So what is the truth?

[OnthePlains 2,014]

I have been an Auburn fan long enough to understand why the outside media sees Auburn in a negative light most of the time what with the PAST NCAA issues, the perceived interference from powerful boosters and certain ex-head coaches, having former coaches still on payroll for years after they leave because of bad buyout clauses, etc. However, most if not all of those issues seem to be resolved and no longer an issue, and its not inconceivable that Auburn could be going for a third national title in the last ten years in football if not for the 04 screw job so the Auburn job should be looked at as a top flight job. Yet still I hear things like on PTI yesterday where Kornheiser and Jason Whitlock are discussing Thamel's article and Gus going to Texas and Whitlock starts listing the best jobs in college football and then says in a smartass fashion...and Auburn aint one of them....

Am I missing something? Does Auburn not have excellent faciliities, a rich tradition, a recent natty, a loyal fanbase, a fertile recruitiing area and everything else a coach would want? So what is the truth about this job? I love Auburn as I imagine you all do so it may be hard to look at this in a non-bias way but I would like to hear you guys opinions.

[AwesomeDave 1]

It's just because Auburn hasn't traditionally been in the running for a national championship every year for a string of years. If we went and bought up all the good players for a decade and were in the hunt every year, we would be considered a top job.

[lutzintheredzone 0]

Its because we keep stepping on Alabama's Dynasty, ESPN loves 3 teams Alabama,Notre Dame and Oregon

[telling tiger 156]

There are a trillion talking heads taking up worthless airtime on broadcast television. If you know what you are, other people attempting to devalue you will not matter. There will always be greater and lesser in the world. Next.

[lutzintheredzone 0]

Alabama wasnt in running for title for 17 years and then bout 12 yrs prior to that, From whoever replaced Bear to Shula they only one the title in 92 w Stallings

[AU Counsel 64]

I'll take off my orange and blue glasses and see if I can help. I don't give half a damn what these moron talking heads say about Auburn, except for any effect it has on recruiting.

The Auburn Job - Recruiting

1. Alabama has a lot of in state talent from which to draw, and Auburn geographically is in a good location to draw heavily from Georgia and Florida as well.

2. The conservative culture of Auburn is a recruiting advantage with many parents. Kids can get in trouble anywhere, but Auburn is not as much of a party school as many other universities.

3. Auburn has good academics, but not ridiculous admission standards, and the University features a wide variety of degree programs to suit the diverse career goals of our athletes.

4. Auburn has one of the ten biggest stadiums in the country, and one of the ten biggest football budgets. A coach has no reason to want for what finances can bring. We have consistently paid fair salaries to our head coaches, and spent generously on assistants, again as one of the best programs to fund assistant coaches.

5. We have put a LOT of players in the NFL.

The Auburn Job - Logistics and Funding

1. We play in the best division and best conference in college football. While being in the SEC West can be daunting, our last three head coaches have each had an undefeated season, which is more impressive when you consider the general incompetence of two of those three.

2. Auburn is a top fifteen program in terms of wins.

3. Again, money is rarely a problem, as we spend big across the board on football.

4. Again, facilities. We have great facilities and continue to improve them. Should Malzahn post four straight ten win seasons, don't be surprised to see further stadium expansion, at least with more boxes and some additional seating in the north endzone.

The Auburn Job - Intangibles

1. Our fans travel, and support the team. We have a fanbase that is demanding and restless, but you know as a coach that when you make a decent bowl, Auburn fans will be there.

2. Our compliance staff is top notch.

3. Our program is steeped in tradition. National championships, conference championships, Heisman winners, former players who remain active..

Are there programs with a better combination of these factors? Well yes, but few offer so much of a better combination to be a major upgrade over Auburn. For all their inherent advantages, USC, Texas, Oregon, Ohio State, Florida State, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Michigan and others have won the same or less national championships than us in the BCS era. Florida, LSU, and Alabama have won more, but if not for a 2004 snub, only Alabama would be able to say that, and they have the fortune of employing the most successful head coach since Bear Bryant.

Auburn is a destination job, and while Trustee meddling, Athletic Director incompetence, and occasional distractions are a pain, almost all jobs have their negatives. Nick Saban may have been given complete control at Alabama, but in a one loss season, he has to deal with idiot fans sending death threats to one of his players, and he coaches in a town that rewarded Bill Curry's two loss season in 1989 with a brick through his office window. We have no reason to fear some other school poaching our head coach. If Gus is successful, then he'll only leave Auburn if he chooses, and not because of some other program's grass being so much greener.

[IronMan70 3,277]

Whitlock is wrong about Auburn being a top job, just like he was wrong that Auburn would not be able to run the ball on bama and just like he was wrong about Auburn having no chance to win the IB. The more success we have, the more people like him look ridiculous.

For crying out loud, he is parroting Thamel's opinion. THAMEL no less.

[rbrigby 0]

Auburn is a top notch football program! We have a history of winning, In my lifetime (34 years) we have been undefeated 3 times, should have had 3 national titles (4 if we weren't on probation in 1993 - 1983 was crap no way around that and 2004 was just wrong and everyone knew it then and knows it now). We have great facilities and top notch players year in and year out. Please tell me a school where 78000 showed up for their spring game. These guys are in love with their own voice and 4 schools (USC, Michigan, Ohio State and that school in turdville). We pay our coaches very well and we play in the best conference in CFB. How is it we are not a top school? Is it because we play in the state with the turds and the ghost of bryant, that was 30 years ago, let's all move on. War Damn Eagle and Pete Thammil/Thayer Evans/the entire SI & ESPN Crew can go straight to hell or tuscaloosa, whichever is closer!

[OnthePlains 2,014]

I'll take off my orange and blue glasses and see if I can help. I don't give half a damn what these moron talking heads say about Auburn, except for any effect it has on recruiting.

The Auburn Job - Recruiting

1. Alabama has a lot of in state talent from which to draw, and Auburn geographically is in a good location to draw heavily from Georgia and Florida as well.

2. The conservative culture of Auburn is a recruiting advantage with many parents. Kids can get in trouble anywhere, but Auburn is not as much of a party school as many other universities.

3. Auburn has good academics, but not ridiculous admission standards, and the University features a wide variety of degree programs to suit the diverse career goals of our athletes.

4. Auburn has one of the ten biggest stadiums in the country, and one of the ten biggest football budgets. A coach has no reason to want for what finances can bring. We have consistently paid fair salaries to our head coaches, and spent generously on assistants, again as one of the best programs to fund assistant coaches.

The Auburn Job - Logistics

1. We play in the best division and best conference in college football. While being in the SEC West can be daunting, our last three head coaches have each had an undefeated season, which is more impressive when you consider the general incompetence of two of those three.

2. Auburn is a top fifteen program in terms of wins.

3. Again, money is rarely a problem, as we spend big across the board on football.

I guess thats what I worry about too, the recruiting angle. I am used to hearing these guys bash Auburn but he did it in such a dismissive way that a recruit watching that or a recruits mom or dad might be taken aback at how matter of fact he said it.

[lutzintheredzone 0]

Its simple when Alabama sucked prior to Saban they loved Auburn. But when Saban bred life back into the south's most dominant program it became about ratings and money. I say south because their not the winniest program and Michigan claims 23 titles or something like that. Texas as the most wins overall

[AubTiger14 0]

I think people, like the national media, give us a reputation of being overshadowed by Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, and because of that our successes are diminished and our failures are magnified. It's hard for people outside of the Auburn Family to figure us out, because it seems like for three years we are awesome and then for the next three years we aren't very good.

Auburn has made some mistakes in the past, nobody can deny that. NCAA violations, coaching hires, and Jetgate. But because we don't have 17,000 "claimed" national championships, or maybe aren't the biggest in-state school, our mistakes don't get overlooked as quickly.

We live in a "now" world and I think people look at Auburn's recent years and see a failed coach outside of one year, a year in which many people think we cheated. They see off-the-field issues and NCAA allegations and they think this is an Auburn problem, it was in fact a Gene Chizik problem.

We do have a lot to offer. Money, recruiting, fans, facilities, SEC, and no more Bobby Lowder. If someone wants to make the argument that Texas, USC, Alabama, Florida, etc. are better jobs than Auburn, then they would probably have a lot of valid points. But, I truly believe this Auburn program is on the right track and is quickly becoming a better and better job. Hopefully Gus feels that way as well.

[PoetTiger 1,901]

They are conditioned to think that there are only so many powerhouse programs (USC,Updyke U, Michigan, Penn St, Texas, etc) In reality more parity exists today and with Auburn being in the SEC with great facilities, fan support, alumni, player tradition etc. It is a premiere job in the country - they are not experts just people who happen to have a forum to voice their opinions, which are never factual. IMO opinion AU is easily a top seven job in the country. Look at the fan support, loyalty, $$$, recruiting area, opportunity to play in big games (been on ESPN more than any other team) athletic department willing to spend to win. I could go on, the only thing some of those other schools have is more MNC and if AU counted them like they did then AU would be right there with them...

[aucanucktiger 1,805]

Ha ha ha. Yale has 30 undefeated seasons, 28 against the "major competition" of the day (pre 1945). 1968 was their last undefeated season. They claim 35 national championships. Yale has 15 seasons where NOBODY SCORED A TOUCHDOWN AGAINST THEM. They started playing football 20 years before Alabama or Auburn.

Just saying.

[AUGradinTX 0]

I can't think of a single head coach that left Auburn for a "bigger" job.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

I'd say the truth is somewhere in-between. I love Auburn, but the simple fact of the matter is there are other schools with larger alumni bases (and thus more financial resources to overpay a coach) and easier recruiting grounds (even though West Alabama/East Georgia is a pretty freaking great place to be).

Let's define "best job" as the place that pays the most, has the most money to throw around on other stuff, and has the easiest access to great talent. In that case, Auburn would be behind Texas or Florida or LSU or Alabama and probably a few others. I think that's a fair and relatively objective statement, and I don't fault people for making it.

The first issue I have is what the heck does "best" really mean? How many "best" jobs are there? Are we talking top 5? Are we talking top 10? I'd put Auburn in the top 10, but objectively, I'm okay with stating Auburn probably isn't in the top 5. So that's issue one. How many are we talking? Even on the objective criteria above, Auburn is a GREAT job. We love throwing new contracts at successful coaches. We love building new facilities. We have ready access to Alabama, Georgia and Florida with easy roads to cherry-pick elsewhere. Auburn always has talent. Period. And both the distant and recent past shows you can win BIG at Auburn. We had three coaches between Dye and Malzahn. All of them posted undefeated seasons. EVERYONE wins at Auburn.

The second issue I have is the "best job" definition excludes subjective stuff. Having to deal with Alabama fans is a negative. Having to carve out time (in an already completely, ridiculously overloaded schedule) for the Longhorn Network is a negative. Auburn may have its negatives as well, but if a guy fits, Auburn has never been a stepping stone job. Dye coached here for a decade and left because of self-made issues. Bowden coached here six years and buried himself. Tuberville coached here a decade and was replaced when people thought the program stalled. Chizik lost the team. This isn't a place people make quick stops on the way to their next destination. It's a place that either fits (Dye, Tuberville) or it doesn't (Bowden), but if it fits, coaches tend to stick around for a long time because the objective quality of the program (again, everyone wins here) combined with the subjective fit (small town, slightly less pressurized than a Texas or Alabama, etc.) makes this a great job.

[AURandy56 148]

I heard a bit of the Thamel interview on Finebaum's show yesterday afternoon, and of course the past issues with the NCAA were brought up. What wasn't discussed was that AU has not been in any trouble with the NCAA in over 20 years. and that includes the Cam Newton situation which was thoroughly investigated by the NCAA and they found NOTHING. However, nothing was brought up about that other team in the state being on probation for one reason or another for most of the same past 20 years. It wasn't brought up that both that team and LSU were on NCAA probation when they played for the national championship in 2011.

Thamel's sudden love for Gus Mazhan is probably because he knows Gus has the ability to level the playing field, and do it legitimately, something that other team hasn't done in quite some time now.

[BornAU76 398]

Thamel is a pot-stirrer and the fact we are even discussing his ridiculous article just feeds into his ego and continued employment.

His 'article' is not even worth discussing as it holds no merit or facts whatsoever, it's just plain garbage. Thamel is a low-life, bottom feeding writer, nothing more.

[CJBas 4]

When asessing how good a job is I'll take the words and actions of the guy who has the job over that of someone who simply hate that school.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Just a little fact for all that are worried. Auburn

Has not had a coach leave for another school since like 1922. Only way Gus leaves if someone tells him he can't run the team like he wants.y goodness, Gus's favorite hangout is the Waffle House . If you think Gus is about money then you don't know Gus well. This is all about selling hits by the haters. Gus will retire from AU. WDE

[TheBlueVue 177]

Here's the truth. WGAS what Tony Kornheiser or Jason Whitlock say or think? They're entitled to their opinion but it means absolutely nothing to anybody but them. Its gotten to the point, with me, that I refuse to watch anything on ESPN but a game. Their pundits and talking heads are a joke and really prove that they're nothing but clueless asshats every time they open their mouth.

[auburnatl1 5,253]

So do we want a coach nobody else wants? This comes with the territory. Every program that has a top coach has to deal with this. Basically we live in a world today where every program, every year worries whether if they should keep their coach, or can they keep their coach.

The second worry is much better.

[AubTiger14 0]

If you hear any National Media person list their top 10 jobs it would probably go as follows:

1. Texas

2. Alabama

3. USC

4. Notre Dame

5. Michigan

6. Ohio St.

7. Florida

8. LSU

9. Oklahoma

10. Penn St.

The order might be a little different, but those would pretty much be the teams.

1. Texas - Great Job, most resources, Longhorn Network, but are about to fire a legendary coach and play in an inferior conference.

2. Alabama - Resources, SEC, tradition, but have the most ignorant and unrealistic fan base in the country. Saban's wife has said that herself.

3. USC- Tradition, Resources, Pac -12, but have had NCAA trouble.

4. Notre Dame - Brand Name, Tradition, but haven't been relevant or good in forever.

5. Michigan - Tradition, but play an a horrible conference, recruiting isn't as good and kids would rather play in the south.

6. Ohio St. - "See Michigan". Are about to go undefeated and there is a legit argument they shouldn't play in the championship.

7. Florida - SEC, Recruiting pipeline, but reputation of off-the-field issues, current coach is under fire after winning coach of the year a year ago

8. LSU - SEC, recruiting, recent success, but have a nasty fan base, and one of their greatest coaches has been on the hot seat frequently.

9. Oklahoma - Tradition, but always second to Texas, get Texas' leftovers in recruiting, play in an inferior conference.

10. Penn St. - Tradition, but loads of issues, play in horrible conference

There might be some other schools you would put in over Penn St. or others, but the bottom line is no job is perfect. These national media guys base the "best jobs" on traditional powerhouses, when in fact almost every school up north is way down and has been for a while. Southern kids do not want to leave the south, and the recruiting up there isn't as talented. The USC job just got filled, and I don't think any coach at Auburn would ever leave for another SEC school. You could argue that LSU, Florida, Bama, etc. are better jobs, but no so much better that you would leave Auburn. That leaves Texas and yes it's a great job. Nobody can argue against that. I hope Gus doesn't leave, but the truth is that IF, and I repeat IF, he did Auburn could get a great coach because any young, up-and-coming coach would jump at the chance to coach a top-half of the SEC program with the resources and fans we have.

[berrytgr 0]

That's just the opinion of that particular journalist. We all know Thamel is worthless as a legitimate journalist, and Whitlock is entitled to his opinion. There are other national journalist that do like us. Michael Wilbon, the normal host of PTI, is often very complimentary of us. He said at least three times in the two weeks leading up to the Iron Bowl that he thought Jordan-Hare stadium was the toughest place to win a game in the country, even over Death Valley (LSU). Gregg Doyel at CBS has always seemed to take up for us, even when the Cam witch-hunt was at full fervor.

I think some of us let the opinions of a journalist bother them too much. It is impossible that all of them will like a powerful football program. There are a lot of journalists in love with process at bama, but there are probably more that were happy to see us take them down. The more success Gus has the more we are going to see his name get mentioned when (or if) a job like UT comes open. It is one of the side-effects of our success. We are not the massive state school like most of our SEC competition and from the media point of view that makes us ripe for the picking. But among coaches, they know how prime this job is. We have a great chance of keeping Gus for a long time, but if we don't it will not be the end of the program. We can go out and get another great coach.

[slyinsocal 831]

Look. These commentators and writers have the attention span of a child. All they want to do, is hit and run. No research. No homework. They all go along with the rest of their buddies. They don't want to go against the generally perceived point of view. They don't want to spend any time on it. They are LAZY. Only winning at a high level, with no controversy or bad years sprinkled in, for a consistent period of time will change their perception. I'm hoping that Gus sees the value that Auburn brings. Auburn is somewhat on the periphery. Small town, great public education system, not in a major media market. It's not in a capital city, where it's too close to the political power brokers. It's only game in town. You also don't have a "Longhorn" type network watching your every move 24/7. Why does Chizik and his family choose to remain in Auburn? Why does Tuberville feel comfortable coming back spending time with his walk on son? If anything, it demonstrates Auburn is a destination, not a stepping stone.

[homersapien 11,513]

I'd say the truth is somewhere in-between. I love Auburn, but the simple fact of the matter is there are other schools with larger alumni bases (and thus more financial resources to overpay a coach) and easier recruiting grounds (even though West Alabama/East Georgia is a pretty freaking great place to be).

Let's define "best job" as the place that pays the most, has the most money to throw around on other stuff, and has the easiest access to great talent. In that case, Auburn would be behind Texas or Florida or LSU or Alabama and probably a few others. I think that's a fair and relatively objective statement, and I don't fault people for making it.

The first issue I have is what the heck does "best" really mean? How many "best" jobs are there? Are we talking top 5? Are we talking top 10? I'd put Auburn in the top 10, but objectively, I'm okay with stating Auburn probably isn't in the top 5. So that's issue one. How many are we talking? Even on the objective criteria above, Auburn is a GREAT job. We love throwing new contracts at successful coaches. We love building new facilities. We have ready access to Alabama, Georgia and Florida with easy roads to cherry-pick elsewhere. Auburn always has talent. Period. And both the distant and recent past shows you can win BIG at Auburn. We had three coaches between Dye and Malzahn. All of them posted undefeated seasons. EVERYONE wins at Auburn.

The second issue I have is the "best job" definition excludes subjective stuff. Having to deal with Alabama fans is a negative. Having to carve out time (in an already completely, ridiculously overloaded schedule) for the Longhorn Network is a negative. Auburn may have its negatives as well, but if a guy fits, Auburn has never been a stepping stone job. Dye coached here for a decade and left because of self-made issues. Bowden coached here six years and buried himself. Tuberville coached here a decade and was replaced when people thought the program stalled. Chizik lost the team. This isn't a place people make quick stops on the way to their next destination. It's a place that either fits (Dye, Tuberville) or it doesn't (Bowden), but if it fits, coaches tend to stick around for a long time because the objective quality of the program (again, everyone wins here) combined with the subjective fit (small town, slightly less pressurized than a Texas or Alabama, etc.) makes this a great job.

Very well stated.

You nailed it. Auburn easily meets the objective requirements and there's no real accounting for the subjective qualities. I just hope Gus has that "feel" for Auburn as home as so many of us do. There's no other reason for him to leave.

To blow off Auburn with such a comment is so ignorant and prejudiced. Anyone who would seriously make it knows very little about what he is talking about.