Are we headed in the right direction?

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I can't answer "yes", but I can offer some reasons why we *might* be moving in the right direction:

-We have deficiencies on our roster, but not many. We have recruited well. We continue to recruit well. At a level Auburn's never seen consistently. And Gus gets *good* kids.
-Bowl game aside, Gus's kids play hard for him.
-The program, as far as we know, is squeaky clean.
-This is a championship-caliber defense, at least for one more year. And I don't see the dark days of the early '10s returning. We'll take a step back once Brown, Davidson and Holland are gone, but our floor seems much higher than it was 5 years ago. MUCH higher.
-For the most part, Gus has shown that he can learn and evolve.
-Gus always seems to have a good kicker. In fact, Auburn hasn't had to sweat the kicker position in 10 years. I think it's something we take for granted. Even the poor kid who missed all the kicks at LSU all those years ago was a really good kicker. Damon Duvall, Scott Etheridge.... sorry. Just trying to accentuate the positive.
-Jacobs is gone.
-Building on that, a lot of Auburn's problems going back to 2003 and possibly further haven't necessarily been on the sideline or in the locker room. Gus has made a lot of that go away, and this contract seems to have given him even more leverage. These are structural issues that, if resolved, could better position the program for success even beyond Gus's tenure.
-Facilities, facilities, facilities. We might finally be catching up to the big boys. It's not just shady recruiting tactics that have given some other schools an advantage over us.

About all I've got, I think. Like you said, there is another side to the coin that has plenty of outlets for discussion elsewhere.

 

/Thread

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

4 hours ago, auskull said:

This is a simple question and many naysayers post routinely. I would like to hear from those who are satisfied with the direction of our football program and why you believe so. I would also like to hear your goals for the football program and if we are moving towards achieving these goals.

I'll answer after all of the coaching hires / fires are over. 

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I can't answer "yes", but I can offer some reasons why we *might* be moving in the right direction:

-We have deficiencies on our roster, but not many. We have recruited well. We continue to recruit well. At a level Auburn's never seen consistently. And Gus gets *good* kids.
-Bowl game aside, Gus's kids play hard for him.
-The program, as far as we know, is squeaky clean.
-This is a championship-caliber defense, at least for one more year. And I don't see the dark days of the early '10s returning. We'll take a step back once Brown, Davidson and Holland are gone, but our floor seems much higher than it was 5 years ago. MUCH higher.
-For the most part, Gus has shown that he can learn and evolve.
-Gus always seems to have a good kicker. In fact, Auburn hasn't had to sweat the kicker position in 10 years. I think it's something we take for granted. Even the poor kid who missed all the kicks at LSU all those years ago was a really good kicker. Damon Duvall, Scott Etheridge.... sorry. Just trying to accentuate the positive.
-Jacobs is gone.
-Building on that, a lot of Auburn's problems going back to 2003 and possibly further haven't necessarily been on the sideline or in the locker room. Gus has made a lot of that go away, and this contract seems to have given him even more leverage. These are structural issues that, if resolved, could better position the program for success even beyond Gus's tenure.
-Facilities, facilities, facilities. We might finally be catching up to the big boys. It's not just shady recruiting tactics that have given some other schools an advantage over us.

About all I've got, I think. Like you said, there is another side to the coin that has plenty of outlets for discussion elsewhere.

 

Good post but I disagree on the bolded (sp) part. He is as stubborn as any coach in football and won't change unless he is forced. Lets see if he has learned anything this offseason. The hires and fires he makes will tell me if he really has. 

[I_M4_AU 7,801]

6 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Good post but I disagree on the bolded (sp) part. He is as stubborn as any coach in football and won't change unless he is forced. Lets see if he has learned anything this offseason. The hires and fires he makes will tell me if he really has. 

I know we will hire a 10th coach, but are you saying there will be additional coaching changes?  Inquiring minds and all.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, AUsince72 said:

Stats are great & trending records are great...but bottom line is Gus needs to reduce the number of games per year in which the team either looks unprepared or unable to adjust to adversity to 0-1 per year, rather than the 2-3 per year he's averaging.

Pat Dye didn't win them all but I can't recall too many (if any) games in the 80's where AU didn't at least give everybody hell.  Tuberville almost always had that one game per year (usually an 11 am game against Arkansas) where the team was flat and under prepared, but that was usually it..they fought hard and competed like a well coached team, even in their losses.  As much as I despise saban and give him little credit because his lordship is bought and paid for by his NCAA cronies, one thing I WILL give him credit for is his teams are always prepared and competitive.  If he bitches about mistakes or poor play after a game, I have to look hard and squint to see what he's referring to.

If Gus can stop taking 2-3 vacations during the season per year, and learn to use his multiple 4*+ RB's rather than driving one until the tires come off and then continuing to drive him on the hubs, then AU will be heading in the right direction.

Agree 100%

There are a lot of things about saban that I don't like but his drive for perfection in execution is what sets him apart as a coach.  There are a lot of other things that set him apart as...well...never mind.

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

5 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

I know we will hire a 10th coach, but are you saying there will be additional coaching changes?  Inquiring minds and all.

Yes. I'm not sure on who but there are going to be some changes. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

17 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Good post but I disagree on the bolded (sp) part. He is as stubborn as any coach in football and won't change unless he is forced. Lets see if he has learned anything this offseason. The hires and fires he makes will tell me if he really has. 

That is my biggest issue with him.

Every time he seems to have learned a lesson and turned a corner.....he then pulls the rug out from under us and "reverts" to previous form.

Seems each of the last 3 years many of us (maybe most?) give him another chance, or benefit of the doubt...yet here we are STILL giving him another chance....yet again....

[Auhud08 596]

16 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Yes. I'm not sure on who but there are going to be some changes. 

Trade burns for freeze

[gr82b4au 5,568]

We won the west, most of our d line is coming back, and our starting QB is coming back. That is a good start. 

Hopefully we continue to build the facilities and bring in a top notch recruiter for our 10th coach. 

 

[Beaker 2,457]

I have learned over time that mentors and peer groups are paramount to personal growth.  

Who is Gus' mentor?    Who is in his tight, close circle of head coaching friends?   This could be telling if someone knows.

[keesler 5,924]

27 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

I know we will hire a 10th coach, but are you saying there will be additional coaching changes?  Inquiring minds and all.

Do you not think there should be additional coaching changes to the existing staff?  If Gus stays status quo with his staffers, then we can expect at minimum another 4 loss season this year.  JMHO

[lionheartkc 6,150]

7 minutes ago, Beaker said:

Who is Gus' mentor?    Who is in his tight, close circle of head coaching friends?   This could be telling if someone knows.

Unfortunately, all signs have pointed to Briles and Freeze... two guys who had dynamic offenses, no doubt, but don't share his penchant for running a squeaky clean program.

[keesler 5,924]

11 minutes ago, Beaker said:

I have learned over time that mentors and peer groups are paramount to personal growth.  

Who is Gus' mentor?    Who is in his tight, close circle of head coaching friends?   This could be telling if someone knows.

We know he is close with two of the most dynamic offensive minds in the profession today, Art Briles & Hugh Freeze. 

Bring their asses on in an analyst role, hell bring one of them in as the 10th coach.  Gus calls the shots and is the head man in charge of recruiting, so either of those can be corralled on the recruiting side to keep us within compliance.

[I_M4_AU 7,801]

3 minutes ago, keesler said:

Do you not think there should be additional coaching changes to the existing staff?  If Gus stays status quo with his staffers, then we can expect at minimum another 4 loss season this year.  JMHO

I had expected to be status quo until WDE’s post, now the mind is turning.  With Hand’s contract expiring I would hope he might be a casualty, alone with Burns.  Can’t even guess at replacements, I would like some coaches that are motivatiors on game day, though.

[Tiger 8,819]

Between Freeze's hooker addiction and Briles alleged support of rape culture that would be one hell of a way to spice up the off-season

[casatiger 513]

I cannot imagine Gus is going to make changes to his offensive staff unless Horton finally has had enough and leaves.  Possibly Porter as well.  That guy was supposed to be a major recruiter and he is MIA.  Is he still around?   Somebody needs to be out an APB on this guy in my opinion.  Anyway, I am more concerned about losing a very good defensive coach because someone recognizes his value more than we do.  No inside info here just know that the coaching changes we desire tend not to happen unless he is forced to do so and not sure a new 7 year, $49MM contract communicates that changes are needed.  In his mind, we beat our two biggest rivals, got a new contract, "everybody loves me!"

[AURealist 2,185]

2 minutes ago, casatiger said:

I cannot imagine Gus is going to make changes to his offensive staff unless Horton finally has had enough and leaves.  Possibly Porter as well.  That guy was supposed to be a major recruiter and he is MIA.  Is he still around?   Somebody needs to be out an APB on this guy in my opinion.  Anyway, I am more concerned about losing a very good defensive coach because someone recognizes his value more than we do.  No inside info here just know that the coaching changes we desire tend not to happen unless he is forced to do so and not sure a new 7 year, $49MM contract communicates that changes are needed.  In his mind, we beat our two biggest rivals, got a new contract, "everybody loves me!"

$49M says, "You da man."  

Nothing's gonna happen to staff on our end unless Gus wants it to happen.  Gus is the captain now and holds all the keys to the Gus Bus (on a silver carabiner...)

[CoffeeTiger 5,101]

24 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Unfortunately, all signs have pointed to Briles and Freeze... two guys who had dynamic offenses, no doubt, but don't share his penchant for running a squeaky clean program.

 

I don’t see that as a bad thing. Those are some successful mentors, and there shouldn’t be any more powerful motivation for keeping things clean than seeing first hand how doing it wrong has ruined your friends careers.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

14 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

 

I don’t see that as a bad thing. Those are some successful mentors, and there shouldn’t be any more powerful motivation for keeping things clean than seeing first hand how doing it wrong has ruined your friends careers.

Its a bad thing because both of the guys he seemed to look up to are no longer coaching, and at least one, though I would argue wrongfully, is a pariah that cant get near a football program. Hard to learn much from guys who are disconnected from the sport.

[WFE12 9,191]

I wish we would erase everything as far as the offense is concerned and start all over studying the depth chart and different schemes to figure out a successful, CONSISTENT offense. Use more than one rb, use TE's, expand the route tree. We obviously can't rely on the same plays over and over and rely on athletes like Gatewood to mask our deficiencies in playcalling like Cam did. If we do this we stand to be more productive.

[Dan-0 479]

1 hour ago, AUsince72 said:

That is my biggest issue with him.

Every time he seems to have learned a lesson and turned a corner.....he then pulls the rug out from under us and "reverts" to previous form.

Seems each of the last 3 years many of us (maybe most?) give him another chance, or benefit of the doubt...yet here we are STILL giving him another chance....yet again....

Yes, we just seem to go around in circles getting the same results over and over, reminds me of this:

[wildlife alumni 304]

To me, it could be a toss up. If you look at Gus in one direction, he has recruited very well, had great offenses, fixed the defense by hiring the right guys, played in two SEC championships (winning one) and played in a National championship. In the other direction, he has a very bad bowl record, loses games he should win, and does not have a great record vs his rivals. 

I look at him as a crap shoot. He could improve and have a statue in front of the stadium one day or be gone in two years leaving an average to slightly blow average program.

The fan base might as well get behind him and support him or he will have a harder time succeeding.

[ToomersStreet 795]

On 1/3/2018 at 12:38 PM, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

I'll answer after all of the coaching hires / fires are over. 

Are you ready to answer?

[keesler 5,924]

12 hours ago, ToomersStreet said:

Are you ready to answer?

WDEWDE's reaction to the re-hiring of Grimes was less than glowing.

[Zeek 16,649]

My biggest concern is that we pay someone millions to be an offense mastermind and we have been atrocious on offense in many key games. The red zone offense has been rough ever since we lost our QB battering ram Cam Newton