tomcat

This is a tough deal. I fondly remember the older days when everyone was all in for the team. Today the almighty dollar and future earnings is so powerful, who can blame any of these young men for sitting it out. I almost reached for “meaningless game” line, but at the end of a college career, as you look forward to the NFL, does it matter if you were busted up in the Birmingham Bowl or the national championship game? ….aside from the character assanation. I lean toward the player looking after his best interest and teams being prepared for that… Edit: I do believed Smoke enhanced his NFL prospects. Despite the ejection, he played with a reckless abandon teams will find appealing.

Pretty obvious that Bama and GA are the best of the best. However, the difference is very slim as witnessed by the AU/UA game. Nothing trumps talent, but will, motivation, and coaching go a long way…I’m optimistic about 2022

Go Blue! Hate UGA..

Certainly with a portion of the fan base…..

You might just be right. However, outside of great high school video, there is zero evidence Dee can succeed at this level. (Full disclosure: I’m disappointed he did not get few tries during the season) TJ is a rough work in progress. Great arm. With a decent oline and improved accuracy……who knows?

May be the two worst tackling teams in history…

Indeed…saw tackles for a loss where OL were standing as the play finished around them. Oh..they were already beaten so nothing else to do but watch.

95%…could not resist!🤷‍♂️

Wow…boys and girls..let it go and get a grip. No one goes into any endeavor thinking of ways to f up. Bo gave it his all. No shock his family is with him…they should be. The boy can’t pull a rabbit out of his ass. Let it go. I wish him the best and look forward to the next chapter.

Due in no small part to the social media, instant access world we live in today.

Love this hire! Too many coach hires are retreads (see Bobo), while younger more energetic talent waits. I believe this will payoff…bigly

Good piece on relationship building with recruits…. https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2021/12/how-auburn-coaches-handled-the-super-bowl-of-recruiting.html

Geez oh Pete! Let’s allow the man to provide his 2 or 4 weeks notice! Hopefully all semblance of decorum has not faded away.

What was that Dave Clark Five song lyric….”I like it like that!”

Thank you for all of the work providing the best site for everything Auburn!

I learned this when I moved from Bham to Miami in the early 1990’s..then Orlando…then Jacksonville. College football was passing weekend passion…not an everyday obsession.

I know…he’ll, he can stay in Auburn and in the second year experience a disgruntled fan base many of whom wanted to run him in year 1. TAMU got nothing on us!

Lot of talk on this board for hiring the top dog, big name individual, be it head coach or water boy. Some, probably not many, of you have built an organization. One strives to hire the best fit from a performance, intellectual, and cultural perspective. Hiring is always a crap shoot. I believe Bobo was a home run from a QB development perspective. He was a failure as a second half OC. Will never understand that. Regardless, Oregon dips down into the coordinator ranks. I, for one, hope this guy is wildly successful. The model of overpaid coaches being bribed with even more money needs to be blown up.

Excellent! During that period there was no alignment. Now there is, because Saban demands it. Harsin does not have the cachet to force that…yet. I hope he gains that. Regardless, Venables apparently sensed a level of dysfunction.

Agree to a degree…however, see “Jetgate” and Tuberville. Crazy shat there. Rivaled by the current Christobal to Miami situation. Also provide an example of this happening on Saban’s watch…

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32804655/sources-mario-cristobal-leaving-oregon-ducks-football-program-miami-hurricanes-coaching-job PLEASE include at least a portion of the article and not just a link... Mario Cristobal leaves Oregon Ducks football program for Miami Hurricanes coaching job Mario Cristobal is heading home to the U. Cristobal left Oregon to become Miami's head football coach on Monday. Sources told ESPN that Cristobal's contract at Miami will be in the range of $8 million annually, and that Miami also plans to pay his $9 million buyout at Oregon. "My family and I are excited to return home to the University of Miami, which has been so instrumental in shaping me as a person, player, and coach," Cristobal said in a statement. "This program has an unparalleled tradition and an exciting future ahead of it. I can't wait to compete for championships and help mold our student-athletes into leaders on and off the field who will make our University, our community, and our loyal fan base proud." Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens told reporters Monday that Miami never reached out to him to express interest in talking to Cristobal. "The usual courtesy is to reach out to the institution, and that never happened," he said. However, he said he was well aware that Miami was interested in Cristobal. "We understand that's the alma mater, that's home and all the elements that go into it," he said. Mullens said that he isn't sure which assistant coaches will follow Cristobal to Miami. Once that becomes clear, Oregon will name an interim coach. Cristobal informed Ducks players of his decision at a team meeting Monday in Eugene. Just before the Oregon meeting, Miami announced the firing of coach Manny Diaz and a forthcoming hire of Diaz's replacement. Cristobal is a Miami native, was a Hurricanes offensive lineman for two national championship teams, and a Miami assistant from 2004 to 2006. Miami has aggressively pursued Cristobal for several weeks to replace Diaz, and it ramped up its efforts late last week. Oregon presented Cristobal with an enhanced contract offer to remain, which the coach acknowledged after Friday night's loss to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas. But Cristobal did not immediately accept Oregon's offer, which The Oregonian reported was then withdrawn. "Mario's legacy as a student-athlete at the U is well established. And the standard for competitive excellence that he and his teammates helped establish is one to which we continue to aspire. Our selection, however, was not one based in nostalgia for a proud past, but rather in a bold vision for a promising future," Miami president Julio Frenk said in the statement. "The characteristics that helped Mario excel as a national championship-winning player -- drive, determination, and discipline -- continue to propel his success as a coach. In Mario we have found a head coach who shares our belief in providing student-athletes with the very best opportunities to succeed on and off the field, and our commitment to winning at the highest level." Miami's next step is hiring an athletic director, and the school continues to target Clemson's Dan Radakovich for the position. Sources close to the situation expect Radakovich to meet with Cristobal before any decision is made, and an athletic director hire isn't expected at Miami until midweek at the earliest. Radakovich, who has led Clemson's athletic department for the past nine years, earned his business degree at Miami and began his career there in athletics administration in 1983. Cristobal, 51, went 35-13 at Oregon with two Pac-12 championships, a Rose Bowl win two years ago and three Pac-12 North titles. He joined the Ducks staff in 2017 as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, then was promoted to head coach when Willie Taggart departed for Florida State. Cristobal served as Florida International's coach from 2007 to 2012, going 27-47 overall. Oregon assistants have been out recruiting for the team but are being informed of Cristobal's decision. Cristobal spent Sunday recruiting for Oregon and appeared briefly on a videoconference for the team's Valero Alamo Bowl matchup against Oklahoma. The Ducks lost a commitment in the 2022 class from ESPN 300 quarterback Tanner Bailey after news broke that Cristobal was leaving. Bailey is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound quarterback from Gordo High School in Gordo, Alabama. He's the No. 139 recruit in the country and the No. 6 pocket passer overall. Bailey stayed committed to the Ducks after offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead left to take the Akron job, but opened up his recruitment once Cristobal was gone. "I didn't see the Coach Cristobal thing happening, I don't think any of the recruits did, either. I think the coaches were confident he would stay, but I think at the end of the day, we all know Coach Cristobal and his situation," Bailey said. "He's a great husband, dad, coach, mentor, so everyone has a ton of respect for him. I think that decision is best for him being an alumni, his family's down there, his wife's family is down there. So, I think that's the best choice for him and we totally understand it and respect it." Bailey said he wouldn't rule out signing in the early signing period, but it would likely be difficult to make another commitment before Dec. 15.

IMHO alignment would mean: total understanding and agreement on the mission, philosophy, and strategy of a successful program. Think Alabama and Saban…in this case Saban essentially sets the agenda. I’m sure there is discussion and disagreement, but Saban usually gets what he wants and no negatives spill into public view. Auburn has a long checkered history of booster, PTB meddling on who’s hired, who plays, what facilities get approved, taking a bus instead of flying, etc. In other words there is a lack of alignment from the President to the AD to the administration overseeing the football program. The head coach is ham strung trying to implement his program because of the lack of commitment in what he is doing. Thus you get JABA.

I’m happy Auburn ran it to the wire. Always disappointed to lose, but impressive still. looking forward to next year…

The usual gamut of whines, complaints, and compliments (????…naw) The planning and execution is astounding. Much like Auburn last week except we only got really close. No doubt about Bama’s talent, but the planning, coaching, and running the plays is admirable. Hate them both equally so the outcome does not matter

Dunno…how many fired coaches can we afford to pay?🤷‍♂️