Doug Barfield has no regrets

[aubiefifty 16,760]

#PMARSHONAU: 47 years later, Doug Barfield has no regrets

Phillip Marshall

5-6 minutes

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Auburn - Who is the answer at quarterback for Auburn? | Cover 3 College Football

 

AUBURN, Alabama – Forty-seven years almost to the day after it was announced that Doug Barfield would become Auburn’s head football coach, we sat down for lunch, two old friends reminiscing about what was and talking about what is.

We talked about his Auburn days, and we talked about the state of college football today. I told him he came along too soon or he would be living in a mansion. He is troubled by the massive changes that are shaking the very foundation of the college game.

In April of 1975, Auburn president Harry Philpott announced that the 1975 season would be Shug Jordan’s last and that Barfield, the offensive coordinator, would take over starting in 1976. Auburn was coming off a 10-2 1974 season in which it could have, maybe should have, been undefeated.

Head football coaches didn’t make all that much money in those days. Barfield’s first salary was $42,000 per year with $20,000 more for media rights, but he was honored like any coach would be. And he was excited. He and I walked across campus when the press conference was over that day and had lunch at a place Called Over The Hump Sandwich Shop. It was in the building that later would be the Barbecue House.

Barfield didn’t talk about it publicly that day, but he faced a massive rebuilding job. Most of the impact players from 1974 had used up their eligibility. Jordan, like many in the twilight of coaching careers, had difficulty recruiting. Barfield inherited a program sorely short on SEC-caliber players.

Auburn went 3-6-2 in Jordan’s final season and 3-8 in Barfield’s first season. From there, Auburn’s talent level and results increased steadily through 1979, when Barfield’s fourth Auburn team went 8-3 and finished ranked No. 16. The disaster of 1980 opened the door for those who had wanted Paul Davis to be the coach and who had never supported or accepted Barfield. He was fired.

Barfield and his staff signed the likes of Joe Cribbs, James Brooks, Lionel James, Byron Franklin, Ed West, Ben Thomas, Freddie Smith, Donnie Humphrey, Bob Harris, Mark Dorminey, Randy Campbell, Pat Arrington, Edmund Nelson, Frank Warren, Keith Uecker, Danny Skutack (a former walk-on), Charlie Trotman, Gregg Carr, Dowe Aughtman, Chris Woods, and Edmund Nelson. Most of those played in the NFL. All were impact players at Auburn. Some helped Pat Dye win his first SEC championship. Barfield’s 1977 and 1979 teams blew Georgia out in Athens.

(Photo: Auburn University)

Barfield is proud of that. He is proud that his teams were competitive against Alabama, then at an all-time high. And he still winces at the one that got away in 1979. Perhaps the game that still sticks with him the most is a 22-22 tie with eventual SEC championship in 1978. Auburn dominated the game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, rushing for more than 400  yards. Georgia won because William Andrews scored what should have been a touchdown on the final play of the first only to see it marked short and a completely blown spot on what should have been a first down as Auburn drove toward the winning points.  

The popular notion that everything was awful during Barfield’s tenure is a myth that won’t die.

At 84 and retired with his beloved Betty in Opelika, Barfield is good health, though he walks with a cane as he recuperates from hip replacement surgery. He laughed and said he and I have managed to keep our hair but it all turned white.

In all the times I have talked to him over the years, Barfield has never denied being hurt by the way things happened at Auburn. He has never denied that the lack of support made his job much more difficult. But he has never been bitter. He has no regrets. Would he have done some things differently? Wouldn't we all?

Barfield finally got some recognition from Auburn last fall when former players got together to make him an honorary member of the Auburn Football Letterman’s Club. He was appreciative, but he knows how his time is viewed. It bothers him, as it would anyone. But he is a tough-minded man.

After leaving Auburn, Barfield spent a year as an assistant coach at Mississippi State. He got out the business and then back into it as a successful high school coach in at Hillcrest in Evergreen and at Opelika.

Barfield, who was a standout quarterback and what was then called Mississippi Southern, has happy memories from those days coaching high school. He coached with steely eyed determination, but an inflated ego has never been a part of who he is.

I remember talking to Auburn assistant S.E. Sullins, who went on to a distinguished career as a college assistant, as it became increasingly obvious that Barfield was in trouble.

7COMMENTS

“I’d follow that man anywhere he asked me to go,” Sullins said.

Living quietly now in Opelika, Barfield has no regrets. Like anyone, he would do some things differently. But he gave his best, which is all any of us can do. And as anyone who knows him will attest, his has been a life well-lived.

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[cctiger 571]

I think most fans and supporters were sure that Vince Dooley was coming home. Some supporters did want Paul Davis. Hiring Barfield was a shock to the Auburn nation at that time. Barfield's biggest mistake was not firing P.W.(Bear)Underwood as DC simply because P.W. was his good friend. And a lot of folks was upset that Barfield didn't keep-hire Davis as His DC. Underwood was absolutely a horrible DC. To me, Barfield chose his friendship with Underwood over the good of the team at that time. 

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

2 hours ago, cctiger said:

I think most fans and supporters were sure that Vince Dooley was coming home. Some supporters did want Paul Davis. Hiring Barfield was a shock to the Auburn nation at that time. Barfield's biggest mistake was not firing P.W.(Bear)Underwood as DC simply because P.W. was his good friend. And a lot of folks was upset that Barfield didn't keep-hire Davis as His DC. Underwood was absolutely a horrible DC. To me, Barfield chose his friendship with Underwood over the good of the team at that time. 

Malzahns loyalty to his friend JP Grimes after JP semi "recovered" from cancer had a huge impact on O line issues we're still feeling. Still, hard to slam humanity of that sort.