hasn't been the course over the past few years, as I think we all wanted CGM to make it.  

[bigbird 60,368]

1 hour ago, REInvestingTiger said:

If we look at the offensive play calling...does anyone here really believe CGM called those plays?  If not, what value is CGM bringing?  I can see the value of our DC, and possibly our OC.  I, for one, actually believe the more CGM is involved, the less likely our chances of a good showing.  Glad we won...still off the Gus bus...

what value does he bring?

 

His players fight for him every game. He inspires them to play hard every game. Coordinators game plan and call plays. HCs influence scheme, inspire players and coaches, create a culture of winning, and motivate towards excellence. Gus' main value, IMO, is how he inspires his teams to always fight for him. They love playing for him.