Who do you want as head coach?

[rophle 256]

19 minutes ago, aubaseball said:

Of course not at 4-2, but what about 5-5? Or 6-4?

Nope, we could lose out and he’s still staying. 

[AUFriction 1,179]

10 hours ago, AUFriction said:

But we didn’t take a chance on the basketball hire this time. We had the perfect candidate fall in our lap. And, at the time, our program wasn’t mediocre. It was one of the worst power 5 programs. We had an almost perfect candidate and nothing to lose. Firing Gus isn’t comparable.

Plus, I’d still argue “mediocrity” is the wrong term anyway. Teams in the SEC doing better than us over Gus’s tenure are Bama, UGA, ... that’s it. A&M consistently underachieves. LSU was good last year, but has been basically o par with us otherwise. You could make an argument for UF maybe, but it’s too soon to tell if they will sustain under hunchback. Plus, both UF and UGA play a much easier schedule than we do most years. So, that puts us between 3 and 5 in the hardest conference in college football, which translates to “good but not elite.” Good but not elite is the history of the program in part because we have so many historically great teams in our back yard. Is there a chance that we hire better than we ever have? Is there a chance we hire someone that exceeds the w/l records of all of our coaches in the last 40 years? Maybe. But it is NOT 50-50. There are a lot more coaches out there worse than Malzahn than their are coaches that are better. Add in the existing added disadvantages we have and it’s probably more like70-30 that the coach will be worse. And probably about 85-15 that he will be not statistically significantly better.

Alright. I’m going to try this a different way. Aside from Bama and UGA, which teams have done better than us over the last 5 years? If those are the only two teams, this argument about us being mediocre is laughable.

[The Freak 2,526]

1 hour ago, CleCoTiger said:

Ya know, I was just thinking back over the names that in recent years have been a favorite on the AU boards for head coach at AU. In addition to Fleck and Franklin, there's Justin Fuentes, Scott Frost and Tom Herman just to name a few. I wonder where AU would be right now had fans gotten their wish? This may be a case of "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it."

Exactly, and we got Malzahn.

 

We should prolly try to fix that.

[AUwent 3,747]

46 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Alright. I’m going to try this a different way. Aside from Bama and UGA, which teams have done better than us over the last 5 years? If those are the only two teams, this argument about us being mediocre is laughable.

It's all about trajectory. A&M is clearly heading in the right trajectory, as is Florida. LSU is terrible this year yes, but even if O gets Chizik'd, he's going to be leaving his successor a ton of talent. Sam Pitman has done a FANTASTIC job at Arkansas this year--if not for a horrendous call they would have won as many SEC games this year as in the last four combined (they still have LSU and Missouri).

The number one reason I want Gus gone soon is because of his terrible OL decision making. Beyond that, every QB since Nick left either turns out to be a bust or regresses. He very rarely wins bowl games. Four times he has lost to teams that lost five games pre-bowls (A&M 2014, Arkansas 2015, Georgia 2016, Tennessee 2018--so not counting plenty of other gems).

[DAG 33,955]

49 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Alright. I’m going to try this a different way. Aside from Bama and UGA, which teams have done better than us over the last 5 years? If those are the only two teams, this argument about us being mediocre is laughable.

LSU.  3-2 against us. Won a NC in that time span and an SEC championship 

[gr82be 14,402]

16 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Alright. I’m going to try this a different way. Aside from Bama and UGA, which teams have done better than us over the last 5 years? If those are the only two teams, this argument about us being mediocre is laughable.

LSU is the answer to the question at 29-11 I believe. That is '15-'19 not counting this season yet.

Auburn at 22-19 is a fairly mediocre record. We've lost 12 of 16 games to those 3 teams. We've lost to Florida, who is 22-18 in the same span. We've lost 6 to the less than mediocre teams (1 per season basically). We shouldn't lose 75% of the games to our major rivals. We've got to be close to 50/50 to not be considered mediocre. 

 

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

1 hour ago, The Freak said:

Exactly, and we got Malzahn.

 

We should prolly try to fix that.

Yeah....I dunno. I feel like AU has paid for the training wheels and now Malzahn is in a pretty good place. Seems to me that he really has given the reins on offense to OC Chad Morris, and Kevin Steele runs the defense. Recruiting has been historically good, better than any before that's for sure. AU just has had the misfortune of residing in the SEC West with Saban's bammer -- a coach and team Malzahn has beaten more often than any other coach in the SEC -- as well has having UGA, leaders in the SEC East for several years now, as a permanent opponent rather than the likes of Vandy or Kentucky.

I'd give Malzahn another season or two depending on how this one plays out. And if not, I want Hugh Freeze.

[AUwent 3,747]

7 minutes ago, CleCoTiger said:

Yeah....I dunno. I feel like AU has paid for the training wheels and now Malzahn is in a pretty good place. Seems to me that he really has given the reins on offense to OC Chad Morris, and Kevin Steele runs the defense. Recruiting has been historically good, better than any before that's for sure. AU just has had the misfortune of residing in the SEC West with Saban's bammer -- a coach and team Malzahn has beaten more often than any other coach in the SEC -- as well has having UGA, leaders in the SEC East for several years now, as a permanent opponent rather than the likes of Vandy or Kentucky.

I'd give Malzahn another season or two depending on how this one plays out. And if not, I want Hugh Freeze.

Prior to this year, our recruiting was pretty decent at every position besides OL. But right now, our recruiting is decidedly not good.

I agree with your last sentences--2022 will in all likelihood be his final year. Maybe he pulls out his odd year magic against the Turds one more time for our troubles.

[woodford 3,655]

10 hours ago, CleCoTiger said:

Yeah....I dunno. I feel like AU has paid for the training wheels and now Malzahn is in a pretty good place. Seems to me that he really has given the reins on offense to OC Chad Morris, and Kevin Steele runs the defense. Recruiting has been historically good, better than any before that's for sure. AU just has had the misfortune of residing in the SEC West with Saban's bammer -- a coach and team Malzahn has beaten more often than any other coach in the SEC -- as well has having UGA, leaders in the SEC East for several years now, as a permanent opponent rather than the likes of Vandy or Kentucky.

I'd give Malzahn another season or two depending on how this one plays out. And if not, I want Hugh Freeze.

You think he's just getting warmed up?

[The Freak 2,526]

12 hours ago, CleCoTiger said:

Yeah....I dunno. I feel like AU has paid for the training wheels and now Malzahn is in a pretty good place. Seems to me that he really has given the reins on offense to OC Chad Morris, and Kevin Steele runs the defense. Recruiting has been historically good, better than any before that's for sure. AU just has had the misfortune of residing in the SEC West with Saban's bammer -- a coach and team Malzahn has beaten more often than any other coach in the SEC -- as well has having UGA, leaders in the SEC East for several years now, as a permanent opponent rather than the likes of Vandy or Kentucky.

I'd give Malzahn another season or two depending on how this one plays out. And if not, I want Hugh Freeze.

Hugh Freeze will not be available in a year or two.

[tbone1430 1,346]

I’ll just put in a friendly reminder every month or so of who it needs to be 😂

[AUFriction 1,179]

14 hours ago, AUwent said:

It's all about trajectory. A&M is clearly heading in the right trajectory, as is Florida. LSU is terrible this year yes, but even if O gets Chizik'd, he's going to be leaving his successor a ton of talent. Sam Pitman has done a FANTASTIC job at Arkansas this year--if not for a horrendous call they would have won as many SEC games this year as in the last four combined (they still have LSU and Missouri).

The number one reason I want Gus gone soon is because of his terrible OL decision making. Beyond that, every QB since Nick left either turns out to be a bust or regresses. He very rarely wins bowl games. Four times he has lost to teams that lost five games pre-bowls (A&M 2014, Arkansas 2015, Georgia 2016, Tennessee 2018--so not counting plenty of other gems).

Trajectories can change in a minute. In his first two years, his trajectory was up. After the loss of a Heisman qb and a ton of seniors, the trajectory turned downward. LSU looked better in 2018 than in 2017, and better in 2019 than in 2018. Their trajectory has changed. A&M by the way is loaded with seniors (and they’ve still looked poor at times this year), and Florida’s defense is Swiss cheese. 
 

Auburn’s “trajectory” has been a lot of up and down, but Gus has also been here longer than most of the other teams/coaches I’ve discussed.

[AUFriction 1,179]

13 hours ago, gr82be said:

LSU is the answer to the question at 29-11 I believe. That is '15-'19 not counting this season yet.

Auburn at 22-19 is a fairly mediocre record. We've lost 12 of 16 games to those 3 teams. We've lost to Florida, who is 22-18 in the same span. We've lost 6 to the less than mediocre teams (1 per season basically). We shouldn't lose 75% of the games to our major rivals. We've got to be close to 50/50 to not be considered mediocre. 

 

Add in the rest of Gus’s tenure, including this year, and let’s see what it looks like. I looked at this comparison midway through last year, and LSU’s record was almost even with Auburn’s over Gus’s tenure.

[AUwent 3,747]

8 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Add in the rest of Gus’s tenure, including this year, and let’s see what it looks like. I looked at this comparison midway through last year, and LSU’s record was almost even with Auburn’s over Gus’s tenure.

Auburn is 33-23 in reg season SEC play from 2013-19. LSU is 38-18 during that stretch. Add in this patchwork mess of a season so far and it's 37-25 vs. 40-21.

[gr82be 14,402]

1 hour ago, AUFriction said:

Add in the rest of Gus’s tenure, including this year, and let’s see what it looks like. I looked at this comparison midway through last year, and LSU’s record was almost even with Auburn’s over Gus’s tenure.

I just used the past 5 years because you suggested it. 

[DAG 33,955]

31 minutes ago, gr82be said:

I just used the past 5 years because you suggested it. 

Moving that field goal post further and further along 

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

9 hours ago, The Freak said:

Hugh Freeze will not be available in a year or two.

Read my last two sentences in the previous (quoted) post again.

[AUStew87 326]

Quote from an article about S. Carolina and their decision to fire Muschamp:

”It was paying Muschamp's massive buyout that really caught people off guard. The school made a cost-benefit analysis and decided it was better to fire Muschamp than keep him, regardless of the cost.”

 

For the crowd that says Gus won’t be fired due to his high buyout during a down financial year, this is an interesting thought process from USC. 

[AUApostle 7,648]

10 hours ago, AUStew87 said:

Quote from an article about S. Carolina and their decision to fire Muschamp:

”It was paying Muschamp's massive buyout that really caught people off guard. The school made a cost-benefit analysis and decided it was better to fire Muschamp than keep him, regardless of the cost.”

 

For the crowd that says Gus won’t be fired due to his high buyout during a down financial year, this is an interesting thought process from USC. 

Same reasoning was used to move on from Taggert at FSU.

[weagl1 1,781]

Just food for thought.  Maybe we should forget about replacing Gus and get Muschamp and TRob back in Auburn for our defense of the future.  Kevin Steele is bound to be eyeing retirement.  Muschamp needs to be a DC and forget about being a HC it ain’t working for him.  TRob is great coaching DB’s and recruiting.  If we dilly dally around and don’t grab them now they are going to end up at Bammer, UGA or Rocky Top.  I were Gus, and I’m thankful I’m not for a whole bunch of reasons, I would be having a sit down with Steele to see what his plans are.  If he’s about ready to retire anyway it may be time to make a move.  Muschamp, TRob, TWill and Rodney would make a dynamic defensive staff going forward.  Probably the best we have ever had.      Even if we have to bring them in temporarily as “analysts” like Saban does for his “coaches in waiting” it would be a shame to let them get away.  

[woodford 3,655]

35 minutes ago, weagl1 said:

Just food for thought.  Maybe we should forget about replacing Gus and get Muschamp and TRob back in Auburn for our defense of the future.  Kevin Steele is bound to be eyeing retirement.  Muschamp needs to be a DC and forget about being a HC it ain’t working for him.  TRob is great coaching DB’s and recruiting.  If we dilly dally around and don’t grab them now they are going to end up at Bammer, UGA or Rocky Top.  I were Gus, and I’m thankful I’m not for a whole bunch of reasons, I would be having a sit down with Steele to see what his plans are.  If he’s about ready to retire anyway it may be time to make a move.  Muschamp, TRob, TWill and Rodney would make a dynamic defensive staff going forward.  Probably the best we have ever had.      Even if we have to bring them in temporarily as “analysts” like Saban does for his “coaches in waiting” it would be a shame to let them get away.  

Would love for Muschamp to be Auburn's DC, but how does he help offensive production, QB development, and OL recruitment?

The guy in charge is the problem. Fixing his staff would just be a band aid.

[The Freak 2,526]

15 hours ago, CleCoTiger said:

Read my last two sentences in the previous (quoted) post again.

This one?

On 11/14/2020 at 11:13 PM, CleCoTiger said:

I'd give Malzahn another season or two depending on how this one plays out. And if not, I want Hugh Freeze.

That is what I was responding to.  You can't do both.  Hugh Freeze will be at a power 5 school next year.  This is the year to get him if you can.

[LKEEL75 2,566]

22 minutes ago, The Freak said:

This one?

That is what I was responding to.  You can't do both.  Hugh Freeze will be at a power 5 school next year.  This is the year to get him if you can.

Liberty did just extend his contract to 2026.  Yes there is a chance that this is so Liberty can get paid IF a P5 school comes after him.  But this could also be Freeze saying he wants to stick around another year or 2 to build a program and not just have 1 year.

[Rednilla 5,383]

58 minutes ago, The Freak said:

This one?

That is what I was responding to.  You can't do both.  Hugh Freeze will be at a power 5 school next year.  This is the year to get him if you can.

Uh, yeah. He said he thinks we should give Gus a year or two, but IF NOT (as in, if we don't give him another year or two), he wants Hugh Freeze.

[Rednilla 5,383]

On 11/15/2020 at 12:04 PM, AUwent said:

Auburn is 33-23 in reg season SEC play from 2013-19. LSU is 38-18 during that stretch. Add in this patchwork mess of a season so far and it's 37-25 vs. 40-21.

...And if he looked after week 6 of last season (halfway through the season, as he said), it would have been Auburn at 29-20 while LSU was at 31-18, which isn't too far off. And at that point, Gus would have an SEC Championship, which LSU didn't have until a couple of months later.

I'm not saying LSU wasn't ahead of us over that stretch like he is, but at the point he looked, we might well have been pretty comparable.