Are you still on the Gus Bus?

[McLoofus 35,182]

AH, gotcha. I forgot that quote from CEJ.

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

All in with GUS. 1 off season doesn't make a bad coach. Look around the college football land scape and you will see parity and we have a great chance at going all the way to the CHAMPIONSHIP! WDE!

He's had two off seasons out of three. 2014 was no good either.

wrong. Defense wasn't improved much in 2014, but the offense was very good. 2014 was a few unfortunate turn of events and a defense that couldn't stop anybody. But it was definitely NOT an off season...

All in with GUS. 1 off season doesn't make a bad coach. Look around the college football land scape and you will see parity and we have a great chance at going all the way to the CHAMPIONSHIP! WDE!

He's had two off seasons out of three. 2014 was no good either.

wrong. Defense wasn't improved much in 2014, but the offense was very good. 2014 was a few unfortunate turn of events and a defense that couldn't stop anybody. But it was definitely NOT an off season...

Critical turnovers on offense, blowout loss to UGA, loss to bammer, loss to Wiscy in the bowl game to end the season, finished unranked. Two good wins-LSU and Ole Miss. In my opinion it was not a good season at all. Very Tot-esque

I'd say you're right about the last half of the season. I honestly think if the guys found a way to pull it out in Starkville, they would have come back to beat A&M and would have been undefeated going into the latter part of that season at either #2 or #1 in the country. We would've had guys with the same ability as UGA and Bama but they would've been so much more confident. In other words, it was not going to be a huge surprise to them or anyone if they beat UGA and Bama. I think we went into those games as the big underdog, which has usually boded well for us, but when we've made it to the top in great seasons (A.K.A. 2010 and 2013) we've been good at handling success, and finishing the season. (exception of unlucky breaks in 2013 title game as well as inexplicable coaching decision by Gus to take foot off offensive gas).

I don't know for sure, but I'm saying success breeds more success because the team has confidence. The team is used to winning, not being heartbroken at the end and ALMOST being great. That's just what the season turned the attitude into towards the end.

Of course we can't measure our success on this game: but we did not, I believe, even have a lead on Samford after the first quarter in 2014. Don't tell me that the same team that played LSU and beat them by 34 played that night against Samford. They would've crushed them. Although they won, it of course wasn't as dominant as it could've been, and I think that was just due to the attitude around the program. They didn't quit, they just were frustrated with not being able to get over a hump they got put behind. Motivation is lost- not necessarily work ethic or desire to win.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Don't tell me that the same team that played LSU and beat them by 34 played that night against Samford.

I won't even try to tell you that they made another appearance the entire season.

Whether the popular version of the Whitehead story is true or not, something absolutely broke Ellis Johnson after the LSU game and everything under him crumbled. Gus is on the hook for whatever happened- he's cashing the big checks- but there's also something to be said for how the offense kept fighting and, as you said, we were still only a few breaks away from something special. I know there's a subset of fans who despise that line of thinking in any context, and I respect that. But I agree with your premise.

[Tiger 8,830]

I thought our defense was in line with how it had been for several years in 2014 until Spurrier exposed CEJ's entire defense which then every other team we faced after that just followed that blueprint. The defense in the LSU game was incredible. Partly due to a true freshman's first road start at night at JHS. Partly due to the defense just playing well. But Spurrier found Therezie to be the fish of our secondary and he attacked him at every opportunity in coverage and then the wheels proceeded to just fall off.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

The price to ride the Gus bus is getting to high.

[AURandy56 148]

I thought our defense was in line with how it had been for several years in 2014 until Spurrier exposed CEJ's entire defense which then every other team we faced after that just followed that blueprint. The defense in the LSU game was incredible. Partly due to a true freshman's first road start at night at JHS. Partly due to the defense just playing well. But Spurrier found Therezie to be the fish of our secondary and he attacked him at every opportunity in coverage and then the wheels proceeded to just fall off.

I'll never understand why Malzahn hired Ellis Johnson in the first place. Hell, Malzahn's offense lit CEJ's USC east defense up in the 2010 SECCG. What was the attraction?

[ShocksMyBrain 9,368]

I thought our defense was in line with how it had been for several years in 2014 until Spurrier exposed CEJ's entire defense which then every other team we faced after that just followed that blueprint. The defense in the LSU game was incredible. Partly due to a true freshman's first road start at night at JHS. Partly due to the defense just playing well. But Spurrier found Therezie to be the fish of our secondary and he attacked him at every opportunity in coverage and then the wheels proceeded to just fall off.

I'll never understand why Malzahn hired Ellis Johnson in the first place. Hell, Malzahn's offense lit CEJ's USC east defense up in the 2010 SECCG. What was the attraction?

He was a solid coach before age caught up with him. I believe he's back on staff at USCjr in some capacity, unless I'm mistaken.

Something something Golf.

[lutzcammed 469]

I'm standing at the door

[AUCoop79 1]

I thought our defense was in line with how it had been for several years in 2014 until Spurrier exposed CEJ's entire defense which then every other team we faced after that just followed that blueprint. The defense in the LSU game was incredible. Partly due to a true freshman's first road start at night at JHS. Partly due to the defense just playing well. But Spurrier found Therezie to be the fish of our secondary and he attacked him at every opportunity in coverage and then the wheels proceeded to just fall off.

I'll never understand why Malzahn hired Ellis Johnson in the first place. Hell, Malzahn's offense lit CEJ's USC east defense up in the 2010 SECCG. What was the attraction?

Agree. He went 0-12 at USM as HC, and was washed up when Gus hired him. Maybe he was forced to hire him. Oh well, EJ made the call that resulted in the most miraculous play in CFB history...

[DAG 34,016]

I thought our defense was in line with how it had been for several years in 2014 until Spurrier exposed CEJ's entire defense which then every other team we faced after that just followed that blueprint. The defense in the LSU game was incredible. Partly due to a true freshman's first road start at night at JHS. Partly due to the defense just playing well. But Spurrier found Therezie to be the fish of our secondary and he attacked him at every opportunity in coverage and then the wheels proceeded to just fall off.

I'll never understand why Malzahn hired Ellis Johnson in the first place. Hell, Malzahn's offense lit CEJ's USC east defense up in the 2010 SECCG. What was the attraction?

Agree. He went 0-12 at USM as HC, and was washed up when Gus hired him. Maybe he was forced to hire him. Oh well, EJ made the call that resulted in the most miraculous play in CFB history...

I keep seeing this. Is there any evidence to this notion? Not being a smart butt. I just cannot seem to fathom how an HC would not think to put someone back there to field a long FG.

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

I know it's been discussed on here for a long time, but what were the actual comments that Gus said in regards to him kind of taking the reigns instead of Lashlee. I know Gus said he, himself, needed to do a better job of adapting to defenses and adjusting his offensive plans. Was that taken as "I'm driving the bus now" or was it something else?

[McLoofus 35,182]

I know it's been discussed on here for a long time, but what were the actual comments that Gus said in regards to him kind of taking the reigns instead of Lashlee. I know Gus said he, himself, needed to do a better job of adapting to defenses and adjusting his offensive plans. Was that taken as "I'm driving the bus now" or was it something else?

All he said is that he was going to be more hands on. That could mean any number of things, and it could be a response to any number of pressures (verbally or in action). I don't know that it's the confirmation of suspicions that everybody has been looking for. Could be, though.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Actually Ellis was a smart choice for Gus and so was his others in 2013. I know history fades from some folks mind quickly. The 2012 episode had left a bunch of young guys at AU totally defeated. Gus came in and brought a lot of older coaches who were able to instill some trust with these young men and get them back to playing football. In the end it resulted in being just 13 seconds shy of a natty. Remember too that Gus was not going to get world beaters at coach in 2012. For what every reason everything had went south after 2010. Unfortunate for Gus he did too good a job in restoring the teams faith in 2013. Because of that success, the two years that followed were not able to keep up with the first. I think JJ's faith in Gus has to do with that first year was not as good as it looked and the last two were not as bad as they looked. I don't want to make any predictions, but I have a feeling that this years success will show you that last year's 7-6 record was actually the result of a lot of bad luck coming to bear as opposed to bad coaching. I think the Muschamp hire turned out bad. Even though it was thought to be a home-run hire turned out to create a lot of tension internally. I think Coach hand will be instrumental in righting the offensive ship (not that it was coach Grimes's fault at all). Defense is finally looking like it can be a plus instead of a minus. I think that come Clemson time a lot of folks including a lot of folks on this board are going to be quite surprised. JMHO. WDE

[ellitor 33,114]

I know it's been discussed on here for a long time, but what were the actual comments that Gus said in regards to him kind of taking the reigns instead of Lashlee. I know Gus said he, himself, needed to do a better job of adapting to defenses and adjusting his offensive plans. Was that taken as "I'm driving the bus now" or was it something else?

Gus has always been hands on with the offense. His more hands on comments were about running his football program.

[autigeremt 6,678]

I know it's been discussed on here for a long time, but what were the actual comments that Gus said in regards to him kind of taking the reigns instead of Lashlee. I know Gus said he, himself, needed to do a better job of adapting to defenses and adjusting his offensive plans. Was that taken as "I'm driving the bus now" or was it something else?

Gus has always been hands on with the offense. His more hands on comments were about running his football program.

But....but........

[austudnt23 1,432]

Gus is still one of the best offensive minds in college football. Like many have said though I do see a problem with the development of qb he signs out of high school. I do think JJ problems are all on his head and there is nothing really Gus could do or could have done coaching wise to fix him. This is just my opinion but i believe Gus needs a true dual threat qb for his offense to execute at a level that we can win SEC and National Title with. I have heard mixed reviews on JF3 from people, but one thing everybody has said if the kid can improve his passing over the summer and continue to get better then watch out because he would be a deadly weapon in our offense. If we can get adequate qb play this year I believe and have been told we have a chance to be very good. To answer the question in the original post, yes I am still on the Gus Bus.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Side note: I don't think some AU fans remember how bad we were in 2012. 0-8 in the SEC. I remember watching only the first half of the TAM, UGA, and UAT games that year. I think we lost to UAT 49-0? We had no defense, no offense, no special teams, and no immediate future. Many prognosticators said it would take years for AU to return to just being a winning team in a league where Uat, Lsu, and Tam were winning and were recruiting juggernauts.

What happened in 2013 is one of the most amazing coaching jobs I have ever seen. We took a bunch of beat up down-on-their-luck AU players, added a transfer defensive back at a QB, and ran an the read option.

In 2104 we could pretty much score at will (except for the UGA game) on anyone. We just could not stop a cold.

Last year was Gus' first year I can remember his offense struggling in college. There are so many reasons why that have been listed - bad play calling and bad QB are on top of the list - and in hindsight Muschamp was a quick fix that also did not work.

People jumping off the bus need some perspective. We do NOT want to become TN and change coaches time and again. We need to give Gus time to build a program.

[McLoofus 35,182]

I thought our defense was in line with how it had been for several years in 2014 until Spurrier exposed CEJ's entire defense which then every other team we faced after that just followed that blueprint. The defense in the LSU game was incredible. Partly due to a true freshman's first road start at night at JHS. Partly due to the defense just playing well. But Spurrier found Therezie to be the fish of our secondary and he attacked him at every opportunity in coverage and then the wheels proceeded to just fall off.

I'll never understand why Malzahn hired Ellis Johnson in the first place. Hell, Malzahn's offense lit CEJ's USC east defense up in the 2010 SECCG. What was the attraction?

Agree. He went 0-12 at USM as HC, and was washed up when Gus hired him. Maybe he was forced to hire him. Oh well, EJ made the call that resulted in the most miraculous play in CFB history...

Auburn fans of all people should know that success or failure as a head coach is not a predictor of success or failure as a coordinator.

CEJ's problem IMO was that he was too old and/or tired to be an agent of cultural change at Auburn. I'll absolutely concede that he wasn't a hot enough commodity to have the leverage to make a lot of demands, either. He probably realized pretty quickly that he was going to have to do a lot more than just coach football- something that I think he absolutely still knows how to do- to succeed at Auburn. But then he also realized that the cultural issues went beyond the players and even above his head, so he got fed up and quit (right after the LSU game). All conjecture on my part, but hey, it's a Friday on a message board.

[Tiger 8,830]

I thought our defense was in line with how it had been for several years in 2014 until Spurrier exposed CEJ's entire defense which then every other team we faced after that just followed that blueprint. The defense in the LSU game was incredible. Partly due to a true freshman's first road start at night at JHS. Partly due to the defense just playing well. But Spurrier found Therezie to be the fish of our secondary and he attacked him at every opportunity in coverage and then the wheels proceeded to just fall off.

I'll never understand why Malzahn hired Ellis Johnson in the first place. Hell, Malzahn's offense lit CEJ's USC east defense up in the 2010 SECCG. What was the attraction?

Agree. He went 0-12 at USM as HC, and was washed up when Gus hired him. Maybe he was forced to hire him. Oh well, EJ made the call that resulted in the most miraculous play in CFB history...

I keep seeing this. Is there any evidence to this notion? Not being a smart butt. I just cannot seem to fathom how an HC would not think to put someone back there to field a long FG.

Gus has said this when interviewed about the play. Also I'm right there with you. Why the defensive coordinator has to randomly throw that idea out there regarding a special teams play, which is an obvious decision at any point in the game - let alone at the very end instead of our HC is kind of disappointing. But Gus is still learning how to be a HC. But still though...

[AUCoop79 1]

I thought our defense was in line with how it had been for several years in 2014 until Spurrier exposed CEJ's entire defense which then every other team we faced after that just followed that blueprint. The defense in the LSU game was incredible. Partly due to a true freshman's first road start at night at JHS. Partly due to the defense just playing well. But Spurrier found Therezie to be the fish of our secondary and he attacked him at every opportunity in coverage and then the wheels proceeded to just fall off.

I'll never understand why Malzahn hired Ellis Johnson in the first place. Hell, Malzahn's offense lit CEJ's USC east defense up in the 2010 SECCG. What was the attraction?

Agree. He went 0-12 at USM as HC, and was washed up when Gus hired him. Maybe he was forced to hire him. Oh well, EJ made the call that resulted in the most miraculous play in CFB history...

I keep seeing this. Is there any evidence to this notion? Not being a smart butt. I just cannot seem to fathom how an HC would not think to put someone back there to field a long FG.

excerpt from a Wall Street Journal article-

While Saban weighed his options on the sideline, Auburn's coaches were huddled across the field, hatching a plan of their own. One of Auburn's graduate assistants, Cam Clark, made a key point. Like Griffith, Clark came from Calhoun, Ga., and was familiar with his style: Griffith's kicks were quick and high, more like pop flies than line drives. He argued that the Tigers would have trouble blocking a Griffith kick. They would need another strategy.

Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson, a nearly four-decade coaching veteran with two coaching stints at Alabama, suggested positioning a player below the goal posts in case the kick fell short. The coaches quickly dispatched Ryan Smith, a safety often assigned to anticipate fake field-goal plays, to the end zone as Griffith came out for the kick.

Auburn coach Malzahn called a timeout—a common ploy used to try to rattle kickers—as the coaches continued to plot their strategy. "Look, if we're going to put somebody back there, let's put Chris Davis," Malzahn said.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Side note: I don't think some AU fans remember how bad we were in 2012. 0-8 in the SEC. I remember watching only the first half of the TAM, UGA, and UAT games that year. I think we lost to UAT 49-0? We had no defense, no offense, no special teams, and no immediate future. Many prognosticators said it would take years for AU to return to just being a winning team in a league where Uat, Lsu, and Tam were winning and were recruiting juggernauts.

What happened in 2013 is one of the most amazing coaching jobs I have ever seen. We took a bunch of beat up down-on-their-luck AU players, added a transfer defensive back at a QB, and ran an the read option.

In 2104 we could pretty much score at will (except for the UGA game) on anyone. We just could not stop a cold.

Last year was Gus' first year I can remember his offense struggling in college. There are so many reasons why that have been listed - bad play calling and bad QB are on top of the list - and in hindsight Muschamp was a quick fix that also did not work.

People jumping off the bus need some perspective. We do NOT want to become TN and change coaches time and again. We need to give Gus time to build a program.

Agree with everything except the parts in bold. I'll keep saying it until the cows come home: there is no good playbook for bad players and Muschamp left our defense in far better shape than he found it. When we open against Clemson, I hope everybody will look at the 2-deep on defense and see how many guys were signed in 2015. There might even be some from 2016. Also, please compare the overall performance of the defense to when we opened against Louisville 2014 and you'll see what Steele inherited vs what Muschamp did. If it's not a better product, then I'll look really dumb, but I'm okay with that.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Side note: I don't think some AU fans remember how bad we were in 2012. 0-8 in the SEC. I remember watching only the first half of the TAM, UGA, and UAT games that year. I think we lost to UAT 49-0? We had no defense, no offense, no special teams, and no immediate future. Many prognosticators said it would take years for AU to return to just being a winning team in a league where Uat, Lsu, and Tam were winning and were recruiting juggernauts.

What happened in 2013 is one of the most amazing coaching jobs I have ever seen. We took a bunch of beat up down-on-their-luck AU players, added a transfer defensive back at a QB, and ran an the read option.

In 2104 we could pretty much score at will (except for the UGA game) on anyone. We just could not stop a cold.

Last year was Gus' first year I can remember his offense struggling in college. There are so many reasons why that have been listed - bad play calling and bad QB are on top of the list - and in hindsight Muschamp was a quick fix that also did not work.

People jumping off the bus need some perspective. We do NOT want to become TN and change coaches time and again. We need to give Gus time to build a program.

Agree with everything except the parts in bold. I'll keep saying it until the cows come home: there is no good playbook for bad players and Muschamp left our defense in far better shape than he found it. When we open against Clemson, I hope everybody will look at the 2-deep on defense and see how many guys were signed in 2015. There might even be some from 2016. Also, please compare the overall performance of the defense to when we opened against Louisville 2014 and you'll see what Steele inherited vs what Muschamp did. If it's not a better product, then I'll look really dumb, but I'm okay with that.

Yep. Our defensive recruiting the last 2 years has been better than is has in more than 10 years. I can't remember EVER having this many 4 and 5 star players on defense if you include the incoming freshmen.

[Mikey 16,717]

About that Kick Six: Coach Tuberville, commenting on the TV broadcast, said the timeout and putting Davis back there was the best coaching move he'd ever seen. Now, after two years, we have people on here saying Gus should get no credit for it. That's just asinine. Nothing like that gets done without the involvement of the head coach.

It appeared to be Gus that had us run one more play in the 2010 BCS game and run the clock down before the field goal so that we didn't have to kickoff to Oregon. Was he smart in 2010 and suddenly not-so-smart in 2013? Some of you Gus haters need to go find a dog to kick.

[Tiger 8,830]

Gus said himself it wasn't his idea. He credited CEJ for the move

[McLoofus 35,182]

The jackass on the other sideline who has twice as many national championships in the last 6 years as Auburn has total lined up a bunch of fat guys on the play.

Not sure why this conversation is still going on.