Staff Changes

[Tiger 8,830]

I don't think its the talent. We get guys that all of our competition is wanting on their roster also. In 2012 people said the same thing about our talent when in fact we were just a QB away. Right now we look less talented because we are younger than a lot of teams. But just give it time and it will improve. IMO This year was just the other foot finally hitting the ground from 2013 as we got every conceivable break down to having to depend on Michigan State to beat Ohio State for us.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

So....and this is JMO, the actual results depend on what happens after the guys get here.

"There are enough players out there for everybody. What you do with 'em after you get 'em is more important than who you get". Pat Dye, circa 1990. So '64 is in accordance with Dye.

However, there's no denying that a player like Lawson, for example, makes a huge difference.

Something everyone needs to keep in mind when quoting coach Dye is that he coached in a different era when one team would occasionally have a superstar (see Bo Jackson). Now you get teams with 3 and 4 freak athletes at a time on them, and if you don't have at least one, you're already behind the 8-ball. The true test of a brilliant coach is if he can see real potential before it manifests.

You are right about needing a few superstars but considering we have signed the Mr Alabama for the last 4 years and a handful of other 5* kids...there has been no lack of "special players" at AU....the fact that some/many have not lived up to those 5* ratings ? ....now that's a different story.

Yea, but keep in mind that stars are a fabrication of recruiting services. I'm sure someone has run the numbers, but I would be willing to bet that more 5-stars end up being average at best than end up being superstars. Just look back at the national recruiting scene for the past few years. How many of those 5-star guys are household names now? And, of those, how many is it because of negative reasons?

Look at this year's top 5 QBs. One 5-star, one 4-star, two 3-star and one guy who wasn't even ranked and now he's in the freakin' Heisman. discussion.

You can also look at our 5-stars... Monty's pretty great and would be better if the refs would call holding on occasion. The same goes for Lawson. Roc could be amazing if he could stay healthy. Cowart is starting to settle in and has star potential. Tre was really making waves toward the end of the season. All 5 of them still have star potential.

As for Mr. Alabama... that title is about as hit and miss as it comes.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

I happen to agree with you. I think we are doing a good job recruiting. However, some folks insist that the problem is talent. If they are right, it's on the coaches. We would be recruiting literally all busts, which means that the coaches don't know how to evaluate talent.

We're doing a good job, better than most in the country, but still lagging behind some of our biggest rivals. Just look at the breakdown of our players vs. bama's players. We have great classes, but they have spectacular classes. That means we have to do more with what we have to beat them. This year, while they were throwing a top rated D at us, we were literally a solid, not spectacular, just sold, QB away from beating them. I honestly think a healthy Sean would have won the Iron Bowl. To me, that says we're doing a pretty darn good job using what we have.

[ausburn 159]

I agree wholeheartedly about taking the logical and longterm solution and hiring T-Rob as DC. It is the best solution and least damaging. My only question is, do we have the willpower at the top to make that decision and make it happen so that he is not lost again to someone else.

I wonder about that, but I also wonder whether T-Rob wants the job. I am not trying to support the rumors that there are 'organizational issues' under Gus. In fact, I am trying to figure out what the heck that even means. But IF there are, and IF they are making Boom unhappy, then surely they would also make T-Rob unhappy.

Too many if's on that rabbit trail.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

I have heard nothing about Gus even considering that Muschamp may leave. It has to be in his head though. As with all HCs, I am sure he has a list of potential OCs and DCs.

I would be willing to bet that Gus knows EXACTLY what Muschamp is doing. I doubt there is anything at all covert going on. If he's interviewing, Gus certainly knows. If he has things he wants changed, I'm sure he's made that clear to Gus. One thing I can tell you for absolute certain is that Gus knows FAR more than all of the people writing these articles.

Come on people, Will likes Auburn. Even if he decides to move on, he's not going to see how much destruction he can leave in his wake.

We need to stop thinking like the bama driven media and just relax. I'm sure there are a lot of reporters out there, who don't like Auburn, who are getting a nice laugh out of the meltdown from our fan base every time they mention one of our coaches.

[bigbird 60,580]

I have heard nothing about Gus even considering that Muschamp may leave. It has to be in his head though. As with all HCs, I am sure he has a list of potential OCs and DCs.

I would be willing to bet that Gus knows EXACTLY what Muschamp is doing. I doubt there is anything at all covert going on. If he's interviewing, Gus certainly knows. If he has things he wants changed, I'm sure he's made that clear to Gus. One thing I can tell you for absolute certain is that Gus knows FAR more than all of the people writing these articles.

Come on people, Will likes Auburn. Even if he decides to move on, he's not going to see how much destruction he can leave in his wake.

We need to stop thinking like the bama driven media and just relax. I'm sure there are a lot of reporters out there, who don't like Auburn, who are getting a nice laugh out of the meltdown from our fan base every time they mention one of our coaches.

^^^This

Both are professionals and people move around as coaches. Coaches rarely burn bridges doing so.

[autigeremt 6,706]

I have heard nothing about Gus even considering that Muschamp may leave. It has to be in his head though. As with all HCs, I am sure he has a list of potential OCs and DCs.

I would be willing to bet that Gus knows EXACTLY what Muschamp is doing. I doubt there is anything at all covert going on. If he's interviewing, Gus certainly knows. If he has things he wants changed, I'm sure he's made that clear to Gus. One thing I can tell you for absolute certain is that Gus knows FAR more than all of the people writing these articles.

Come on people, Will likes Auburn. Even if he decides to move on, he's not going to see how much destruction he can leave in his wake.

We need to stop thinking like the bama driven media and just relax. I'm sure there are a lot of reporters out there, who don't like Auburn, who are getting a nice laugh out of the meltdown from our fan base every time they mention one of our coaches.

^^^This

Both are professionals and people move around as coaches. Coaches rarely burn bridges doing so.

And both have been together the last two days on the trail.

[Strychnine 1,804]

I have heard nothing about Gus even considering that Muschamp may leave. It has to be in his head though. As with all HCs, I am sure he has a list of potential OCs and DCs.

I would be willing to bet that Gus knows EXACTLY what Muschamp is doing. I doubt there is anything at all covert going on. If he's interviewing, Gus certainly knows. If he has things he wants changed, I'm sure he's made that clear to Gus. One thing I can tell you for absolute certain is that Gus knows FAR more than all of the people writing these articles.

Come on people, Will likes Auburn. Even if he decides to move on, he's not going to see how much destruction he can leave in his wake.

We need to stop thinking like the bama driven media and just relax. I'm sure there are a lot of reporters out there, who don't like Auburn, who are getting a nice laugh out of the meltdown from our fan base every time they mention one of our coaches.

^^^This

Both are professionals and people move around as coaches. Coaches rarely burn bridges doing so.

Indeed. In this modern era of social media and rumor, it would be all but impossible for any major D1 coach or coordinator to interview for a job without his current employer knowing. A former HC is obviously going to throw his hat in for worthwhile HC openings. It doesn't mean anything is wrong at Auburn between Muschamp and Gus, it just means that Muschamp wants to be a HC again and Auburn does not currently have an opening. I doubt Gus expected more than a year or two out of him when he hired him.

[CameronCrazy 1,083]

"In other news, Craig Kuligowski is on the market for a new job. Former Mizzou DL coach will be hot item."

Whoever is our DC next year, this guy needs to be our DL coach.

[AUClassof19 0]

If we lose Muschamp, we need to go all in for T-Rob. He may not be a proven DC, but he would provide us with continuity and he would keep our South Florida recruiting going in the right direction.

[AU64 10,122]

USCe friend says a Carolina talk show is blowing up with anti-Muschamp rants..... general feeling is they need an offensive oriented HC...

[johnnyAU 3,648]

Some of it is most definitely talent, but no doubt some has been coaching in regards to both talent recognition and development.

But all in all, the culture aspect has bothered me the most since the beginning of the Chizik era. Tuberville didn't put up with silliness or prima donnas very well. He ran a pretty tight ship. May have even a bit severe in some cases, but he didn't have issues to the extent we have had since his departure.

I wish I knew what was going on..but then again, maybe I don't.

[aufan57 922]

Should T-Rob be promoted to DC, Auburn should bring Phillip Lolley back to coach linebackers.

[AUbritt 611]

Should T-Rob be promoted to DC, Auburn should bring Phillip Lolley back to coach linebackers.

I'm a Lolley fan and would love to see what he'd do if he came back to Auburn after the CFL.

I stil want TRob as the new DC if Boom leaves.

[AU64 10,122]

I happen to agree with you. I think we are doing a good job recruiting. However, some folks insist that the problem is talent. If they are right, it's on the coaches. We would be recruiting literally all busts, which means that the coaches don't know how to evaluate talent.

We're doing a good job, better than most in the country, but still lagging behind some of our biggest rivals. Just look at the breakdown of our players vs. bama's players. We have great classes, but they have spectacular classes. That means we have to do more with what we have to beat them. This year, while they were throwing a top rated D at us, we were literally a solid, not spectacular, just sold, QB away from beating them. I honestly think a healthy Sean would have won the Iron Bowl. To me, that says we're doing a pretty darn good job using what we have.

I understand ...but let's move past bama.....and look at the rest of the SEC.....and how our recruiting has compared over the past 7-8 years or so with what has been done at Arky, Mizz, USCe, MSU, Ole Miss, Vandy, Tenn, Kentucky, TAMU and maybe even Uga and UF. We have had top 10 classes year after year....certainly better than most of the other SEC schools so IMO the questions of "talent" just don't wash.

The players we have signed are, if take class by class, as good as the players at those schools.... and pretty much in the same league with LSU and UGa and better than the vast majority of SEC schools.

So...what's the problem ? JJ not letting the coaches do their jobs? was that a serous comment?

[Strychnine 1,804]

USCe friend says a Carolina talk show is blowing up with anti-Muschamp rants..... general feeling is they need an offensive oriented HC...

Aside from that, I suspect the average South Carolina fan looks at Florida and thinks "if he couldn't win there, why would he win here?"

[around4ever 4,139]

I have heard nothing about Gus even considering that Muschamp may leave. It has to be in his head though. As with all HCs, I am sure he has a list of potential OCs and DCs.

I would be willing to bet that Gus knows EXACTLY what Muschamp is doing. I doubt there is anything at all covert going on. If he's interviewing, Gus certainly knows. If he has things he wants changed, I'm sure he's made that clear to Gus. One thing I can tell you for absolute certain is that Gus knows FAR more than all of the people writing these articles.

Come on people, Will likes Auburn. Even if he decides to move on, he's not going to see how much destruction he can leave in his wake.

We need to stop thinking like the bama driven media and just relax. I'm sure there are a lot of reporters out there, who don't like Auburn, who are getting a nice laugh out of the meltdown from our fan base every time they mention one of our coaches.

Exactly. Gus knows if Muschamp is interviewing. He may not know if he is leaving unless they have discussed possible internal issues, which I have not head anything about except a random poster here. IMO, Muschamp stays at least one more year.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

I happen to agree with you. I think we are doing a good job recruiting. However, some folks insist that the problem is talent. If they are right, it's on the coaches. We would be recruiting literally all busts, which means that the coaches don't know how to evaluate talent.

We're doing a good job, better than most in the country, but still lagging behind some of our biggest rivals. Just look at the breakdown of our players vs. bama's players. We have great classes, but they have spectacular classes. That means we have to do more with what we have to beat them. This year, while they were throwing a top rated D at us, we were literally a solid, not spectacular, just sold, QB away from beating them. I honestly think a healthy Sean would have won the Iron Bowl. To me, that says we're doing a pretty darn good job using what we have.

I understand ...but let's move past bama.....and look at the rest of the SEC.....and how our recruiting has compared over the past 7-8 years or so with what has been done at Arky, Mizz, USCe, MSU, Ole Miss, Vandy, Tenn, Kentucky, TAMU and maybe even Uga and UF. We have had top 10 classes year after year....certainly better than most of the other SEC schools so IMO the questions of "talent" just don't wash.

The players we have signed are, if take class by class, as good as the players at those schools.... and pretty much in the same league with LSU and UGa and better than the vast majority of SEC schools.

So...what's the problem ? JJ not letting the coaches do their jobs? was that a serous comment?

Haven't we generally been on par or better that all of those teams you listed? Everything seems to line up to me. This year was a catastrophe of unforeseen circumstances.

Oh... another issue we have is a lack of recruiting in specific areas that have proven to be a big weakness for us. Linebacker and Wide Receiver are a big part of that. We're fixing receiver this year, but still struggling to land good linebackers. Part of that is because linebacker U is across the state.

[Strychnine 1,804]

I have heard nothing about Gus even considering that Muschamp may leave. It has to be in his head though. As with all HCs, I am sure he has a list of potential OCs and DCs.

I would be willing to bet that Gus knows EXACTLY what Muschamp is doing. I doubt there is anything at all covert going on. If he's interviewing, Gus certainly knows. If he has things he wants changed, I'm sure he's made that clear to Gus. One thing I can tell you for absolute certain is that Gus knows FAR more than all of the people writing these articles.

Come on people, Will likes Auburn. Even if he decides to move on, he's not going to see how much destruction he can leave in his wake.

We need to stop thinking like the bama driven media and just relax. I'm sure there are a lot of reporters out there, who don't like Auburn, who are getting a nice laugh out of the meltdown from our fan base every time they mention one of our coaches.

Exactly. Gus knows if Muschamp is interviewing. He may not know if he is leaving unless they have discussed possible internal issues, which I have not head anything about except a random poster here. IMO, Muschamp stays at least one more year.

I think he goes if South Carolina offers him the job, but I don't think he leaves to go be a DC at Georgia as some have feared.

[SCTiger2011 1,289]

He will probably be unknown/near the bottom of most people's lists, but Ruffin McNeill just got fired as the head coach at ECU

[Strychnine 1,804]

I happen to agree with you. I think we are doing a good job recruiting. However, some folks insist that the problem is talent. If they are right, it's on the coaches. We would be recruiting literally all busts, which means that the coaches don't know how to evaluate talent.

We're doing a good job, better than most in the country, but still lagging behind some of our biggest rivals. Just look at the breakdown of our players vs. bama's players. We have great classes, but they have spectacular classes. That means we have to do more with what we have to beat them. This year, while they were throwing a top rated D at us, we were literally a solid, not spectacular, just sold, QB away from beating them. I honestly think a healthy Sean would have won the Iron Bowl. To me, that says we're doing a pretty darn good job using what we have.

I understand ...but let's move past bama.....and look at the rest of the SEC.....and how our recruiting has compared over the past 7-8 years or so with what has been done at Arky, Mizz, USCe, MSU, Ole Miss, Vandy, Tenn, Kentucky, TAMU and maybe even Uga and UF. We have had top 10 classes year after year....certainly better than most of the other SEC schools so IMO the questions of "talent" just don't wash.

The players we have signed are, if take class by class, as good as the players at those schools.... and pretty much in the same league with LSU and UGa and better than the vast majority of SEC schools.

So...what's the problem ? JJ not letting the coaches do their jobs? was that a serous comment?

Haven't we generally been on par or better that all of those teams you listed? Everything seems to line up to me. This year was a catastrophe of unforeseen circumstances.

Oh... another issue we have is a lack of recruiting in specific areas that have proven to be a big weakness for us. Linebacker and Wide Receiver are a big part of that. We're fixing receiver this year, but still struggling to land good linebackers. Part of that is because linebacker U is across the state.

I would add that I only saw one team in that list that has played for or won a national championship: Florida. In that same span, Auburn has played for two, and won one. Georgia and Mizzou have had some good seasons, as the 2012 and 2013 SEC Championship Games were BCS playoffs. The rest of that group has had the occasional good year (that amounted to nothing) and a bunch of mediocre (or bad) ones. Arkansas replaced their coach when we hired Gus, and they certainly haven't come close to obtaining our results.

LSU and Georgia have a lot more continuity in their recruiting and coaching staffs than Auburn has had during that stretch. We are on our second top-down staff replacement (with more turnover during each regime) during that span, and there's no shortage of people that want more turnover. We have had great recruiting, but we ultimately do not know which recruits were wanted by which coach during Chizik's time. That 2013 team found some magic (and lots of luck) and put Gus ahead of the curve in terms of rebuilding a program that plenty of us thought was a dumpster fire. The only program in the SEC that has done better than us in that span is Alabama.

[VestaviaPirate 0]

He will probably be unknown/near the bottom of most people's lists, but Ruffin McNeill just got fired as the head coach at ECU

As an ECU alum and living in NC, I'm shocked by this. I don't see Ruff coming to Auburn; great man, very classy but was never a fan of his defensive outputs at ECU or TxTech. I think he retires, ECU was his alma mater and his daughter is in state at App. Hopefully what that means is when (not if) Lincoln Riley doesn't get the USCe job, he might come to Greenville. ON TOPIC: As far as Muschamp, I can't see USCe taking a chance on him, and I don't see champ going to UGa or Bammer for a lateral move, regardless of the money; should he, it'd be a wasted year w/ recruits and building your resume from your horrible stint at UF. I say he stays one more year.

[AUBwins 10,088]

I just want someone that continues to teach sound fundamentals in tackling and flying to the ball. This was the biggest improvement. As far as current players, what about Cowart or Holland if Will leaves?

[AUClassof19 0]

http://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-football/article47963460.html

Don't know how reliable this source is, but they're reporting that Muschamp wants Lattimore on his staff at USC if he gets the job. Looks like he's pulling out all the stops for the HC job.

[Never2Yield 1,005]

http://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-football/article47963460.html

Fanning the flames.