How has Gus split the fan base?

[ToraGirl 5,498]

19 minutes ago, SCTiger2011 said:

Not really the gist of this topic, but not worth starting a new thread for...

I wonder what the Board of Trustees dynamic is in all this.  We already know (or its been strongly rumored the last 20 years) they love to meddle in the football program.  Would be interesting to see where their loyalty lies at this point as they are the ones with the money. 

However, I do not agree with people on here who suggest Gus is not responsible.  That's a ludicrous conclusion after he has been given 7 years and more than enough job security to prove his worth.

Hey, SC, I found this article yesterday. It is long, and it's only a recap. But it's August 2019-recent and like you, rather than start a new thread, I'll share it here. Answers something that's in all of our minds...now, how again did we get into this mess? 

Warning...I'm still cooling off and I read it yesterday. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bannersociety.com/platform/amp/2019/8/29/20839597/gus-malzahn-auburn-buyout-extension

 

[abw0004 10,110]

I think the divide comes from how we can interact with others.  I am at fault at times too and am working to stop it.  A great example is how we label others.  It can be inflammatory for the “realists” to be called “pessimists.”  On the flip side it can be inflammatory for “optimists” to be called “apologists.”

[Tiger Refuge 6,661]

1 hour ago, kevon67 said:

Is that Patrick Swayze 's brother?

 

As smooth as he is, he should be.

[doverstutts 1,643]

18 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

Hey, SC, I found this article yesterday. It is long, and it's only a recap. But it's August 2019-recent and like you, rather than start a new thread, I'll share it here. Answers something that's in all of our minds...now, how again did we get into this mess? 

Warning...I'm still cooling off and I read it yesterday. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bannersociety.com/platform/amp/2019/8/29/20839597/gus-malzahn-auburn-buyout-extension

 

That is disturbing to read and think about. Hell no, its not disturbing, its insanity and cabbagehead Leath should be hunted down and hounded for every second that his miserable,fraudulent ass draws a breath on this earth. That just shows you how three men screwed AU football and all of us. I really do think that its going to get ugly before Mr Wizard is finally ran off after reading that

[ToraGirl 5,498]

1 minute ago, doverstutts said:

That is disturbing to read and think about. Hell no, its not disturbing, its insanity and cabbagehead Leath should be hunted down and hounded for every second that his miserable,fraudulent ass draws a breath on this earth. That just shows you how three men screwed AU football and all of us. I really do think that its going to get ugly before Mr Wizard is finally ran off after reading that

Harbert. 😭

[auburnphan 6,050]

I will play, enjoy.

Those that like him:

Most important he is a good Christian, 2nd he runs a clean program, 3rd that one time in band camp he took us to a National Championship game and lost.  Some believe that the let Cam decide to run the ball or hand it off offense on 75% of the plays was his genius.

Those that want to move on:

Have evaluated what he has done recently along with his history to come to the conclusion that he is not capable to get us to the next level as a program.  The fact that he is making what he makes and hasn't evolved with the game frustrates people.  The fact that he is the 6th highest paid coach and continuously gets out coached by the opponent frustrates a bunch of people

[auburn4ever 1,266]

How has Gus divided the Auburn fan base? that's dang easy to explain. First of all, we've been watching his high school style of coaching. Second, in 7 years, he hasn't won a national championship and the averages 7 to 8 wins per season. When things are going bad in the 1st half, Gus Gus never ever makes any adjustments at halftime  and therefore we get blown out and we get out played and out coached every time. Also, he's 2 and 4 in bowl games. Gus is a high school who only wins 7 to 8 games per season.

[GwillMac6 20,664]

1 hour ago, abw0004 said:

Those that like him (like me) know what he is capable of.  His offense took us to two national championships and three SEC Championships.  It’s not that we are complacent.  We just have seen what he can do.

 

Besides 2 games in 2017 what has he shown you on offense since 2014 that leads you to believe he is still capable of being that guy? Offense was great in 2013 and 2014. Good in 2017. The rest of the years the offense has been ranging from below average to terrible. This isn't the same guy to be honest. 

That is what I find the hardest to understand from his supporters. His side of the ball is the one holding us back. The side that he is hands off with is the best defense in the country.

The Gus you became a fan of is gone and it doesn't look like he is coming back.

[Farmer Brown 2,391]

2 hours ago, DAG said:

This is his personality . It was like this at Springdale, it was like this on the hill and it is like this now at Auburn.

Part of this is Gus seems like a genuine nice guy so people want to give him the benefit of a doubt. The other issue is people get frustrated with his coaching and certain moves which causes rifts.

what I will say is behind the scenes there seems to be something more because most of the time whenever he touches a place there is some sort of conflict. He is a polarizing figure. Conflict with Gene, Houston, Rhett, Mitch, JJ, DC, etc. Just my opinion on some of this stuff. 

He only likes yes men. 

[Leftfield 2,592]

1 hour ago, wareagleguy said:

It’s kind of like this cat I once had. On the one hand she was cute, sweet, and good natured. She didn’t bite. She didn’t scratch the kids. She didn’t get in the outside garbage.
 

But, on the other hand, she had an incontinence issue: so, she peed and pooped all over the garage. You had to step over, step beside, and sometimes you stepped in the poop. For awhile, we dealt with it, thinking, per a vet or two, it might get better. It didn’t. Eventually, we had to get rid of the cat, because quite frankly we got tired of all the crap. 
 

Some want to keep the cat because she’s sweet and good natured. Others, just get tired of all the crap.

It’s kinda like that I think!

[ChltteTiger 649]

2 hours ago, Tiger Refuge said:

I’m sorry...you don’t think Gus is to blame?

Don't waste your time arguing with the troll. Ignore him like I do and you will be happier.

[abw0004 10,110]

5 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

Besides 2 games in 2017 what has he shown you on offense since 2014 that leads you to believe he is still capable of being that guy? Offense was great in 2013 and 2014. Good in 2017. The rest of the years the offense had been ranging from below average to terrible. This isn't the same guy to be honest. 

That is what I find the hardest to understand from his supporters. His side of the ball is the one holding it back. The side that he is hands off with is the best defense in the country.

Well, if you look at it he has improved in areas.  At the beginning the defense was terrible so he went out and got Muschamp.  And then Steele.  Then we couldn’t recruit wide receivers to save our life.  And then we got some.  Then it was quarterbacks.  And then we got Stidham, Gatewood, and Nix.  Now it is the OL and I like the mix of JUCO’s and high schoolers in the next class.

Also on offense, many don’t realize that last year we were pretty even on the run/pass ratio.  That is an improvement.  Even this year, Gus is having his true freshmen throw more than other big time programs when they had true freshmen.

I am also looking at other factors that make this less black and white and more grey.  Many want it to be black and white so they force it to be.  Does that help?

[nixtosanders94 2,180]

Oh boy @GwillMac6 you really set this one up huh lol?  

So, I think it is several factors, chief among them being expectations.  For some of us we believe Auburn is capable of more than what it is under Gus and quite frankly what its been most of its football life.  We believe that you either commit to winning big and competing with your biggest rivals, even when they are on the upswing, or you are just treading water. We are treading water btw.  There is a group, won’t name any names mikey, that believe that what we have been in these 6 plus years is exactly who we are and they are fine with that. They are fine with going to bowl games every year and being good but not great more often than not. And I’ve said before that if thats how they feel then fine...own it. Say it. Quit pretending you want more and arguing with us.  Just say it. You’re ok with 8-4 and only beating lsu, uga and bama every 3 or 4 years...just say it. Its ok if you feel that way but quit trying to deny it. You are happy with Auburn being Iowa football...alright, just own it...

Now, there is the old Auburn gentleman stuff too.  Shug was a nice guy. Shug was an honorable guy. I love Shug even though he was before my time. I respect Shug. Shug was at D-Day which in my book makes him more worthy of respect than anything he did on a football field.  He was important to Auburn. He set a standard of how one should act...what he did not do is win big consistently.  Bear pretty much ate him for lunch for about 25 years. Now there are several reasons for that which are not all on the up and up but the bottom line is that era put Auburn in the underdog mentality that we have lived with for a long time. Coach Dye brought us back to even with the turds by beating them pretty often and also getting the game moved on campus. But I digress...there are still a lot of AU fans who seem to think its unseemly to worry too much about winning and just being competitive and a nice guy are ok. 

And let me add this...when Gus’s potential is brought up people always tout 2010, 2013 and some of 2017...let me shine a real bright light of hard truth here...

2010 was about Cam Newton and Nick Fairly and a lot of good things happening all at once.  Gus struggled early on to even figure out how to use Cam.  Cam made Gus look a lot better than he was even that year.  We still struggled with the likes of Kentucky, Miss St and fell behind 24-3 to the turds before Cam and the boys fought back with a ton of heart.  Gus deserves some credit but he didn’t win that by himself and wasn’t even the head coach. 

2013 was great. Loved it. Enjoyed it and that team has a special place in my heart. But be real here. It took a once in a lifetime miracle to keep us from having a complete collapse against UGA led by one of Gus’s patented take the foot off the gas games.  It took a fantastic special teams play to beat bama.  And a lot of us still blame another one of Gus’s patented foot off the pedal games for losing the Natty.  It was a great season but unlikely to be duplicated. 

2017 we lost two early games by having crap offense or “shocker here” taking the foot off the pedal against LSU...remember 17 straight run plays???  Then yeah we finally put it together in the last two games and shocked UGA(who played by far their worst game that year) and bama.  Then of course he tried to use the same game plan with an 80% at best KJ in the SECCG and guess what? We lost...

Every other year under this guy has been disappointment central.  If you’re ok with perennial disappointment then fine...own it.  This is where the disconnect is.  I think Gus is a nice guy.  But this is a results oriented biz folks.  And the results speak for themselves.  Look at the stats @bigbird posted earlier...they tell the tale of our head coach.  

[kevon67 2,368]

50 minutes ago, Tiger Refuge said:

As smooth as he is, he should be.

Looks just like Swayze's brother.....little known fact Swayze's brother appears in the original Red Dead Redemption at the sheriffs office in The Hanging of Bonnie McFarland quest.......tapping into my inner Nerd😂

[augolf1716 21,102]

4 minutes ago, kevon67 said:

Looks just like Swayze's brother.....little known fact Swayze's brother appears in the original Red Dead Redemption at the sheriffs office in The Hanging of Bonnie McFarland quest.......tapping into my inner Nerd😂

That's not nerd that's movie trivia gold

[oracle79 3,569]

Take away 4 things and he's a minimum 4 loss per year coach (in his best years) and never sniffs a national championship/playoff game.

1. Cam

2. Marshal

3. Prayer in Jordan Hare

4. Kick Six

It ain't 50/50. More like 90/10. I can't explain or fathom what the 10 fantasize about.

[GwillMac6 20,664]

12 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

Take away 4 things and he's a minimum 4 loss per year coach (in his best years) and never sniffs a national championship/playoff game.

1. Cam

2. Marshal

3. Prayer in Jordan Hare

4. Kick Six

It ain't 50/50. More like 90/10. I can't explain or fathom what the 10 fantasize about.

It feels like 50/50 in here I swear. And on Auburn 247. Those are the 2 main places I see where the fan base looks to be split 50/50. Small sample size but still.

[oracle79 3,569]

Just now, GwillMac6 said:

It feels like 50/50 in here I swear. And on Auburn 247. Those are the 2 main places I see where the fan base looks to be split 50/50. Small sample size but still.

I haven't seen 247, but it only seems like 50 on here because those 10 post about 50% of the posts. Heck, even Doc is on board. There's about 3 hardcore defenders left but they are vocal for sure.

[auburnphan 6,050]

33 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

Well, if you look at it he has improved in areas.  At the beginning the defense was terrible so he went out and got Muschamp.  And then Steele.  Then we couldn’t recruit wide receivers to save our life.  And then we got some.  Then it was quarterbacks.  And then we got Stidham, Gatewood, and Nix.  Now it is the OL and I like the mix of JUCO’s and high schoolers in the next class.

Also on offense, many don’t realize that last year we were pretty even on the run/pass ratio.  That is an improvement.  Even this year, Gus is having his true freshmen throw more than other big time programs when they had true freshmen.

I am also looking at other factors that make this less black and white and more grey.  Many want it to be black and white so they force it to be.  Does that help?

Not sure if even Kristi could say this with a straight face.

[Tiger Refuge 6,661]

30 minutes ago, kevon67 said:

Looks just like Swayze's brother.....little known fact Swayze's brother appears in the original Red Dead Redemption at the sheriffs office in The Hanging of Bonnie McFarland quest.......tapping into my inner Nerd😂

Dude...

[GwillMac6 20,664]

Just now, oracle79 said:

I haven't seen 247, but it only seems like 50 on here because those 10 post about 50% of the posts. Heck, even Doc is on board. There's about 3 hardcore defenders left but they are vocal for sure.

lol Touche. They certainly represent a very loud minority and show up to every thread. I guess to me it made it seem a lot like 50/50.

[GwillMac6 20,664]

3 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

We are in a very similar situation with Gus that LSU, UGA, and TAMU were with Miles, Richt, and Sumlin. Good guys, who win a lot of games, run a clean program, etc....A 3-9 season or a couple of losing seasons in a row eliminate almost all supporters, but any coach who wins 8 games a year and occasional big games, is going to have some folks in their corner. I’m not one of those folks. That said, a 9 or 10 win season is still possible with this roster, which will further divide the fan base on firing or keeping. 

I guess I failed to factor that in. I was under the impression more Auburn fans were not satisfied being a 8 win program. You are right. This post really honestly sums it up perfectly and gives me a accurate snapshot of why the Gus fans feel the way they do and honestly why all those programs you laid out stuck with those guys for way to long and why we have as well. Unless there is a total bottoming out like we did in 2012 the slightly above average coach is always going to have fans for various reasons. Heck look at Iowa. They have had their own version of Gus for 20 years. I am terrified that will happen to us. Like seriously. If we have 13 years and counting of this BS? There is no way I can do it. But man spot the heck on. It will keep dividing the fan base. It muddies the water to where even though to us it is a clear and obvious decision that we need to move on and our program is stuck in neutral reliving the same season over and over again it is not as obvious to others and there you have a clear divide. Add in the absolute ridiculous and egregious buy out and we will probaly be doing this all over again next season as well. Nothing ever gets worse. Nothing ever gets better. It just stays the same. Beat up on the weak sec teams and crumble on offense against defenses with a pulse. It always comes out with 8 wins no matter what.

This off season will be the same damn talking points we have heard every offseason since 2014. How do more people not get tired of it?! It is all utter BS because we know absolutely nothing changes. Rhett, Chip, Gus calling the plays? Who cares. It is Malzahns system and it is beyond broken. No decent defense worth a crap loses any sleep about facing it. The passing game is abysmal and one of the worst in the country each season.

[oracle79 3,569]

6 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

I guess to me it made it seem a lot like 50/50.

I also weeded out a lot of that noise with the ignore function, so my view is probably skewed now.

[abw0004 10,110]

11 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

I haven't seen 247, but it only seems like 50 on here because those 10 post about 50% of the posts. Heck, even Doc is on board. There's about 3 hardcore defenders left but they are vocal for sure.

It’s a bandwagon thing.  If you recall at the beginning of the season there were a lot of Gus supporters out in full force.  Now that we lost a game the roles have reversed.  At any point you will see the very vocal supporters of either side that are not the bandwagon fans.

Why would a lot of the Gus supporters want to post at the moment when they are just called apologists by even the MODS on here?  That’s why you don’t see them posting a lot.  

[AU64 10,122]

3 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

why blame gus? he is only here as long as he is allowed to be. yes he comes up short but i guarantee you he wants to win as badly as anyone does. the truth is the powers that be are responsible for this.not gus. he just cannot give the fans what they want. the folks out for blood should be blaming the ones responsible. w

Comment I heard from Les Miles but it's pretty common.  "When you coach at the same place a long time, friends come and go....but enemies accumulate."   That's what is going on at Auburn too......so like Richt or Miles and many others....the accumulated enemies are soon gonna have their way. JMO