Craig a candidate for lsu WR coach (update: Done Deal)

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

So if Gus is going to take the O back next year, isn't that all the more reason to get rid of his son Rhett and promote one of the best recruiters in college football. (DC) .....right? Or at least let him coach QB's and have more say as a coordinator?

Rhett who interviewed for how many jobs? How many more did he want to interview for and none of them wanted him.

This whole situation and how it came down, just doesn't make sense to some of us.

Rhett turned down the jobs. Teams wanted him.

[Altima 200]

So if Gus is going to take the O back next year, isn't that all the more reason to get rid of his son Rhett and promote one of the best recruiters in college football. (DC) .....right? Or at least let him coach QB's and have more say as a coordinator?

Rhett who interviewed for how many jobs? How many more did he want to interview for and none of them wanted him.

This whole situation and how it came down, just doesn't make sense to some of us.

Gotta kinda agree here...Gus has not made the best of what AU has given him....an amateur HC and I keep waiting/hoping that he will get better...not just at game-day but at handling the big picture.

Perfect use of words. The big picture.

[FoundationEagle 637]

So if Gus is going to take the O back next year, isn't that all the more reason to get rid of his son Rhett and promote one of the best recruiters in college football. (DC) .....right? Or at least let him coach QB's and have more say as a coordinator?

Rhett who interviewed for how many jobs? How many more did he want to interview for and none of them wanted him.

This whole situation and how it came down, just doesn't make sense to some of us.

Gotta kinda agree here...Gus has not made the best of what AU has given him....an amateur HC and I keep waiting/hoping that he will get better...not just at game-day but at handling the big picture.

That's contradictory though. If Gus is taking back the offense, he's not going to start accepting more input from someone else. Gus and Craig weren't meant to be. Craig wants more input and Gus doesn't want to give any out. Not sure why everyone is so pissed about that. If Gus and Craig are butting heads, should he really promote him? Hell, according to WDE, Craig was already moving to coach QBs...so apparently Gus DID try to keep him to an extent, right? So why be so mad at Gus... while giving the guy that apparently made demands and bolted when he wasn't satisfied with the response a free pass?

[TigerfanKM 37]

Running the ball straight up the middle for no gain or a loss (leading to long, predictable 2nd and 3rd downs) would drive anyone away.

CGM is too stubborn for his own good. He is gonna hammer that square peg through that circular hole no matter what!!

[ShocksMyBrain 9,368]

Running the ball straight up the middle for no gain or a loss (leading to long, predictable 2nd and 3rd downs) would drive anyone away.

CGM is too stubborn for his own good. He is gonna hammer that square peg through that circular hole no matter what!!

Having Jovon running the ball is going to help a lot more in those first down situations.

[PoetTiger 1,899]

People can spin it all they want. We have lost several coaches this off-season. The fact that CDC went to a rival of ours after pulling in, probably the best WR class in AU history is very concerning. Add to the fact that we just added Kodi Burns as CO-OC is also laughable. I like Kodi. He is a great kid. Did wonderful things as a player at AU, but he has had 1 year of previous experience at MTSU as a WR coach. Please spare me that he coached two 1,000 yard receivers. This is a whole new ball game. The good thing is Kodi has a chance to work with a very stellar WR class. Still, him being WR coach is not even what drives me crazy. It is the fact that he was named CO-OC. What?! We have two OC right now. Gus and Rhett. What possibly could Kodi have to offer? Why the heck is Coach Hand not the CO-OC. The way this should've been handled IMO is Gus and Coach Hand take over the offense, CDC becomes QB coach and Burns the WR coach. Bye Lashlee. Oh well.

WDE.

Agree but unfortunately we have a HC that puts personal relationships above what is best for our team.

I would surround myself with not only people I trust but those that understand my philosophy as a head coach. Gus should have the opportunity to succeed/fail his way. If he values Rhett more than someone else then that's his choice, and if it does not work then he will make a change or get canned.

[ToomersStreet 795]

I, like many alumni and fans just wanted to know what the heck happened to us last season. There has been no good information on what really went wrong. I know people connected to former trustee members, big boosters, and even a couple of the coaches but either they didn't know anything or they were choosing to keep their mouths shut. With DC leaving that seemed to be the final tipping point for people to start talking. I knew something had to be up. Alabama Mr. Football and a Elite 11 MVP are both over hyped and turn out to be bad to average? Jovon Robinson disappears for a half of football in two games. Very questionable play calling. Now we know. Rhett has no business being a coach at this level and CGM personnel relationship is interfering with doing what is necessary. I still think Gus is the man, but unless he gets rid of Rhett, well he is putting a personnel relationship ahead of his job, family, and Auburn. Time will tell.

WAR DAMN EAGLE!

[PoetTiger 1,899]

I have not been told whether he was in the running for any OC jobs (I will ask), but why leave if you are next in line at your alma mater? With Rhett's poor performance, he should have been let go. Normally, in a down year like AU had, the head coach makes changes. That was not the case this year. All coaches that left did so on their own accord. Gus did not fire anyone this season.

But had no problems understanding he had to let Ellis and the rest of those guys go. I don't like the favoritism and especially for a coach that has not provided any benefits to us.

Lashlee was an integral part of a national championship and a national runnerup. Most would consider that as having "provided benefits".

If you really want to believe that go ahead. Nick Marshall and Tre Mason were the integral part. He just didn't screw it up.

So coaches get no credit for coaching good players? Only get the blame when players don't succeed. Gotcha.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

People can spin it all they want. We have lost several coaches this off-season. The fact that CDC went to a rival of ours after pulling in, probably the best WR class in AU history is very concerning. Add to the fact that we just added Kodi Burns as CO-OC is also laughable. I like Kodi. He is a great kid. Did wonderful things as a player at AU, but he has had 1 year of previous experience at MTSU as a WR coach. Please spare me that he coached two 1,000 yard receivers. This is a whole new ball game. The good thing is Kodi has a chance to work with a very stellar WR class. Still, him being WR coach is not even what drives me crazy. It is the fact that he was named CO-OC. What?! We have two OC right now. Gus and Rhett. What possibly could Kodi have to offer? Why the heck is Coach Hand not the CO-OC. The way this should've been handled IMO is Gus and Coach Hand take over the offense, CDC becomes QB coach and Burns the WR coach. Bye Lashlee. Oh well.

WDE.

Agree but unfortunately we have a HC that puts personal relationships above what is best for our team.

I would surround myself with not only people I trust but those that understand my philosophy as a head coach. Gus should have the opportunity to succeed/fail his way. If he values Rhett more than someone else then that's his choice, and if it does not work then he will make a change or get canned.

Agree with that part. So if he knew that's what he wanted..why didn't he initially do that. Just asking.

[ToomersStreet 795]

According to Cole Cubelic, DC has been looking around for over a month. Be thankful that Craig is professional.

^^This^^ more like 2 months but he was hoping things could be worked out. One of the reasons for leaving was he became frustrated with having little input into the offense game plan/play calling. He did turn down the UGA offer.

Gus is on the hot seat weather you believe it or not. He has made he choices and will either make it or not this year

Auburn will go on but this will make it very challenging.

This 100%. And its just not Gus's job on the line IMO. One if not both Jay's jobs are also on the line.

What do you mean by "both" of Jays jobs?

[ellitor 33,114]

According to Cole Cubelic, DC has been looking around for over a month. Be thankful that Craig is professional.

^^This^^ more like 2 months but he was hoping things could be worked out. One of the reasons for leaving was he became frustrated with having little input into the offense game plan/play calling. He did turn down the UGA offer.

Gus is on the hot seat weather you believe it or not. He has made he choices and will either make it or not this year

Auburn will go on but this will make it very challenging.

This 100%. And its just not Gus's job on the line IMO. One if not both Jay's jobs are also on the line.

What do you mean by "both" of Jays jobs?

Jacobs & Gogue. Although I am not sure I see it on Gogue.

[SumterAubie 3,031]

I, like many alumni and fans just wanted to know what the heck happened to us last season. There has been no good information on what really went wrong. I know people connected to former trustee members, big boosters, and even a couple of the coaches but either they didn't know anything or they were choosing to keep their mouths shut. With DC leaving that seemed to be the final tipping point for people to start talking. I knew something had to be up. Alabama Mr. Football and a Elite 11 MVP are both over hyped and turn out to be bad to average? Jovon Robinson disappears for a half of football in two games. Very questionable play calling. Now we know. Rhett has no business being a coach at this level and CGM personnel relationship is interfering with doing what is necessary. I still think Gus is the man, but unless he gets rid of Rhett, well he is putting a personnel relationship ahead of his job, family, and Auburn. Time will tell.

WAR DAMN EAGLE!

Here you are on what happened last season.

Offensive line-LT 2^nd year as starter, LG sat out the previous year due to back injury, center-former guard, sat out previous year due to transfer from OM, RG first year starter, Right tackle 2^nd year as starter

H Back-Freshman starter or Redshirt freshman starter

QB-Starting qb choked when the spotlight turned on. Redshirt Freshman took over. He played well until hurt.

WRs-plagued by drops. See Arkansas game. Supposed game changer was a problem child. Allegedly he was defended by his wr coach despite the HC wishes to dismiss him from the team. Finally he was finally dismissed from the team after another of several off the field incidents.

RBs- Stud starting rb (Thomas) has injury in Louisville. Stud rb (Robinson) has injury in first half of Louisville game. Third string rb ended being the starter. He was a workhorse, not a game breaker.

Franchise player at DE hurt in the first half of Louisville game.

[keesler 5,928]

Gus knows what he wants, but he hasn't a clue how to obtain what he wants. He doesn't have a wealth of knowledge and HC experience to fall back on when things aren't going according to plan. He's been skeptical of his own coaching staff and felt he couldn't trust them.

I can kind of understand that - I mean Ellis Johnson/Will Muschamp/Lance Thompson/Charlie Harbison/Dameyune Craig ALL had knowledge and experience in a wide array of coaching both in this conference and other conferences under some pretty damn good mentors. Those men have "been around the block" more than a time or two. They've been in situations with success and failure in their coaching careers. One would think Gus would have welcomed those coaches ideas, suggestions and gained some wisdom from them while they were here. I mean he could have brainstormed with those guys while they were here and taken their advice or not. Instead, Gus was stubborn and has chosen to sink or swim on his own.

It now appears he has chosen to surround himself with coaches with little exposure or real experience (Lashley/Burns.) So in essence, we have even more men learning on the job besides our Head Coach.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

If you read the last three pages of this thing, then you can't disagree that multiple people are writing this team and staff off, and they're doing everything short of cheering for failure to drop an "I saw this coming!" when it's done. Shameful s***.

As for the whole Rhett debate, Gus is no different than MOST coaches. Saban "protected" Kirby. Tubs "protected" Hugh, Eddie, Greg, Don, and Terry. Muschamp "protects" TRob. It's called finding people that you ENJOY working with and people that you TRUST and remaining loyal to them in the highs and lows. Folks were ridiculous to criticize Tubby for "protecting" his guys, but we won a lot of games with those guys. We would not have won all those games without the tight knit relationship they had, and they wouldn't have had it without trusting the Tubby would stick with them. Gus is doing the same thing. He's loyal to Rodney and Rhett and Tim and Kodi and probably Travis. If they win together, the core will remain. If they don't, they'll go out together, but he's not going to compromise the guys he trusts just to placate people. Nor should he.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

I have not been told whether he was in the running for any OC jobs (I will ask), but why leave if you are next in line at your alma mater? With Rhett's poor performance, he should have been let go. Normally, in a down year like AU had, the head coach makes changes. That was not the case this year. All coaches that left did so on their own accord. Gus did not fire anyone this season.

But had no problems understanding he had to let Ellis and the rest of those guys go. I don't like the favoritism and especially for a coach that has not provided any benefits to us.

Lashlee was an integral part of a national championship and a national runnerup. Most would consider that as having "provided benefits".

If you really want to believe that go ahead. Nick Marshall and Tre Mason were the integral part. He just didn't screw it up.

So coaches get no credit for coaching good players? Only get the blame when players don't succeed. Gotcha.

He's just getting too much credit and undeserved credit. I manage people daily and Rhett would've been fired and i wouldn't have cared if he was my son or bother. In what ways did Rhett coach Nick up that wasn't already apparent as far as his skills before he got to AU? Nick is now playing CB in the NFL and was a darn good basketball and possibly could've gone to the next level at that sport if he choose it. He's a pure ATH that could likely excel highly at many sports. He gets some credit but certainly not much with Nick.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

He's also getting too much blame and undeserved blame.

[mom2kid 216]

This is crazy. There is no putting the lipstick on the pig. We pushed out one of the top recruiters, AU belived son, after years of trying to bring him home. Goodbye Mobile and south Alabama. We kept RL who is not hailed as much of a coach or recruiter. No way he is the OC. This O has gotten worse the last 2 yrs and our record against sec fies is on life support. I don't understand how GM can be so stupid, thin dkinned, or whatever his problem is. And frankly i dont understsnd how AU allowed him to screw the program. Coaches are leaving to get away from Gus. We lost Trob. Another guy we wanted to keep but Gus didn't trust. Stop the excuses and sundhine pumping. I've had it with GM. RL and CB are kids. GM is a jerk

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

Gus knows what he wants, but he hasn't a clue how to obtain what he wants. He doesn't have a wealth of knowledge and HC experience to fall back on when things aren't going according to plan. He's been skeptical of his own coaching staff and felt he couldn't trust them.

I can kind of understand that - I mean Ellis Johnson/Will Muschamp/Lance Thompson/Charlie Harbison/Dameyune Craig ALL had knowledge and experience in a wide array of coaching both in this conference and other conferences under some pretty damn good mentors. Those men have "been around the block" more than a time or two. They've been in situations with success and failure in their coaching careers. One would think Gus would have welcomed those coaches ideas, suggestions and gained some wisdom from them while they were here. I mean he could have brainstormed with those guys while they were here and taken their advice or not. Instead, Gus was stubborn and has chosen to sink or swim on his own.

It now appears he has chosen to surround himself with coaches with little exposure or real experience (Lashley/Burns.) So in essence, we have even more men learning on the job besides our Head Coach.

And T-Will but i have a feeling he'll be just fine but that's still a lot of guys who are learning on the job.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

Goes with the territory of being attached to his teacher.

[AU-24 3,108]

So if Gus is going to take the O back next year, isn't that all the more reason to get rid of his son Rhett and promote one of the best recruiters in college football. (DC) .....right? Or at least let him coach QB's and have more say as a coordinator?

Rhett who interviewed for how many jobs? How many more did he want to interview for and none of them wanted him.

This whole situation and how it came down, just doesn't make sense to some of us.

Rhett turned down the jobs. Teams wanted him.

What? Lol? Links?

[Tiger 8,830]

Protecting your guys is fine until it's adversely affecting the program in terms of wins and losses. That's where Tubs flamed out. I hope that if this doesn't work out that the door will not be shut for Kodi or T-Will to come back to AU in the future when they are actually ready to man position coaching spots. I can do without Rhett though lol

[AUGoo 2,664]

I, like many alumni and fans just wanted to know what the heck happened to us last season. There has been no good information on what really went wrong. I know people connected to former trustee members, big boosters, and even a couple of the coaches but either they didn't know anything or they were choosing to keep their mouths shut. With DC leaving that seemed to be the final tipping point for people to start talking. I knew something had to be up. Alabama Mr. Football and a Elite 11 MVP are both over hyped and turn out to be bad to average? Jovon Robinson disappears for a half of football in two games. Very questionable play calling. Now we know. Rhett has no business being a coach at this level and CGM personnel relationship is interfering with doing what is necessary. I still think Gus is the man, but unless he gets rid of Rhett, well he is putting a personnel relationship ahead of his job, family, and Auburn. Time will tell.

WAR DAMN EAGLE!

Here you are on what happened last season.

Offensive line-LT 2^nd year as starter, LG sat out the previous year due to back injury, center-former guard, sat out previous year due to transfer from OM, RG first year starter, Right tackle 2^nd year as starter

H Back-Freshman starter or Redshirt freshman starter

QB-Starting qb choked when the spotlight turned on. Redshirt Freshman took over. He played well until hurt.

WRs-plagued by drops. See Arkansas game. Supposed game changer was a problem child. Allegedly he was defended by his wr coach despite the HC wishes to dismiss him from the team. Finally he was finally dismissed from the team after another of several off the field incidents.

RBs- Stud starting rb (Thomas) has injury in Louisville. Stud rb (Robinson) has injury in first half of Louisville game. Third string rb ended being the starter. He was a workhorse, not a game breaker.

Franchise player at DE hurt in the first half of Louisville game.

Any one of which might have been overcome, but for all to happen simultaneously was too much of a mountain to climb.

[Elephant Tipper 430]

I, like many alumni and fans just wanted to know what the heck happened to us last season. There has been no good information on what really went wrong. I know people connected to former trustee members, big boosters, and even a couple of the coaches but either they didn't know anything or they were choosing to keep their mouths shut. With DC leaving that seemed to be the final tipping point for people to start talking. I knew something had to be up. Alabama Mr. Football and a Elite 11 MVP are both over hyped and turn out to be bad to average? Jovon Robinson disappears for a half of football in two games. Very questionable play calling. Now we know. Rhett has no business being a coach at this level and CGM personnel relationship is interfering with doing what is necessary. I still think Gus is the man, but unless he gets rid of Rhett, well he is putting a personnel relationship ahead of his job, family, and Auburn. Time will tell.

WAR DAMN EAGLE!

Here you are on what happened last season.

Offensive line-LT 2^nd year as starter, LG sat out the previous year due to back injury, center-former guard, sat out previous year due to transfer from OM, RG first year starter, Right tackle 2^nd year as starter

H Back-Freshman starter or Redshirt freshman starter

QB-Starting qb choked when the spotlight turned on. Redshirt Freshman took over. He played well until hurt.

WRs-plagued by drops. See Arkansas game. Supposed game changer was a problem child. Allegedly he was defended by his wr coach despite the HC wishes to dismiss him from the team. Finally he was finally dismissed from the team after another of several off the field incidents.

RBs- Stud starting rb (Thomas) has injury in Louisville. Stud rb (Robinson) has injury in first half of Louisville game. Third string rb ended being the starter. He was a workhorse, not a game breaker.

Franchise player at DE hurt in the first half of Louisville game.

And, being beaten down (literally, ala Duke) to using our 3rd string center didn't help for consistent exchange either.

WDE !!!

[lionheartkc 6,150]

This is crazy. There is no putting the lipstick on the pig. We pushed out one of the top recruiters, AU belived son, after years of trying to bring him home. Goodbye Mobile and south Alabama. We kept RL who is not hailed as much of a coach or recruiter. No way he is the OC. This O has gotten worse the last 2 yrs and our record against sec fies is on life support. I don't understand how GM can be so stupid, thin dkinned, or whatever his problem is. And frankly i dont understsnd how AU allowed him to screw the program. Coaches are leaving to get away from Gus. We lost Trob. Another guy we wanted to keep but Gus didn't trust. Stop the excuses and sundhine pumping. I've had it with GM. RL and CB are kids. GM is a jerk

Ok... lets break this down. First, any speculation that Craig wanted Lashlee's job and would still be here if Gus fired Lashlee is just that, speculation. Second the difference between the 2013 and 2014 offense was a whole 16 yards and 4 points per game, and that was primarily because a ) we had more passing yardage, so Nick didn't run as often (122 fewer attempts), and b ) we lost a Heisman candidate running back. The drop-off in 2014 was on the defensive side of the ball. Third, the only coach who left to "get away from Gus", was Craig, and he wasn't getting away from Gus. By all accounts he was leaving a system that didn't fit what he wanted to do. By that reasoning, he wouldn't have wanted the coordinator position if Gus had offered it to him. As for Robinson, there was no "Gus didn't trust him", he wanted to be a defensive coordinator and work for a coach he's worked with forever. Gus wanted someone with more experience, especially since he's in no position to tutor a defensive coordinator. In fact, by bringing Robinson to South Carolina to be the DC, Muschamp did EXACTLY what Gus did with Lashlee when coming to Auburn. Finally, as for Gus being a jerk, do you know him, personally? Have you even met him? It seems pretty presumptuous to take a bunch of speculation about why things are happening in a program and formulate a judgement about someone's character from it.

Honestly, people need to take a step away from the ledge and let things play out before passing judgement. If, next season, we don't field a respectable team, by all means get your pitchforks, but throwing a fit now will only make you look a fool if we do in fact compete in the Fall.

[au75 75]

Great post lionheart. I agree