Trooper is gone

[keesler 5,924]

I understand this firing but it opens a couple huge questions. See the recruiting board for exact quotes but some of our biggest verbal commitments said things like "I love Auburn and hope Trooper stays". Do THEY stay w/ us now.

Bigger long term question: the life blood in successful college ball is recruiting. Horrible game day coaches (e.g. Frank Beamer, Phillip Fulmer, Larry Coker) win big and good ones (e.g. Tator Tot, Tyrone Willingham) crash & burn based on recruiting. I'm more interested in who will lead the Auburn recruiting charge than I was in this DC pick. (fwiw, Joker Phillips is a proven southern recruiter and very good position coach, notwithstanding his KY stint).

Who care...if they de-commit because they're buddies with Trooper...then BYE. For one, it ain't about being friends. Secondly, it undermines a HCs authority. We will be fine.

you dont understand College football or the athletes that play the game

you just see an athletic black kid wearing your colors

clueless

trooper was one of the best things we had, i only wish the best for him

Who mentioned anything of race?

i did and this is me calling out everyone who repeatedly called trooper a "thug" ONLY because of what he looks like

pieces of crap i tell you, makes me sick

+1

UltraSwagnus gets it.

WHO CALLED TROOPER A THUG ON THIS BOARD?

[smackydoodle 200]

All this talk about TT being the problem at Auburn is completely unfounded and its extremely easy for some of you to point your finger at a familiar target because you've been conditioned as such. Also, most of the people on this board don't care bout the players, only wins and that's fine...Trooper played the big brother role to a lot of those kids because they needed that in their like..

Troop was genuinely concerned about their welfare off the field, where it counted the most. In order to do get these kids to open up to you, you need an intimate relationship with them so when you discuss the pitfalls of life and how to avoid them, they are more than willing to listen....

But I know yall don't care about the players for real so carry on with your irrational discussion..

You can be a strong influential leader in someone's life without having to be their best friend.

[keesler 5,924]

All this talk about TT being the problem at Auburn is completely unfounded and its extremely easy for some of you to point your finger at a familiar target because you've been conditioned as such. Also, most of the people on this board don't care bout the players, only wins and that's fine...Trooper played the big brother role to a lot of those kids because they needed that in their like..

Troop was genuinely concerned about their welfare off the field, where it counted the most. In order to do get these kids to open up to you, you need an intimate relationship with them so when you discuss the pitfalls of life and how to avoid them, they are more than willing to listen....

But I know yall don't care about the players for real so carry on with your irrational discussion..

Well, thank goodness AU has a team minister, Brother Chette Williams that is available 24/7 to counsel, build relationships, mentor, and be a brother/father type figure for the players in the future.

[ShugMan55 0]

I think this comes down to a couple of things.

1. Gus thinks he can do better at the WR coach position. If that's the case, Troop would have to be at least bumped to another coaching position on the team.

2. There are whispers that Troop (but not him alone) was part of the discipline problem. He sometimes wanted to be the players' friend more than their coach or disciplinarian.

I have also heard that Gus and Troop didn't always see eye to eye back when he was here the last time in terms of philosophy. If that's the case, or even partly the case, Gus made the decision he had to make. Will it hurt recruiting? Probably. Hopefully Gus can replace him with a coach or coaches that can make up ground in that respect but balance it with holding kids accountable on and off the field.

^^^^^^This. I dont care how many 5 star kids he could recruit. The majority of them didnt pan out once they arrived at auburn. Do we really want a team that has so much talent but never respected the coaching staff? As we have learned by this past season, with the off the field problems, security firm to enforce a curfew, arrests, shooting's.........its time to clean house.Not to mention the ncaa lurking once again. Good move by CGM. I support it.

Exactly.

Chiziks top ten recruiting classes over the years resulted in the worst Auburn team I have ever seen (I saw the Barfield teams play). Why on earth would anyone want to keep the same recruiting formula. I saw many 3 star athlete / 9-3 Auburn teams over the years.

[msg6367 1]

I'm a big Trooper fan but I respect Coach Malzahn for making the necessary changes and asserting his authority. As others have said, we may lose a couple of recruits but if a recruit is not 100% wanting to play for AU maybe another school will be better suited for them. No high school kid should try and dictate what coaches stay in place.

In regard to Scott's comments, I understand his frustation but all will work out in the end. His fb posting, wishing Trooper well, was much better than his tweet.

Trooper would be a good hire for Butch at TN.

[TeBoneAU 89]

Will this hurt AU in recruiting...I think it will but I hope not however only time will tell.

Having the personel to recruit the best players in the country is equaly as important as having

the coaches and facilities for their development IMO.

[chimesAU 89]

I understand this firing but it opens a couple huge questions. See the recruiting board for exact quotes but some of our biggest verbal commitments said things like "I love Auburn and hope Trooper stays". Do THEY stay w/ us now.

Bigger long term question: the life blood in successful college ball is recruiting. Horrible game day coaches (e.g. Frank Beamer, Phillip Fulmer, Larry Coker) win big and good ones (e.g. Tator Tot, Tyrone Willingham) crash & burn based on recruiting. I'm more interested in who will lead the Auburn recruiting charge than I was in this DC pick. (fwiw, Joker Phillips is a proven southern recruiter and very good position coach, notwithstanding his KY stint).

Who care...if they de-commit because they're buddies with Trooper...then BYE. For one, it ain't about being friends. Secondly, it undermines a HCs authority. We will be fine.

you dont understand College football or the athletes that play the game

you just see an athletic black kid wearing your colors

clueless

trooper was one of the best things we had, i only wish the best for him

Who mentioned anything of race?

i did and this is me calling out everyone who repeatedly called trooper a "thug" ONLY because of what he looks like

pieces of crap i tell you, makes me sick

+1

UltraSwagnus gets it.

WHO CALLED TROOPER A THUG ON THIS BOARD?

We've had multiple people doing it. One guy literally called him a thug ,not because of his actions, but because he wore his hat backwards. There was actually a whole thread where this guy posted on almost every page about how much of a "thug" TT was. Can't remember the poster's name but he came across as very ignorant and almost racist. Surprised you missed it.

[TacoCinco 0]

Those who play the race card are generally the most racist ones out there.

[magnumtiger 0]

I expect to see CTT wind up back on Rocky Top with Butch Jones. If so good hire for Butch and a bad situation for us.

FWIW, I liked CTT but understand the need for him to move on at this time. Whether it was ALL Gus or others helped him make that decision.

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

ST is coming off like a little crybaby. He doesn't know everything that goes on behind the scenes so he can't possibly know everything there is about this 100%

I'm telling ya dude... he comes out saying something like this, there's a reason. Again, he's not 100% in his track record, but he's usually pretty selective with what he says.

Some things he needs to keep to himself. A lot of the players follow him and the last thing they need to see is someone that is screaming at the top of his lungs that the head coach isn't 100% in charge

Exactly! Dumb move IMO

I'm not saying what ST did was right, I'm just stating that he knows what's going on more times than not and he usually doesn't post random nonsense.

ST is wrong on some stuff but he is 100% right on this one. JJ is back up to his old tricks. I'll roll Toomers the day JJ is gone.

[CadillacCone 0]

Check the recruiting thread. Foster de-committed.

[Auburn20041345162806 0]

No inside info and I guess we will see if it was the right choice or not but I can't say I didn't see it coming the more articles that popped up with kids saying that if he stayed they would stay. Is a hard deal to suddenly walk into a room and be the boss of the guys that used to be your co workers its impossible to do when you have kids saying if this coach stays so will I. I don't know for sure but I think troop had a much better chance of being retained before recruits started tossing their influence. Unlike most I sorta liked his side line antics kids enjoyed him and wanted to be around him but it really just looked like it would be a situation where if he is on the side line there would be doubt as to whe the power is, it can't be with assistants or players IMO that is the one thing Saban does have right. Hopefully we can still get some of the top talent he was in with and I h ate that any of these guys have to go but I guess Gus is doing what he has to do. People wanted someone to take charge, it appears Gus is doing that in spades.

[mustache eagle 2,410]

Well, i would like to have seen TT stay as long as malzahn was clear with how he wants the culture/discipline of the program going forward.

if gus saw reason to move on without TT then i am ok with that. if he wanted to keep him, i am ok with that.

if gus utilized the admin to be the bad guy to have TT gone, then i am not ok with that, but understand.

if gus wanted to keep TT, but the admin removes him then i am ticked about that ... gotta let the coach run his show.

one thing i am sure of is we will never know the true answer to any of the above except TT is gone and the program has to move forward.

[TacoCinco 0]

I understand this firing but it opens a couple huge questions. See the recruiting board for exact quotes but some of our biggest verbal commitments said things like "I love Auburn and hope Trooper stays". Do THEY stay w/ us now.

Bigger long term question: the life blood in successful college ball is recruiting. Horrible game day coaches (e.g. Frank Beamer, Phillip Fulmer, Larry Coker) win big and good ones (e.g. Tator Tot, Tyrone Willingham) crash & burn based on recruiting. I'm more interested in who will lead the Auburn recruiting charge than I was in this DC pick. (fwiw, Joker Phillips is a proven southern recruiter and very good position coach, notwithstanding his KY stint).

Who care...if they de-commit because they're buddies with Trooper...then BYE. For one, it ain't about being friends. Secondly, it undermines a HCs authority. We will be fine.

you dont understand College football or the athletes that play the game

you just see an athletic black kid wearing your colors

clueless

trooper was one of the best things we had, i only wish the best for him

Who mentioned anything of race?

i did and this is me calling out everyone who repeatedly called trooper a "thug" ONLY because of what he looks like

pieces of crap i tell you, makes me sick

+1

UltraSwagnus gets it.

WHO CALLED TROOPER A THUG ON THIS BOARD?

We've had multiple people doing it. One guy literally called him a thug ,not because of his actions, but because he wore his hat backwards. There was actually a whole thread where this guy posted on almost every page about how much of a "thug" TT was. Can't remember the poster's name but he came across as very ignorant and almost racist. Surprised you missed it.

Have you ever read the AL.com boards? If so, you'd know that bama fans are the ones that call TT a thug. Believe it or not, there are bama fans on this board that pose as Auburn fans.

Seriously, grow up. You'll never move beyond race if you continuously accuse others of being racist.

[minister of music 0]

Trooper had to go..The arrests and other bad pr was attributed to him(does not matter if that was true or not). Malzhan had to start afresh in order to show all that His Staff and This program is not like Chizik's had become. I liked Trooper and have no idea what kind of person he is except what i have heard.

[TigerNBham 3]

Check the recruiting thread. Foster de-committed.

If anyone wants to come to AU, and does not because of the recruiter, Via Con Dios.

[DyeCampAlum 335]

Guys, we'd better buckle up. Every program in the SEC has good leadership right now. Every one. And we're at the bottom of our division in terms of player performance and player development. We may be about to take a big recruiting hit -- or we may not.

I'm pro-Gus, and I hope things work great. I will support him, and I will be patient. But this not a time to be leaking oil.

[agent_jack 28]

All this talk about TT being the problem at Auburn is completely unfounded and its extremely easy for some of you to point your finger at a familiar target because you've been conditioned as such. Also, most of the people on this board don't care bout the players, only wins and that's fine...Trooper played the big brother role to a lot of those kids because they needed that in their like..

Troop was genuinely concerned about their welfare off the field, where it counted the most. In order to do get these kids to open up to you, you need an intimate relationship with them so when you discuss the pitfalls of life and how to avoid them, they are more than willing to listen....

But I know yall don't care about the players for real so carry on with your irrational discussion..

While this may be true, these kids did not need someone to undermine the HC and step between them and him. I am grateful for the things Troop brought to the table but I am OK with the change.

Don't get me wrong, I am on the front seat of the Gus Bus and support whatever he does 100%. I just am disgusted with the unwarranted attack on Trooper Taylor...

Also, I never saw Troop undermine the coach, and according to some of the players(they all loved Coach Chizik btw), that was not the case at all

[AUbritt 611]

Well, i would like to have seen TT stay as long as malzahn was clear with how he wants the culture/discipline of the program going forward.

if gus saw reason to move on without TT then i am ok with that. if he wanted to keep him, i am ok with that.

if gus utilized the admin to be the bad guy to have TT gone, then i am not ok with that, but understand.

if gus wanted to keep TT, but the admin removes him then i am ticked about that ... gotta let the coach run his show.

one thing i am sure of is we will never know the true answer to any of the above except TT is gone and the program has to move forward.

Yes. Whether this move is a good one turns, for me, on whether it really was Malzahn's decision.

Oh, and for those of you doubting that TT was called a thug multiple times on this board, it's true. I saw it. May have been deleted, but folks did it.

[agent_jack 28]

All this talk about TT being the problem at Auburn is completely unfounded and its extremely easy for some of you to point your finger at a familiar target because you've been conditioned as such. Also, most of the people on this board don't care bout the players, only wins and that's fine...Trooper played the big brother role to a lot of those kids because they needed that in their like..

Troop was genuinely concerned about their welfare off the field, where it counted the most. In order to do get these kids to open up to you, you need an intimate relationship with them so when you discuss the pitfalls of life and how to avoid them, they are more than willing to listen....

But I know yall don't care about the players for real so carry on with your irrational discussion..

You can be a strong influential leader in someone's life without having to be their best friend.

And you can be an even bigger influence by being one, depends on the situation.

A friend is one who loves you and sometimes love from the right people mean everything

[im4au 44]

I wish he could get Craig away from FSU.

+1

+1

[DyeCampAlum 335]

Scott Reaves ‏@ScottR334

I am so pissed! I can't believe Coach Troop was let go. I also KNOW that this wasn't Coach Malzahn's decision. Thanks Jay and Rich!

If this is true, umpft.

Beyond that, there's no dodging the amount of racism that's gone into the anti-Trooper talk from Auburn fans and from rivals. Whether he's shady or not, I have no idea. But just because he's black, charismatic, and wears his hat backwards.... Oh, and successful. I hope we're on the right side of the universe on this one.

[kickerman97 3]

All this talk about TT being the problem at Auburn is completely unfounded and its extremely easy for some of you to point your finger at a familiar target because you've been conditioned as such. Also, most of the people on this board don't care bout the players, only wins and that's fine...Trooper played the big brother role to a lot of those kids because they needed that in their like..

Troop was genuinely concerned about their welfare off the field, where it counted the most. In order to do get these kids to open up to you, you need an intimate relationship with them so when you discuss the pitfalls of life and how to avoid them, they are more than willing to listen....

But I know yall don't care about the players for real so carry on with your irrational discussion..

While this may be true, these kids did not need someone to undermine the HC and step between them and him. I am grateful for the things Troop brought to the table but I am OK with the change.

Don't get me wrong, I am on the front seat of the Gus Bus and support whatever he does 100%. I just am disgusted with the unwarranted attack on Trooper Taylor...

Also, I never saw Troop undermine the coach, and according to some of the players(they all loved Coach Chizik btw), that was not the case at all

I agree with you but I witnessed him undermine the HC more than once. Let's put it this way, in my opinion it is not OK for anyone to get between a player being chewed out for something they did and the HC. That to me is undermining and let's the players know they don't have to listen. It may just be me, but I for one do not manage my employees that way and I certainly don't let them run the show.

[agent_jack 28]

All this talk about TT being the problem at Auburn is completely unfounded and its extremely easy for some of you to point your finger at a familiar target because you've been conditioned as such. Also, most of the people on this board don't care bout the players, only wins and that's fine...Trooper played the big brother role to a lot of those kids because they needed that in their like..

Troop was genuinely concerned about their welfare off the field, where it counted the most. In order to do get these kids to open up to you, you need an intimate relationship with them so when you discuss the pitfalls of life and how to avoid them, they are more than willing to listen....

But I know yall don't care about the players for real so carry on with your irrational discussion..

Well, thank goodness AU has a team minister, Brother Chette Williams that is available 24/7 to counsel, build relationships, mentor, and be a brother/father type figure for the players in the future.

Is Chet a recruited? How many players say that if AU keeps Chet, I'm still on board?

Answer me this and then we can continue

[rockfordpi 91]

Ok, now I'm feeling better about the hire of Gus. It appears he is putting his stamp on the program and not just a yes man. Hopefully he can find a good replacement.

I hope you're right. I worry it wasn't solely Malzahn that wanted Trooper gone.

I agree, I fear someone else may still be meddling