Steven Leath Out As AU President.

[ToraGirl 5,498]

I keep seeing a (very) few bring up the "we had to" encore on the $49 million. Completely disagree. No we did not. "Blackmail" or fear-based decision-making, however you view it, seldom and should never pay off. Here's hoping future contract negotiations for anyone concerned include benefits for BOTH sides, and are tied to future benchmarks, not past performance. 

[DAG 33,977]

I just think the situation has been so toxic with this guy. Hopefully with him gone, we can move towards the changing of the guard with a brighter future.

[aujeff11 6,243]

1 hour ago, ToraGirl said:

keep seeing a (very) few bring up the "we had to" encore on the $49 million. Completely disagree. No we did not. "Blackmail" or fear-based decision-making

He's got a point though. After that season,  Leath would’ve been attributed equally as much blame as he receives today if he just let Gus walk. Hindsight of more average seasons says bad contract, but when the ink on the contract was drying, it was “Auburn has stability now,” “market rate,” etc. 

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t...

[PoetTiger 1,896]

Get it right this time BOT.

[steeleagle 2,945]

18 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

He's got a point though. After that season,  Leath would’ve been attributed equally as much blame as he receives today if he just let Gus walk. Hindsight of more average seasons says bad contract, but when the ink on the contract was drying, it was “Auburn has stability now,” “market rate,” etc. 

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t...

In the end, I don't think MOST AU supports had a problem w the contract although there were a lot of us that thought they could have gotten him for less but Leath and Harbert were afraid to call Gus' bluff.

But when Gus had his mediocre season, then the ridiculous buyout is what AU supporters hate and it was negotiated by Leath at the helm too.

It was good for Gus and his agent. Very bad for Auburn....

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

1 hour ago, ToraGirl said:

I keep seeing a (very) few bring up the "we had to" encore on the $49 million. Completely disagree. No we did not. "Blackmail" or fear-based decision-making, however you view it, seldom and should never pay off. Here's hoping future contract negotiations for anyone concerned include benefits for BOTH sides, and are tied to future benchmarks, not past performance. 

I agree wholeheartedly.  Maybe a small raise with plenty of incentive bonuses and a reasonable buyout.  He still had a losing record against our rivals and was under contract.  He would've owed money to AU if he walked which would've gone a long way towards hiring a new coach.

[ToraGirl 5,498]

An interesting read which will shed some light on the whys of the initial Leath selection as well as the woes. #learnfromhistory

"Leath’s tenure at Iowa State was tarnished with a string of controversies that resulted from his mingling of professional and personal interests, the Associated Press reported...."

"The Board of Trustees praised Leath’s experience as Iowa State University, which, like Auburn, is a land-grant public university that emphasizes agriculture and research. The experience at a land-grant university in combination with his history of supporting research and fundraising made him a strong pick, according to those who had knowledge of the selection..."

https://www.alreporter.com/2017/03/24/auburn-appoints-new-president-tumultuous-past/

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

1 hour ago, ToraGirl said:

I keep seeing a (very) few bring up the "we had to" encore on the $49 million. Completely disagree. No we did not. "Blackmail" or fear-based decision-making, however you view it, seldom and should never pay off. Here's hoping future contract negotiations for anyone concerned include benefits for BOTH sides, and are tied to future benchmarks, not past performance. 

That is EASY to say when we dont have Kevin Steele as our head coach. 

If we wanted ANYONE even remotely considered championship quality (i personally dont view him as championship quality) then yes. We had to or he woulr of walked and we would of ended up with Kevin Steele or if we were lucky someone like Muschamp. All the top tier coaches had already been signed elsewhere. 

But whatever. 

As much as i dont care for Malzahns coaching, he is sure as hell better than what would of been available at the time. 

I guess you would of been ok with a coaching search more messed up than the one done by Tennessee.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

32 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

He's got a point though. After that season,  Leath would’ve been attributed equally as much blame as he receives today if he just let Gus walk. Hindsight of more average seasons says bad contract, but when the ink on the contract was drying, it was “Auburn has stability now,” “market rate,” etc. 

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t...

This is EXACTLY right.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

19 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

afraid to call Gus' bluff

His bluff? What bluff is that? Maybe im wrong but last i checked Gus was a legend in Arkansas. He is viewed much like the love affair so many of you have with Bill Clark. Arkansas was going to take him. Period. There was no bluff.

It was pay Gus or let Arkansas take him. I personally would of been ok with him going to Arkansas. But i wouldnt of been ok with Kevin Steele, Muschamp, or Bill Clark... as his replacement...which is who we would have ended up with. That or another on the job learner.

Why some of you think he was bluffing was beyond me. He could go to Arkansas and be loved for making it to bowl games every year and not have to deal with our fans or our schedule. 

Its laughable how naive some of you are. 

[AU-24 3,063]

3 hours ago, AUTigersfan89 said:

Is the flip side to this that they will be paying an increased amount of student loans to go to an Ivy League school over Auburn? The average cost of tuition in the Ivy League is about $25k more than out of state tuition at Auburn.

What do you mean by this?

He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

[lutzcammed 469]

16 hours ago, ellitor said:

You would be incorrect. Leath Got it from all sides. The Academic arm of AU couldn't stand him. Athletics also played a factor as well, particularly that insanely stupid $49 mil contract with a $32 mil buyout he negotiated without AU having an AD. And more so for some Leath being inches away from firing Bruce shortly after the Person scandal went public pissed many people off. AD Greene had to practically beg Leath not to fire Bruce. There are a good number of people that will never forget him trying to give Bruce the shaft & always hold it against him.

And that very well would have probably  been the worst thing that would have ever happened in my lifetime of being an Auburn fan.  Mind you  I'm not including the losses of life which have hit the Auburn family so hard.

[ToraGirl 5,498]

52 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

That is EASY to say when we dont have Kevin Steele as our head coach. 

If we wanted ANYONE even remotely considered championship quality (i personally dont view him as championship quality) then yes. We had to or he woulr of walked and we would of ended up with Kevin Steele or if we were lucky someone like Muschamp. All the top tier coaches had already been signed elsewhere. 

But whatever. 

As much as i dont care for Malzahns coaching, he is sure as hell better than what would of been available at the time. 

I guess you would of been ok with a coaching search more messed up than the one done by Tennessee.

There was enough evidence or at least post-result conjecture that he would NOT have gone to Arkansas. You cannot tell me each of the one-sided terms of that contract were what was required for him to stay even if SOME RAISE were involved. Fear-based anything drives the train we 24/7 criticize. I also detest the "who else can (poor pitiful) Auburn get" mantra. So call the bluff. Auburn didn't. Hence the controversy. Hence the seeds, rather enormous ones, that led to the "mutual parting of ways." Dominoes indeed. 

[CR 2,442]

51 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

His bluff? What bluff is that? Maybe im wrong but last i checked Gus was a legend in Arkansas. He is viewed much like the love affair so many of you have with Bill Clark. Arkansas was going to take him. Period. There was no bluff.

It was pay Gus or let Arkansas take him. I personally would of been ok with him going to Arkansas. But i wouldnt of been ok with Kevin Steele, Muschamp, or Bill Clark... as his replacement...which is who we would have ended up with. That or another on the job learner.

Why some of you think he was bluffing was beyond me. He could go to Arkansas and be loved for making it to bowl games every year and not have to deal with our fans or our schedule. 

Its laughable how naive some of you are. 

Gus is a very polarizing figure in Arkansas. There are some who love him and a sizable group who wanted no part of hiring him in any capacity. Mainly from the Houston Nutt/Springdale fiasco that occured while Gus was OC at Arkansas.

[aujeff11 6,243]

42 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

Fear-based anything drives the train we 24/7 criticize. 

That goes both ways. There are a lot of people bashing Gus for fear based reasons of him tearing the program apart.

I accept the fact that we are not an elite football school and have no problem with talking the universal language. When someone like Jay Jacobs writes Gus a blank check and tells him to go get Muschamp, I am happy as crap. Same for basketball. If UCLA came calling for Pearl, I’d be hoping “little old pitiful Auburn” would pull out the checkbook and match. 

42 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

You cannot tell me each of the one-sided terms of that contract were what was required for him to stay even if SOME RAISE were involved. 

Harbert is a Gus supporter and wouldn’t surprise me if he agreed to every term first go around. 

42 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

There was enough evidence or at least post-result conjecture that he would NOT have gone to Arkansas.

If I’m not mistaken, at some point that season there was a report of Gus not feeling the love by Auburn.  Plus 8-5 is gravy in Arkansas. You never know... 

[ToraGirl 5,498]

1 hour ago, aujeff11 said:

That goes both ways. There are a lot of people bashing Gus for fear based reasons of him tearing the program apart.

I accept the fact that we are not an elite football school and have no problem with talking the universal language. When someone like Jay Jacobs writes Gus a blank check and tells him to go get Muschamp, I am happy as crap. Same for basketball. If UCLA came calling for Pearl, I’d be hoping “little old pitiful Auburn” would pull out the checkbook and match. 

Harbert is a Gus supporter and wouldn’t surprise me if he agreed to every term first go around. 

If I’m not mistaken, at some point that season there was a report of Gus not feeling the love by Auburn.  Plus 8-5 is gravy in Arkansas. You never know... 

The ONLY thing, Jeff, is the apples and oranges difference between coming and calling for Bruce Pearl and coming and calling for Gus Malzahn. That comparison doesn't fly here or in any other of the countless posts that mention meritorious raises. Hence the general fanbase ire and the ongoing response. And that lovely, hasty, kneejerk "decision" was a huge factor in the Leath/Auburn divorce, though clearly not the only. As many wiser than I noted...it was just a matter of time. 

Personally, I like CGM. But it's never been about that.

It is an issue of the inexperienced (#leath) negotiating and spending, debatable as to necessity, sums of money that were in his wheelhouse to STEWARD...not his own. I agree on Harbert...but since when does ONE member of a team get that much voice? That's on the rest at the table, for sure. 

Different but interesting tagline...is it entirely possible that the final straw was NOT the "football-only facility when or if"...but the fact that the 2019 performing results of AU basketball and baseball shone an unbelievably strong light on the underperformance of AU football? I cannot imagine, right or wrong, any SEC AD being happy that every sport except the "main one" is thriving. 

 

 

[GwillMac6 20,666]

3 hours ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

His bluff? What bluff is that? Maybe im wrong but last i checked Gus was a legend in Arkansas. He is viewed much like the love affair so many of you have with Bill Clark. Arkansas was going to take him. Period. There was no bluff.

It was pay Gus or let Arkansas take him. I personally would of been ok with him going to Arkansas. But i wouldnt of been ok with Kevin Steele, Muschamp, or Bill Clark... as his replacement...which is who we would have ended up with. That or another on the job learner.

Why some of you think he was bluffing was beyond me. He could go to Arkansas and be loved for making it to bowl games every year and not have to deal with our fans or our schedule. 

Its laughable how naive some of you are. 

Ain't this the truth!!! The love affair for Bill Clark has gotten out of control around here. If he made his bones in high school in any other state but Alabama I doubt other people would be such a big fan. BUT HEY Maybe this is just Auburn fans thing now. To fall in love with former legendary high school coaches! lol. 

One of these dudes is Alex Caruso the other is the Bald Mamba.

 

[leglessdan 1,934]

24 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

The ONLY thing, Jeff, is the apples and oranges difference between coming and calling for Bruce Pearl and coming and calling for Gus Malzahn. That comparison doesn't fly here or in any other of the countless posts that mention meritorious raises. Hence the general fanbase ire and the ongoing response. And that lovely, hasty, kneejerk "decision" was a huge factor in the Leath/Auburn divorce, though clearly not the only. As many wiser than I noted...it was just a matter of time. 

Personally, I like CGM. But it's never been about that.

It is an issue of the inexperienced (#leath) negotiating and spending, debatable as to necessity, sums of money that were in his wheelhouse to STEWARD...not his own. I agree on Harbert...but since when does ONE member of a team get that much voice? That's on the rest at the table, for sure. 

Different but interesting tagline...is it entirely possible that the final straw was NOT the "football-only facility when or if"...but the fact that the 2019 performing results of AU basketball and baseball shone an unbelievably strong light on the underperformance of AU football? I cannot imagine, right or wrong, any SEC AD being happy that every sport except the "main one" is thriving. 

 

 

Especially with the amount of money spent on it.

[kevon67 2,368]

6 hours ago, oracle79 said:

Dear Dr. Leath,

Loving the 90's flashbacks.........I can still here JR😂

[GwillMac6 20,666]

 

[aujeff11 6,243]

5 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

The ONLY thing, Jeff, is the apples and oranges difference between coming and calling for Bruce Pearl and coming and calling for Gus Malzahn.

To be fair. you said “fear based anything.” So anything is fair game, no????? Also, forgot to mention it,  but I read somewhere on the infallible internet that there is a rumor (which I cannot validate) that FSU wants Butch. There would need to be fear based decisions there too. I don’t think fear based decisions are bad. Affects the elite and the poor teams. It’s what pays Saban’s contract, and it also forces have-nots to be honest with themselves or else fork out the money. 

5 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

And that lovely, hasty, kneejerk "decision" was a huge factor in the Leath/Auburn divorce, though clearly not the only. 

 If anything, Auburn is better off without Leath. Could be a silver lining. 

5 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

I agree on Harbert...but since when does ONE member of a team get that much voice?

 Apparently from reading another site  he was the driving force of the Leath hire as well. 

8 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

Different but interesting tagline...is it entirely possible that the final straw was NOT the "football-only facility when or if"...but the fact that the 2019 performing results of AU basketball and baseball shone an unbelievably strong light on the underperformance of AU football? 

Great take and you are absolutely right. The other sports are beefing up their expectations and on the rise. Won’t be hard to compare the programs vis a vis each other concerning ROI and program optimism for Greene to see one is not like the others.   Now if only Dean can start getting Clint Myers like success as well: 

[ToraGirl 5,498]

As the daughter of a late AU botany professor, I found one professor's take very insightful. He goes on to say in other tweets that he is encouraged by the transparency already being shown by the Board in announcing a Sunday meeting via conference call as to proceeding forward. (I tend to like it when the profs are happy. Biased girl.)

He likes sports, too. As did Daddy.

https://johncarvalhosports.com/

John Carvalho
@John_P_Carvalho

Some context on #StevenLeath as he and Auburn move on from what has been a difficult two-year tenure, and I prepare for what will be my fifth president after 13 years on Auburn's faculty.

1. His tenure got off to a bad start because the trustees cloaked the search in secrecy. It was only after he was confirmed as AU's president that stories emerged of airplane accidents and land purchases. These were not openly discussed before, so he started with PR negatives.

2. Yes, the Research I designation is awesome and beneficial, but it is short-sighted to neglect Dr. Jay Gogue's role in getting Auburn there. Leath deserves credit for finishing the journey, but it did not all happen during his tenure.

3. Likewise, the president's mansion renovation, which Gogue supported, was approved before Leath got there. Leath was president when the renovation was carried out, the phase that had the potential for creating difficulties that did not exist in the planning stage.

4. Leath was definitely more of a sports fan than Gogue, and most college presidents in general. I personally found his approach to sports unbalanced, especially at a time when reform is needed, and it certainly added to his problems.

5. The 500-new-faculty pledge could have been framed as a commitment to re-energizing and enhancing Auburn's excellent faculty (it included replacements for retirees and resignations), but because he did not state it clearly enough, many mocked it as overselling.

6. History will decide if Auburn was better after Leath's two-year tenure. Others use their own adjectives to describe it. Overall, for now, I will term it disappointing. We charge the trustees with finding a president whose tenure will bring stability and growth. #WarEagle

Sunday meeting:

http://www.eagleeyeauburn.com/article/2019/06/board-of-trustees-to-hold-conference-call-after-leath-departure

[ToraGirl 5,498]

6 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

 

GWill, are we separated at birth? You gotta teach me how to get a Tweet onto this page faster than my cut and paste moves. You got good skills!!  

 

[GwillMac6 20,666]

14 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

GWill, are we separated at birth? You gotta teach me how to get a Tweet onto this page faster than my cut and paste moves. You got good skills!!  

 

 

[GwillMac6 20,666]

hahahahahaha EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASY there E. WOOOOOOOO SAH!!!! WOOOOOOOO SAH!!! Repeat after muhhhhhhh! lmao. He was talking about the 2017 offseason when Gus could of left for Arky. Not the 2018 one.