Staff Changes

[tbone4jc 2,241]

I really do wish Gus would give Randy Shannon a call (who knows, maybe he has). He is proven and someone that could recruit the state of Florida very well. I think he would be respected by both coaches and players. I believe 100% effort would be given on the defensive side of the ball. Only getting paid $400,000 a year at Florida. We could double his salary with pay increases based on defensive performance and still be well below what we were paying WM. For all I know, maybe Gus has contacted Shannon and he turned it down. Sure hope its been explored.

If CGM is seriously wanting a guy that can do what Muschamp did without all the drama, CRS is the one. The question is, is CRS interested?

[ellitor 33,114]

They need to add a year to the contract of Gus, it sends the message that there is some security to a potential DC. At least, he would have 2 years to fix a situation that will probably be worse next year (graduates/NFL departures) before we see any improvement.

Adding a year to his contract is pointless. It already runs through 2019.

[ellitor 33,114]

Lance has experience as a DC and a ton of connections with def coaches in the South. All things considered him as DC with permission to bring in 2 new assistants is sounding better to me. He knows Muschamp's defense, he is an excellent recruiter and he wants the job. Am I way off=base here?

No but apparently is not looking at Lance as a candidate at all.

[ellitor 33,114]

Lance has experience as a DC and a ton of connections with def coaches in the South. All things considered him as DC with permission to bring in 2 new assistants is sounding better to me. He knows Muschamp's defense, he is an excellent recruiter and he wants the job. Am I way off=base here?

Do you know that he wants the job?

Very much so.

[ellitor 33,114]

I checked salaries for 2015, and it was showing that Todd Grantham making $975,000.00.

That was his old salary. He got a raise to 1.3-1.4 mil in February. Link

[aubie17 65]

I checked salaries for 2015, and it was showing that Todd Grantham making $975,000.00.

That was his old salary. He got a raise to 1.3-1.4 mil in February. Link

good morning E. Do you know if Malzahn has reached out to Shannon or vice versa? Is Chavis really any possibility? Has Diaz removed himself from consideration? Does the silence by Malzahn mean he is not any closer to getting someone hired? When does the recruiting dead period end?

[ellitor 33,114]

I checked salaries for 2015, and it was showing that Todd Grantham making $975,000.00.

That was his old salary. He got a raise to 1.3-1.4 mil in February. Link

good morning E. Do you know if Malzahn has reached out to Shannon or vice versa? Is Chavis really any possibility? Has Diaz removed himself from consideration? Does the silence by Malzahn mean he is not any closer to getting someone hired? When does the recruiting dead period end?

1. IDK 2. IDK 3. It appears so. 4. Nobody other than Gus knows the answer to that one.. 5. January 13th

[aubie17 65]

I checked salaries for 2015, and it was showing that Todd Grantham making $975,000.00.

That was his old salary. He got a raise to 1.3-1.4 mil in February. Link

good morning E. Do you know if Malzahn has reached out to Shannon or vice versa? Is Chavis really any possibility? Has Diaz removed himself from consideration? Does the silence by Malzahn mean he is not any closer to getting someone hired? When does the recruiting dead period end?

1. IDK 2. IDK 3. It appears so. 4. Nobody other than Gus knows the answer to that one.. 5. January 13th

thanks. One last question for now. Do you know if Gus will be changing current coach assignments/hiring someone new to be the quarterbacks coach?

[AU64 10,122]

At this point I have no clue who the DC will be. I will say I don't think it will be any of the 4 discussed the past couple of days. Diaz looks to be staying @ Miss St. As meta pointed out Grantham makes $1.4 mil @ Louisville & I don't see AU paying that much for him. Tom Allen seems to have lost steam. Lastly I don't see the PTB signing off on bringing Roof back.

We are in a sad state of affairs if this is the case. Could you EVER during saban's tenure at bama hear the conversation that he couldn't hire the DC he wanted because their PTB wouldn't sign off on it??!!!! I wouldn't blame Gus one iota if he got the heck out of Dodge as soon as he could. He should 100% hire whoever he wants and then sink or swim with his choice.

I agree with your basic sentiment but the fact is he already did hire the DC he wanted, not once but twice and this will be the third time. He wanted Ellis and they will be paying him $900K through 2017. He wanted Muschamp and they paid him $1.6 mill for his 1 year of service. Those were Gus's decisions and they paid out $2.5 million for DC services in 2015 alone. So Gus got the man he wanted all the way through this process but now they are faced with hiring a DC yet again.

I realize the PTB have money but at some point, even they will put a limit on the amount of money they will commit to this particular process. So while there may not be a limit on 'who' he wants, there could very well be a limit on how much they are willing to pay his choice, this 3rd time around. The person will still get paid well but just not upper tier money. It's not necessary to do that anyway.

Great point....the idea that the PTB or JJ has to give Gus whatever he wants without questions or limits? That's nonsense.

He ought to be explaining why this is THE guy and also explaining why he nearly broke the bank to bring in two previous "must have" coaches....and explain that this won't be a repeat.

There is way too much willingness by some folks to fling money around....probably because it is not theirs.

NOWHERE in my statement did I say Gus should be given a blank check and go knock himself out and I'm one that's been furious over the mind blowing buyouts JJ has given the last two coaches and salaries that we continue to previous coaches and that lessons appear to never be learned by the PTB. JJ and whoever else was involved last time were obviously ALL on board with the Muschamp hire because he wouldn't have gotten the insane amount of money that he did. Most people accepted the fact that if he got offered a HC position at a major program he was a one and done, or at most two years and done. Like virtually everyone else, the feeling was if Muschamp could get our defense to just better than average we were going to win championships this season. Obviously, nobody saw the meltdown on offense coming. All I'm saying is if Gus feels Coach _______ is who he feels will make our defense successful then he should be able to offer that coach and with whatever salary is appropriate for that particular coach. If that is "nonsense" then so be it.

Being "all on board"....maybe or maybe not.....I would not be surprised that more than a few BOT or PTBs were caught by the argument that has been made so frequently on this board....that we were just a modest defensive improvement from an SEC Championship and a spot in the play-offs. I'm willing to be there were plenty of reluctant approvals of the CWM contract with no buyout but people were pressured by the need to show support for Gus...and were hoping Gus was right about prospects for the 2015 season if he could sign CWM.

We have to face it...Gus's crystal ball about a lot of things affecting this past season was pretty cloudy. CWM was strictly a short-term solution pretty much any way you look at it.....so now going on 4 years, Gus has 3 different DCs.....and the players have been recruited for 2 (or maybe 3) different schemes.

My point is that someone has to draw some lines and take a longer term view. Taking the short term approach (with recruiting and coaching) is a primary cause of our ups and downs over the past years.....and a major reason for some of the talent shortages on defense we moan about.

Like it or not, I think that Thompson is the only candidate I see being discussed who would keep the job more than 2 years. JMO

[ellitor 33,114]

I checked salaries for 2015, and it was showing that Todd Grantham making $975,000.00.

That was his old salary. He got a raise to 1.3-1.4 mil in February. Link

good morning E. Do you know if Malzahn has reached out to Shannon or vice versa? Is Chavis really any possibility? Has Diaz removed himself from consideration? Does the silence by Malzahn mean he is not any closer to getting someone hired? When does the recruiting dead period end?

1. IDK 2. IDK 3. It appears so. 4. Nobody other than Gus knows the answer to that one.. 5. January 13th

thanks. One last question for now. Do you know if Gus will be changing current coach assignments/hiring someone new to be the quarterbacks coach?

IDK. I appreciate your respect for me, however I'm not an AU reporter or insider. I'm just a fan just as you are. Many of the questions you ask requires inside knowledge which I don't have.

With that said my guess is the only way Gus has a new QB coach if if Rhett leaves for another job.

[aubie17 65]

I checked salaries for 2015, and it was showing that Todd Grantham making $975,000.00.

That was his old salary. He got a raise to 1.3-1.4 mil in February. Link

good morning E. Do you know if Malzahn has reached out to Shannon or vice versa? Is Chavis really any possibility? Has Diaz removed himself from consideration? Does the silence by Malzahn mean he is not any closer to getting someone hired? When does the recruiting dead period end?

1. IDK 2. IDK 3. It appears so. 4. Nobody other than Gus knows the answer to that one.. 5. January 13th

thanks. One last question for now. Do you know if Gus will be changing current coach assignments/hiring someone new to be the quarterbacks coach?

IDK. I appreciate your respect for me, however I'm not an AU reporter or insider. I'm just a fan just as you are. Many of the questions you ask requires inside knowledge which I don't have.

With that said my guess is the only way Gus has a new QB coach if if Rhett leaves for another job.

Thank you. I have found your insight and information to be pretty spot on over time. There are certain people that I pay attention to what they have to say on this site and you are one of them. That being said, I do understand that you are not an insider or reporter. Thanks again.

[shabby 1,958]

Just curious, but where did the news come from that manny Diaz had removed himself from consideration?

[ellitor 33,114]

Just curious, but where did the news come from that manny Diaz had removed himself from consideration?

IDK if he removed himself or Gus is going another way but Diaz apparently off the table is from JGT.

[around4ever 4,139]

So far, three different dates for naming a new DC have come and gone. Hopefully, we will find out sometime this week.

Coach has never given a definite date for an announcement or hire. He told a recruit, according to the recruit, that he hoped to have a DC in place by the weekend a few weeks ago. But he never said he would have a DC by a certain date. All other dates and times have been fan or media speculation. Any press conference about a coaching hire will be held at the athletic complex. The team and staff won't be back until Wednesday night.

IMO, we should want Coach Malzahn to be working on his game plan and preparing his team to play the bowl game for the last week or so, not out interviewing potential coaches.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I believe Gus is no closer to naming an DC then he was 2 weeks ago.

[doc4aday 1,887]

I checked salaries for 2015, and it was showing that Todd Grantham making $975,000.00.

That was his old salary. He got a raise to 1.3-1.4 mil in February. Link

Thanks! Now I can get correct information on assistant coaches.

[lala 327]

Check out @bmarcello's Tweet:

I don't have the ability to do the pic and all that but was hoping someone could explain what this means?

I don't know if this is true or false but a lot of what I get from the last two weeks is Gus needs to take control and tell everyone else to get out of his biz. They should not be adding things in any contract without Gus' buy off. He should not have to get formal approval of any hire other than courtesy.

Take control young man or you will not be successful.

[doc4aday 1,887]

I would think that we are not the only school that has former coaches that are still getting paid. I know no one likes this including myself, but it is a part of a high revenue program that tries to get the best coaches they can. If they do not work out, then this is a part of the business of a top program.

[PigskinPat 2,579]

At this point I have no clue who the DC will be. I will say I don't think it will be any of the 4 discussed the past couple of days. Diaz looks to be staying @ Miss St. As meta pointed out Grantham makes $1.4 mil @ Louisville & I don't see AU paying that much for him. Tom Allen seems to have lost steam. Lastly I don't see the PTB signing off on bringing Roof back.

We are in a sad state of affairs if this is the case. Could you EVER during saban's tenure at bama hear the conversation that he couldn't hire the DC he wanted because their PTB wouldn't sign off on it??!!!! I wouldn't blame Gus one iota if he got the heck out of Dodge as soon as he could. He should 100% hire whoever he wants and then sink or swim with his choice.

I agree with your basic sentiment but the fact is he already did hire the DC he wanted, not once but twice and this will be the third time. He wanted Ellis and they will be paying him $900K through 2017. He wanted Muschamp and they paid him $1.6 mill for his 1 year of service. Those were Gus's decisions and they paid out $2.5 million for DC services in 2015 alone. So Gus got the man he wanted all the way through this process but now they are faced with hiring a DC yet again.

I realize the PTB have money but at some point, even they will put a limit on the amount of money they will commit to this particular process. So while there may not be a limit on 'who' he wants, there could very well be a limit on how much they are willing to pay his choice, this 3rd time around. The person will still get paid well but just not upper tier money. It's not necessary to do that anyway.

Great point....the idea that the PTB or JJ has to give Gus whatever he wants without questions or limits? That's nonsense.

He ought to be explaining why this is THE guy and also explaining why he nearly broke the bank to bring in two previous "must have" coaches....and explain that this won't be a repeat.

There is way too much willingness by some folks to fling money around....probably because it is not theirs.

NOWHERE in my statement did I say Gus should be given a blank check and go knock himself out and I'm one that's been furious over the mind blowing buyouts JJ has given the last two coaches and salaries that we continue to previous coaches and that lessons appear to never be learned by the PTB. JJ and whoever else was involved last time were obviously ALL on board with the Muschamp hire because he wouldn't have gotten the insane amount of money that he did. Most people accepted the fact that if he got offered a HC position at a major program he was a one and done, or at most two years and done. Like virtually everyone else, the feeling was if Muschamp could get our defense to just better than average we were going to win championships this season. Obviously, nobody saw the meltdown on offense coming. All I'm saying is if Gus feels Coach _______ is who he feels will make our defense successful then he should be able to offer that coach and with whatever salary is appropriate for that particular coach. If that is "nonsense" then so be it.

Being "all on board"....maybe or maybe not.....I would not be surprised that more than a few BOT or PTBs were caught by the argument that has been made so frequently on this board....that we were just a modest defensive improvement from an SEC Championship and a spot in the play-offs. I'm willing to be there were plenty of reluctant approvals of the CWM contract with no buyout but people were pressured by the need to show support for Gus...and were hoping Gus was right about prospects for the 2015 season if he could sign CWM.

We have to face it...Gus's crystal ball about a lot of things affecting this past season was pretty cloudy. CWM was strictly a short-term solution pretty much any way you look at it.....so now going on 4 years, Gus has 3 different DCs.....and the players have been recruited for 2 (or maybe 3) different schemes.

My point is that someone has to draw some lines and take a longer term view. Taking the short term approach (with recruiting and coaching) is a primary cause of our ups and downs over the past years.....and a major reason for some of the talent shortages on defense we moan about.

Like it or not, I think that Thompson is the only candidate I see being discussed who would keep the job more than 2 years. JMO

It may be just your opinion, but it is an excellent one. Very valid points and I cannot disagree with any of them! War Eagle

[tiger88 934]

I believe Gus is no closer to naming an DC then he was 2 weeks ago.

ummmmmmm, he is two weeks closer.

[wdefromtx 3,159]

I believe Gus is no closer to naming an DC then he was 2 weeks ago.

ummmmmmm, he is two weeks closer.

He might have meant distance...since he is in Birmingham and most likely will make the announcement back at the AthleticComplex, he in fact could be farther from making the announcement.

[Potatooooooes!! 1,375]

I believe Gus is no closer to naming an DC then he was 2 weeks ago.

ummmmmmm, he is two weeks closer.

He might have meant distance...since he is in Birmingham and most likely will make the announcement back at the AthleticComplex, he in fact could be farther from making the announcement. :dunno:/>

I think we all know what he means, and it's hard to argue with his statement at this point

[johnnyAU 3,643]

I disagree with the statement of Lance being the only candidate being discussed who would keep the job longer than 2 years.

[SCTiger2011 1,282]

118...so if this reaches 200 pages, it's all over right? We don't get a DC at all?

[cooltigger21 0]

I believe Gus is no closer to naming an DC then he was 2 weeks ago.

ummmmmmm, he is two weeks closer.

He might have meant distance...since he is in Birmingham and most likely will make the announcement back at the AthleticComplex, he in fact could be farther from making the announcement. :dunno:/>

I think we all know what he means, and it's hard to argue with his statement at this point

possible but none of us know that.