TigerVII

I hope we sign Isaiah Jatta, but Sports Illustrated (not what it used to be) implied in his decommitment article today that he was looking at Colorado now that Sanders is there.

If we don't sign him, I am confident this staff will find someone equivalent in the portal.

6 minutes ago, Quietmaninthecorner said:

to be great in  today's college football atmosphere,  you need both JImmy's and Joes,  X's and O's,  the media on your side  and some added luck.     If you are light in any of those areas  you will not make it to the top.

I agree with your post, but the media will never be on AU's side (remember 2010 when everyone and their brother attempted to distract and defeat our team).

10 minutes ago, AUDevil said:

So he was a great DC until he decided to give away all his secrets this summer?

Pat Dye often said it was the Jimmys and the Joes, not the X's and O's.

6 minutes ago, NoALtiger said:

Excellent hire, maybe this will at least stop a little of the crying going on around here over the coordinators/staff. Freeze clearly has a plan and is working it. 

No - most of the posters crying over the DC and OC were vehemently opposed to Freeze to begin with. You can't make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time.  Winning is the only thing that will shut them up (at least  90% of them - the other 10% are worried bammers or people who can't ever be content with anything.)

59 minutes ago, AUwent said:

If this were last year I think everyone would be very very happy. Wish we had gotten CK JUST because he likely would've pulled in Russaw and Smith.

Yeah - after losing our DC to a pay cut and to OkSU last year, we'd have been thrilled with this hire as opposed to Coach Schmedding.

I am more impressed with his resume than Arnett.  Can he recruit?  We'll see, but I've been concerned with the DC play-calling.  He checks the boxes for me.

The cold hard truth is that Coach Hugh Freeze is the face of AU football, for recruiting and everything else.  Forget the coordinators for now.  All that matters between now and mid-February is the portal and the early and late National Signing Days.

Come March 1, 2023, if the Liberty Defensive Coordinator is then our DC, then I will be one of the first to cry foul.  Until then, I am willing to give Coach Freeze time to rebuild the roster and to allow the coaching carousel to shake out so we can complete the staff.  The real coaching from the coordinators probably won't begin before March 1 anyway.

I don't believe that many recruits choose their schools based upon the names and pedigrees of the coordinators.  Be honest - excepting Kevin Steele (who was good but overpaid), very few coordinators have lasted more than 2 years since Tuberville was hired at the end of 1998.

23 minutes ago, Quietmaninthecorner said:

Nah,  we do a fine job of this on our own.

Amen brother amen

8 minutes ago, Auburn02 said:

I thought Capers announced he is not entering the portal?

Tom Green of al.com is reporting that Capers entered the portal today, an Tarvaris Dawson Jr. withdrew from the portal and is staying at AU.

https://footballscoop.com/news/hugh-freeze-staff-auburn-update

Looks like many of the 8 Liberty staff members will be off the field roles at AU.

In the 1980s, the orange and blue shakers were made of paper.  Early in the game, Reggie Slack, the AU QB, completed a 40-50 yard pass and AU was inside the Bama 10-yard line for a first down.  The paper dust from the shakers was choking most of the student section.

I will support Coach Freeze and will continue to support AU.  I don't know who the new coaches will be, but I think Zac and LAC (and maybe Hilliard) will be the only current coaches retained.  War Eagle!

The Liberty "upset" just goes to show  how  the media-fueled rumors affect players and the outcomes of games.  Liberty quit when they heard their coach was leaving (true or not). It affected the outcome of the Egg Bowl, too.

I am OK with Freeze.  We have people in the Athletic Dept to keep him out of trouble (or fire him for cause if he can't stay away from trouble).  Hopefully, Cohen is better with contract wording than Greene.

I like Kiffin, too, but he isn't worth the difference in money (and I know it's not MY money).  Think Freeze for 7 yrs at $8 mil or $56 million versus Kiffin at 10 yrs at $11 mil or $110 million.  I would argue  they are very similar as coaches but Freeze has been punished for baggage in the past.  Freeze is the better buy all things considered.

We aren't hiring a pastor or campus evangelist - that's what FCA does.  We're trying to hire a good football coach,and very few of them are "saints".

JABA.  Unfortunately, we cannot help pulling for people who played for, attended, or previously worked for Auburn University.  It is almost incestuous.  (I would argue that UAT has/had the same problem but managed to escape it temporarily at least with Saban).

I love and respect Caddy, and hope he continues to coach for AU or better yet has an opportunity as a head coach for a smaller U.  If he proves himself elsewhere as a head coach (i.e., program building - recruiting, hiring good position coaches, capitalizing on the portal, etc.) then I'd love to see him have the head coaching job at AU.

If we don't hire someone with experience in program building at this juncture, then prepare for AU to be the post-Fulmer UTenn for the next 15 years.  Might as well make Jordan-Hare an outdoor concert venue.

1 hour ago, LPTiger said:

It feels weird that we fired a guy who beat 8 head coaches in 1.75 years and then hired 1 of the 8 he managed to beat.

Check the 1998 records - Tommy Tuberville's Ole Miss team was the only SEC win for AU, and then we hired Tuberville for head coach, which worked out OK except for $aban was at UAT in 2007 and TT pushed Al Borges out after 2007 and hired Tony Franklin and everything imploded.