SEC Coaches Ranked

[AUwent 3,748]

3 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

Why worry about coaching?   This is a money game.  Without big money, you cannot get to the point at which coaching makes a difference.  

Endowments for education have turned into endowments for sports.

It is painful to say but, college athletics is rapidly becoming something that I cannot support.

I too hate that it's taking all of this to be competitive.

[AUwent 3,748]

23 minutes ago, 1716AU said:

It is a wee bit more than that.  I work at a major research institution with a Div 1 football and athletic program, and I will tell you this, your understanding and theirs are about as far apart as the east is from the west.

Most sports, yeah, they think Auburn hires pretty well, but they understand that Auburn Football's ONLY attraction is money and playing in the SEC. That's it.  And the HC is a candidate that a LOT of people here wanted at Auburn.  And he won't touch it with a 5 mile long pole.

People can face palm and not like this, but when it comes to football, Auburn has a serious perception problem. 

And I can guarantee you a lot of that is because of our schedule. Which most Auburn fans want to keep because Tradition(TM). Heck I see some fans wanting us to have Alabama, Georgia and Florida as our opponents if the 3-6/6 route is taken.

You're correct that we have the image of being unfair to coaches, even if I think that's a very unfair perception--look at Florida over the last twenty years, they've fired four coaches after four years or less, two after three!

But again, I think a lot of that double standard is because the perception is that we should be grateful for 8-5 and occasionally 9-4 because of who our rivals are.

Ergo, it drives me insane when our fans want the toughest possible schedule, all because of what happened 18 years ago in a year where the SEC was much weaker than it will ever be again.

Thus, I'm under no illusion that we can get a Brian Kelly or a Jimbo Fisher. Which is part of why my realistic (I hope) wishlist if we're on the market again soon looks something like this:

-Jeff Grimes

-Deion Sanders

-Hugh Freeze

-Dell McGee (laugh at me for this suggestion all you want, but he's a master recruiter who could assemble a helluva good staff, and every current HC who's served on Bowl Cut's staff so far is someone I would take in a heartbeat right now)

If we can't get at least one of those guys (and are forced to settle with someone like Steele, Lashlee, Helton, or Blake Anderson), time to close up shop as a program.

Edited May 15, 2022 by AUwent

[icanthearyou 4,462]

4 minutes ago, AUwent said:

I too hate that it's taking all of this to be competitive.

The greed of the NCAA and, it's member institutions could serve as a lesson, I doubt it though.

[1716AU 728]

22 minutes ago, AUwent said:

And I can guarantee you a lot of that is because of our schedule. Which most Auburn fans want to keep because Tradition(TM). Heck I see some fans wanting us to have Alabama, Georgia and Florida as our opponents if the 3-6/6 route is taken.

You're correct that we have the image of being unfair to coaches, even if I think that's a very unfair perception--look at Florida over the last twenty years, they've fired four coaches after four years or less, two after three!

But again, I think a lot of that double standard is because the perception is that we should be grateful for 8-5 and occasionally 9-4 because of who our rivals are.

Ergo, it drives me insane when our fans want the toughest possible schedule, all because of what happened 18 years ago in a year where the SEC was much weaker than it will ever be again.

Thus, I'm under no illusion that we can get a Brian Kelly or a Jimbo Fisher. Which is part of why my realistic (I hope) wishlist if we're on the market again soon looks something like this:

-Jeff Grimes

-Deion Sanders

-Hugh Freeze

-Dell McGee (laugh at me for this suggestion all you want, but he's a master recruiter who could assemble a helluva good staff, and every current HC who's served on Bowl Cut's staff so far is someone I would take in a heartbeat right now)

If we can't get at least one of those guys (and are forced to settle with someone like Steele, Lashlee, Helton, or Blake Anderson), time to close up shop as a program.

Some, you're right.

But the people they have to answer to, and try to get on board...No.  You miss what makes this program a pariah.

It's called the Boosters.

We would be LUCKY to get a Grimes hire

[AUwent 3,748]

58 minutes ago, 1716AU said:

Some, you're right.

But the people they have to answer to, and try to get on board...No.  You miss what makes this program a pariah.

It's called the Boosters.

We would be LUCKY to get a Grimes hire

So...is there anything our boosters could actually do to repair their image? I really don't know what our leadership was supposed to do. Can you imagine how bad we would've looked had we not investigated? Regardless, trying to get rid of the boosters would be just as bad if not worse for the program, especially in this day and age.

(I really hope you don't work at Florida.)

Be interesting to hear from insiders with "other" points of view...because if you're right, you can kiss our program goodbye. Shut 'er down.

Edited May 15, 2022 by AUwent

[Rednilla 5,391]

On 5/11/2022 at 10:06 PM, Mikey said:

Those guys inherited programs with losing records. Building up takes a little time, but build UP they did. Your boy Harsin took over a team that hadn't had a losing season in eight years and promptly coached them down to a losing season. See the difference?

Mikey, I'm sorry, but you are just flat out blind. We had a losing season last year because of the fact that Gus Malzahn is a marshmallow and Bryan Harsin isn't. The last time we had a coaching change like this one, with a hardass taking over a soft team, we also finished one game under .500. Did get a memorable fake field goal against LSU, but still, a losing record. Matter of fact, it seems like Dye was a game under .500 when he took over from Barfield, too. So maybe Harsin isn't in such bad company.

[au302 2,669]

On 5/14/2022 at 1:24 PM, aucom96 said:

It's pretty simple. We couldn't run the ball and we had a weak receiver corps. The ONLY reason we came out of Baton Rouge with a win was from some pretty over the top heroics from Bo Nix. 

If you are going to be a hardass "culture" coach, you also have to recruit. Harsin can't recruit and unless that dramatically changes, that will be the difference in the Harsin question. It was a different game when we hired Harsin and with NIL, it's a dramatically different game now. The days of coaches lording over their programs with an iron fist are over. We're entering an era that will make college football look a lot more like the NFL and most of the coaches will follow. Roster building IS the game and it appears to be the aspect of the game Harsin was least prepared for. The record this season probably won't be nearly the tell than what Harsin signs out of this year's class. 

I mostly agree about LSU, but there were games where the offense looked very competently called and guys actually played within the system and not hero ball, but then others like Ga State, A&M, and even LSU where things went to s*** and we had to rely on hero ball again. I think it's all a consistency thing.

In terms of the hardass culture thing, I don't think it's fair of me to completely write them off when they haven't seen the field yet. Thus, can't say his recruiting sucks yet. So while guys like Powell Gordon, Fair, Geriner, little Wooden, etc were 3 stars that people said were only brought here because of the Harsin/Boise way and have no business being here, I need to see them before I say he sucks as a recruiter. Not like the bar that the last core group of guys left is super high

[Rednilla 5,391]

6 minutes ago, au302 said:

So while guys like Powell Gordon, Fair, Geriner, little Wooden, etc were 3 stars

Geriner, at least, was a 4 star. Seems like Fair might have been a 4 star on at least one of the sites, as well. 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

10 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

Mikey, I'm sorry, but you are just flat out blind. We had a losing season last year because of the fact that Gus Malzahn is a marshmallow and Bryan Harsin isn't. The last time we had a coaching change like this one, with a hardass taking over a soft team, we also finished one game under .500. Did get a memorable fake field goal against LSU, but still, a losing record. Matter of fact, it seems like Dye was a game under .500 when he took over from Barfield, too. So maybe Harsin isn't in such bad company.

Those coaches u mentioned, Tubbs, Dye.. Those guys didn't replace Gus. That's the whole issue with Mikey. It's not that it's Harsin. It's that he replaced Ol Gustav

[Mikey 16,582]

5 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

Mikey, I'm sorry, but you are just flat out blind. We had a losing season last year because of the fact that Gus Malzahn is a marshmallow and Bryan Harsin isn't. The last time we had a coaching change like this one, with a hardass taking over a soft team, we also finished one game under .500. Did get a memorable fake field goal against LSU, but still, a losing record. Matter of fact, it seems like Dye was a game under .500 when he took over from Barfield, too. So maybe Harsin isn't in such bad company.

Well, since you can't refute my facts you go back 40 years and find something that's an outlier. I see you intentionally skipped over what Terry Bowden, Chizik, and Gus accomplished in their first years. I don't blame you, if I were trying to obfuscate factual information I'd try to put up a smokescreen too. Maybe you should find some mindless gif to post and hope that distracts readers from the accurate information that was posted.

[Rednilla 5,391]

15 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Well, since you can't refute my facts you go back 40 years and find something that's an outlier. I see you intentionally skipped over what Terry Bowden, Chizik, and Gus accomplished in their first years. I don't blame you, if I were trying to obfuscate factual information I'd try to put up a smokescreen too. Maybe you should find some mindless gif to post and hope that distracts readers from the accurate information that was posted.

Chizik and Bowden were taking over from teams used to their head coach being a hardass, not teams that were used to a marshmallow like Gus, and like Tater Tot, and presumably like Barfield as well (but I wasn't around for him, so I don't really know). That's the parallel I'm drawing. I'm sorry you missed that, but...

BTW, you realize that 1999 was only 23 years ago, right? I mean, I know Dye was 81, but I mentioned him *after* Tubs to support the point I'd already made, not to make a new point.

[Rednilla 5,391]

7 minutes ago, NWALA Tiger said:

Those coaches u mentioned, Tubbs, Dye.. Those guys didn't replace Gus. That's the whole issue with Mikey. It's not that it's Harsin. It's that he replaced Ol Gustav

Oh, I know. He became convinced Malzahn was the right guy in 2013 and hasn't stopped believing yet. I bet he fantasizes about Gus being hired back at Auburn and winning a national championship just so he can say I told you so to everybody.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

18 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

Oh, I know. He became convinced Malzahn was the right guy in 2013 and hasn't stopped believing yet. I bet he fantasizes about Gus being hired back at Auburn and winning a national championship just so he can say I told you so to everybody.

Talk about a pipe dream

[AUwent 3,748]

5 hours ago, Rednilla said:

Mikey, I'm sorry, but you are just flat out blind. We had a losing season last year because of the fact that Gus Malzahn is a marshmallow and Bryan Harsin isn't. The last time we had a coaching change like this one, with a hardass taking over a soft team, we also finished one game under .500. Did get a memorable fake field goal against LSU, but still, a losing record. Matter of fact, it seems like Dye was a game under .500 when he took over from Barfield, too. So maybe Harsin isn't in such bad company.

Pat Dye and Tuberville had pretty nice recruiting classes after their first seasons.

They then went 9-3 and 9-4 (negatively skewed because of playing in the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP) their second seasons.

Of course, Harsin apparently has to work out or we’re finished as a program. 😒

Edited May 16, 2022 by AUwent

[eaglenest 332]

48 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

Chizik and Bowden were taking over from teams used to their head coach being a hardass, not teams that were used to a marshmallow like Gus, and like Tater Tot, and presumably like Barfield as well (but I wasn't around for him, so I don't really know). That's the parallel I'm drawing. I'm sorry you missed that, but...

BTW, you realize that 1999 was only 23 years ago, right? I mean, I know Dye was 81, but I mentioned him *after* Tubs to support the point I'd already made, not to make a new point.

Milkey can't handle the TRUTH..

[Mikey 16,582]

@Rednilla

First year results, the last eight Auburn coaches:

Jordan took 0-10 team to 5-5

Barfield Took 3-6-2 team to 3-8

Dye, took 5-6 team to 5-6

Bowden: Took 5-5-1 team to 11-0

Tuberville: Took 3-8 team to 5-6

Chizik: Took 5-7 team to 8-5

Malzahn: Took 3-9 team to 12-2

Harsin: Took 6-5 team to 6-7

So, over the past 71 years, only two new AU coaches had a worse record than the previous year. Barfield and Harsin. (Bolded above for you). That's some pretty rare company that Harsin's rolling with!

[Mikey 16,582]

6 hours ago, NWALA Tiger said:

Those coaches u mentioned, Tubbs, Dye.. Those guys didn't replace Gus. That's the whole issue with Mikey. It's not that it's Harsin. It's that he replaced Ol Gustav

You should send Gus a bill for rent. He sure does spend a lot of time in your head.

 

6 hours ago, Rednilla said:

Oh, I know. He became convinced Malzahn was the right guy in 2013 and hasn't stopped believing yet. I bet he fantasizes about Gus being hired back at Auburn and winning a national championship just so he can say I told you so to everybody.

If you'd been paying attention for the past two years, you'd know that is false. Or have you been paying attention and chose to post a falsehood anyway? I give it 50/50.

5 hours ago, eaglenest said:

Milkey can't handle the TRUTH..

What truth is that? Most of what I've seen in this thread is people making up their own fantasies.

[AUwent 3,748]

Can we please move on from Gus. Much more concerned about the idea that our only hope is for Harsin to work out.

[e808 3,025]

7 hours ago, Rednilla said:

Mikey, I'm sorry, but you are just flat out blind. We had a losing season last year because of the fact that Gus Malzahn is a marshmallow and Bryan Harsin isn't. The last time we had a coaching change like this one, with a hardass taking over a soft team, we also finished one game under .500. Did get a memorable fake field goal against LSU, but still, a losing record. Matter of fact, it seems like Dye was a game under .500 when he took over from Barfield, too. So maybe Harsin isn't in such bad company.

Why does Gus have to be a marshmallow. There are different ways of coaching. If that was the case then why was the defense always ranked. Being a hard azz isn’t always the answer either. Look what happen to Singletary at the 49ers. Also look what that did for the off season. Thus CBH had to change some of his methods. All these comparisons to what different coaches did. Let’s just let it play out and see what happens. We are in a different day and age than when Coach Dye was at Auburn.

[AU-24 3,073]

On 5/13/2022 at 7:24 PM, NWALA Tiger said:

Let's look at the facts ..

Gus was at AU for EIGHT years. He avg between 4-5 losses a year.

Harsin was 6-7 in his FIRST year.

Everyone should agree on those 2 facts..

Why was it ok to give Gus 8 yrs, but wanna run Harsin after 1?

If he can't recruit or cant win in the portal then that will ultimately show up in his won/ loss record and he will be gone.

Just don't understand wanting to run him after 1 yr.

  BTW, I'm not necessarily "Pro Harsin". Regardless of who the coach is, I think he deserves 2 or 3 yrs . We gave Gus 8. To me it's that simple.

I can certainly understand that, but again just looking at the facts. How did Gus survive eight seasons? He won two SEC West championships, one SEC championship, played for a national championship. Beat Alabama when they were number one and beat Georgia when they were number one in the same season. Beat Saban three times, something no other coach in the country did. Do all that along with averaging four losses per year and it gives you eight seasons at one school.

It’s not just the wins and losses that Harsin is struggling with, it’s absolutely, positively, everything that’s already been mentioned so I won’t bore you by bringing it up all over again. But with all that, if he loses six or seven again this year, it’s time for him to go. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by AU-24

[AU-24 3,073]

On 5/14/2022 at 7:15 AM, 1716AU said:

Hasn't it been shown that the portal issues are more with the school than the coaching staff?

Admittedly, I’m not an expert in that area, but thanks for commenting.

[AU-24 3,073]

On 5/13/2022 at 11:32 PM, JerryAU said:

Mikey, he's logged 1 yr of 3-7 vs major competition, followed by a coup attempt headed up by the Auburn PTB trying to kick him to the curb without paying the man his dang buyout. 

Any brand new coaching staff deserves 3 yrs at minimum to put their plan in place, work on recruiting, learn the talent regions, work roster management and solidify their staff as well as getting their off-the-field support staff in place.  CBH is no different. 

 

Deserves three years? Wether you like him or dislike him what did the guy do well? Recruiting? Portal? Assistant coaches? Play calling? I mean the guy pretty much gets a D or F in just about every coaching category. I’m sorry but when you do that poorly you don’t deserve any amount of years.

[AU-24 3,073]

21 hours ago, NWALA Tiger said:

You never did answer my question. Do u think Harsin should have been fired after last season based off his performance on the field? Yes or no please

I’m not Mikey, but I will answer. I won’t base it off just his performance on the field. He had several off the field issues to include couldn’t not getting along with players that left for the portal. Couldn’t get along with assistant coaches that were fired or left. Couldn’t get along with coordinators that were fired or left to include the defensive coordinator that said he left because he didn’t like the way Harsin treated players. Lost a heck of a lot more talent to the portal that he gained, besides not being able to recruit. To include signing the number 11 quarterback on the portal because he couldn’t get 1 through 10, (and they were offered) and then on national signing day going -1 as he signed no one but lost another player to the portal. Then we throw in his on the field performance to include even two embarrassing wins (Georgia State and Alabama State) blowing the largest lead in a loss, in Auburn history (Mississippi State)  an embarrassing bowl loss to Houston and I certainly think that justifies letting a guy go after one year.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

1 hour ago, AU-24 said:

I’m not Mikey, but I will answer. I won’t base it off just his performance on the field. He had several off the field issues to include couldn’t not getting along with players that left for the portal. Couldn’t get along with assistant coaches that were fired or left. Couldn’t get along with coordinators that were fired or left to include the defensive coordinator that said he left because he didn’t like the way Harsin treated players. Lost a heck of a lot more talent to the portal that he gained, besides not being able to recruit. To include signing the number 11 quarterback on the portal because he couldn’t get 1 through 10, (and they were offered) and then on national signing day going -1 as he signed no one but lost another player to the portal. Then we throw in his on the field performance to include even two embarrassing wins (Georgia State and Alabama State) blowing the largest lead in a loss, in Auburn history (Mississippi State)  an embarrassing bowl loss to Houston and I certainly think that justifies letting a guy go after one year.

I respectfully disagree. IMO, 1 year isn't enough. All the things u mentioned,  will contribute to his won/ loss record , which will ultimately determine his fate. We will have a lot clearer picture after this year.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

2 hours ago, AU-24 said:

I can certainly understand that, but again just looking at the facts. How did Gus survive eight seasons? He won two SEC West championships, one SEC championship, played for a national championship. Beat Alabama when they were number one and beat Georgia when they were number one in the same season. Beat Saban three times, something no other coach in the country did. Do all that along with averaging four losses per year and it gives you eight seasons at one school.

It’s not just the wins and losses that Harsin is struggling with, it’s absolutely, positively, everything that’s already been mentioned so I won’t bore you by bringing it up all over again. But with all that, if he loses six or seven again this year, it’s time for him to go. 

I'm not sure how he survived 8 yrs.. Never won in Red Stick including blowing a 3 TD lead. Never won in Athens or even came close. Never won in T Town. Never changed or modernized his offense.  Piss poor offensive player development. Paranoid, wouldnt let his QB get outside training in the off season. Guess he was afraid the QB'S would give away his offensive secrets. Never could decide who he wanted to call plays. Gus was a "solid" 8 win a yr coach, some years and seemed to be happy about it. I wanted to break away from mediocrity,  even if that means some growing pains for a year or 2.

Edited May 16, 2022 by NWALA Tiger