McFU

A winning team for that year sure, let us not forget that GM hadn't recruited for the OL for a couple of years and was going to be an issue whether he stayed or not.

It may be like for a couple of years as the new culture takes root but I also think the appeal of Auburn is a lot better than most places and will attract a lot of higher start players that will fit the new culture. One thing people seem to forget is that the Transfer Portal is still fairly new and other schools lose a lot of players too. I mean look at KD Johnson on the basketball team...he came from UGA. Isn't it possible that good to great football players from other schools would transfer here because: 1) We now run a style of football that translates to the NFL 2) Would be starters as opposed to backups Don't misunderstand me and think that I'm 100% certain this works out. I just think it is possible with the right mindset which I think the coach has. The main thing for me is if Harsin adapts to the recruiting part of the job. I think he expected more of that to fall on the coordinators than him which is why he hired Bobo and Mason (mainly for their recruiting ability). It is obvious the X's and O's part didn't work between them. So if Harsin learns that he needs to attend all the events, try to connect a little bit with more players/recruits, then I think the future is there. I mean even Saban eventually let go of the idea of a great defense and game manager QB, so anything is possible.

Not all of us are depressed and miserable. Some of us actually feel the opposite because Harsin had the balls to call their bluff and still wants to be here after all of the mess that happened in the last week. I don't know if he will be successful or not but I'm of the opinion that the remaining players and anyone else he brings in will have a chip on their shoulder and want to prove people wrong. I think that mindset goes a long way in an athlete's performance on the field. I would much rather build a foundation of a football team with 3*'s that play sound fundamental football than 4 and 5*s who either are used in the incorrect role/position and/or not disciplined enough to not take stupid penalties (plenty of examples of this from the previous staff). Yeah this approach will not yield a championship right away but it should produce some consistency that can attract 4 and 5*s willing to play by Harsin's rules. The closest thing that comes to mind as an example of my point is the USA Men's ice hockey team from 1980. Definitely not the best players, hard ass coach, and playing for big stakes. And before people go and try to say I'm comparing the end results of that team to what will happen next football season let me stop you right there. I'm strictly talking about the mindset, type of player that can handle said mindset, and the sound fundamental performance it can produce.

RIP Nathan, your contributions to this board will never be forgotten. Even though I didn't know him personally you could tell he was a great person through his interactions on here.

But that is not what happened. He went to ESPN when the rumors about an affair started swirling about and he wanted to stop it ASAP. You are really grasping for reasons to fire the guy because you want a different coach.

and many of the UGA fans were calling for Kirby's head for continuing to play Stetson Bennett over JT Daniels. They won a natty with Bennett so maybe coaches actually know more than fans, no matter the team. The point of this response is that this whole thread is people speaking in absolutes when nobody know for sure what will happen. Here are just 2 of the many possibilities that could happen...not will happen. 1) Harsin stays and learn from his mistakes and in doing so will understand how to play the game to compete with other schools. Maybe he leaned too heavily on his other coaches to do the heavy lifting with recruiting and will now get more involved. That seems to make sense to me since he hired really good recruiters initially with Mason and Bobo. It is obvious that something didn't mesh personality/football related so they left or were fired. 2) Maybe Harsin is stubborn enough to continue the way he has been doing things and will crash and burn and set AU back even further. .

Fair enough, and there are people who would do the same if Harsin is fired. That is all my initial point was is that for every person that wants Harsin gone there is most likely someone that wants him retained. Oh and that people feel so strongly one way or the other so much so they will stop watching AU Football. People can still support the University without supporting football.

I would like to think and even hope most of the fanbase would stay and support whatever the outcome is, but the division is deep it seems.

They may or may not be actual alumni which is why I put that part in (). I don't know what the minimum amount to donate is but not every Alumni is funding athletics with large amounts of money. Even if a few alumni who donate a few thousand each year (or whatever the minimum is) leave then my statement is true. What I'm not saying is that alumni donors who leave will cripple the program because they left, just that they left.

Call them what you want, they will still have left which is all my point was. It doesn't matter the reason just there is enough divisiveness in the way this has played out that some people will be unhappy enough to leave. I'm not even advocating for one side or the other, just something I have noticed throughout the fan base whether it is here, Reddit, Facebook, or Twitter.

maybe they will. I just know that if a message board is as divided on this as it seems then a portion of the normal fanbase will be too. Lot's of Alumni (or so they say) on Reddit say they will pull their funding and stop watching AU Football. Like I said before there will be some people who stop rooting for AU Football no matter what happens.

and there will be a lot of folks who will do the same thing if he is fired. The problem is that no matter what happens there is a portion of the fanbase that is going to leave.

I swear this all feels like the TV series Friday Night lights except in place of Coach Taylor vs. Buddy Garrity we have Coach Harsin vs. TPB. Is there a possibility if Harsin survives that there would be "New" booster money who could come in to try and get rid of the good 'ol boys or does that Yella Fella have too strong of a hold? Surely there are other people in the area with large sums of money willing to support the school and let the coach be the coach.

My man crush Tony Fair is going to clog up that line and give Noah Cain no where to run!

If this was just a regular road game against a team we play every so often then sure, sit it out. If you have already been to that stadium then that might also be a reason to not go. However, this looks to be a bucket-list environment for a lot of folks so I'd say it is worth it if you can go and haven't been there before. I would if I could but I can't...3 young kids at home.

AU - 64 AS - 9

I knew it! This morning walking the kids to the bus stop for school it just felt different outside today, mostly in part to Ida rolling through.

Definitely cooler weather this morning with Ida moving over North Georgia today. Hopefully it stays cool for at least a couple of days. As far as The Nip goes, just bought a case a Sam Adams Jacko Pumpkin Ale and will be enjoying it during the first game. Nothing like drinking Fall seasonal beverages while watching Auburn play Football.

Me too! Especially since I picked him in the Man Crush thread

Praying for Alita and the family. May God's divine healing be poured upon her.

Mark My Words The defense will be near the top in the SEC allowing our offense plenty of drives to score. Special Teams will get both a return kickoff and punt return for TDs this season A TE will have the most receiving TDs on the team.

To be Fair, I had already picked him earlier in the thread

I didn't see it in the OP's post so if he is still available, I'm going with Tony Fair. Could be a good DL and help with the pass rush.

I think we can eventually get there with top 10 classes. I was mainly trying to point out that Auburn could improve a lot (especially against teams we should beat) just by playing sound fundamental football. As far as the KSU game, the point was that the game shouldn't have been that close given where the recruiting classes / talent levels were. The fact is was that close was because KSU played good football, not great but good. I'm of the belief that a motivated good football team can compete with a team loaded with talent but not developed. This should bode well playing against LSU and UGA. To beat UA consistently we will of course need both development and highly ranked recruits.

We have all seen what the past few recruiting classes (even highly ranked ones) have produced because we chased stars and not players of need. I'm all on board with getting lower star players that have a drive and work ethic than players higher stars with egos. I remember when AU played Bill Snyder's KSU team and barely pulled out a win there. KSU had a much lower recruiting class than AU but almost won the game. I believe that was because they played sound fundamental football which has been lacking at AU for awhile. I think the culture Harsin wants to have here at AU is sound fundamental football where everyone pulls their weight. If he can do that with mostly 3-4 stars that will immediately improve Auburn's program. That alone should get us back to dominating the lower ranked teams in the SEC instead of eeking out wins (Arkansas) or even losses (South Carolina). It may not change the record versus the top teams of the SEC at first but I think if you sprinkle in a few 5 stars here and there then that record could change as well. I'm not sure how long it will take to achieve this but I believe that starting with sound fundamental football leads to a better overall football product > then leads to better records > then better recruiting > then competing at the top of the SEC > which finally leads to NFL pipeline. Granted this is all up in the air as far as how it will play out, but I do see this as the most likely scenario where Auburn can be successful again. I'm not sure we would ever become the juggernaut UA is but that doesn't mean Auburn can't compete with them regularly.