Don't know if anyone noticed...

[Charleston Tiger 134]

My only read here is that Jack Crowe is still the world's biggest Malzahn hater. Not a big fan of his personally.

[AURealist 2,185]

Re: Gus and his $4.7 mil.

$3 million...

6th place ranking...

In Houston...

From scraps...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IronMan70 3,277]

There is SO much more to being a head coach than "calling plays" on game day. Quite frankly, to be that involved in the offense takes away from all the other details a HC must be involved in to be successful. Oh, you may be able to do it for awhile but without the management of the entire program, the program will eventually suffer. In turn, those other responsibilities will take away from preparing the offense properly and calling the best plays possible.

This is Gus's offense the same way another coach in the state has his imprint all over the defense. It doesn't mean either one of them needs to call the plays or produce the game plan. Oversee yes, produce no. That's what those high paid assistants getting $600K are there to do. A CEO's (the HC) time is better spent providing the vision, clearly communicating  to his staff what he wants done, motivating them, measuring their progress and holding them accountable for making it happen.     

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

On 9/25/2016 at 9:48 AM, Woodstock Tiger said:

 Gus now has his scapegoat if the td's don't start showing up in mass quantities for AU. It seems likely that some coaching changes will be called for at year end as AU likely ends up 8-4 or 7-5 again based on what we've seen so far (obviously pure speculation) which simply ain't good enough.

Enter Briles who is still unlikely to be a hot commodity as a head coach so soon after the issues at Baylor. He and Gus like each other, Gus keeps his job, AU doesn't have to pay yet another "former head coach" to leave and admit they made a mistake extending his contract, the power brokers are appeased that better things are ahead now with Briles being on AU campus. Scapegoat is booted and everybody moves forward. The only one hosed is lashlee.  Scarbinsky's article today on the scapegoat theory doesn't seem so far fetched to me.  

Before the season even started, there were those "in the know"  who said regardless of play on the field this season Lashlee was out and Briles would be in as OC. Granted it wasnt Art that was said, but Kendall.

23 hours ago, CleCoTiger said:

 

Ya know how talented students can surpass the master? Let's wait and see if Rhett is a talented student.

Haha I like this. Let's see if Lashlee's kung-fu is very strong. Something tells me he is still the grasshopper. 

22 hours ago, doug3020 said:

Holding my breath.....

Edit: I have nothing against running the football on first down. I do have a problem with running the same freaking running play 80% of the time on first down. 

Seriously... Against A&M, for 3 straight drives my 13 year old called every play before they happen. 

But I couldn't agree more... Run it on 1st, ok...just not up the gut EVERY time...

22 hours ago, IronMan70 said:

Scapegoat schmakegoat, I don't buy it from Scarbinsky or Jack Crowe. The simple fact is, RL makes $600K a year as the OC  and he should be able to run this offense. Gus shouldn't have to, he needs to run the entire program.

And Bingo was his Name O. Some people act like we pay Lashlee to hang out with Gus and BBQ... too soon? Seriously though, that is the job of 99.999% of the other OCs out there. It is in his job description...

22 hours ago, weagl1 said:

I think that is the first step towards Gus saving his own job as he brings in Art Briles as OC for 2017.  

Everyone keeps saying Art now. I know some big name people have suggested he would be our coach next season. But before the season even started, certain people were saying Kendall would be our OC next year. 

Does this mean if we bring Art in as OC that we would hire Kendall as an off the field coach? I mean I can't see any other offensive coach but Lashlee being out. I'd love to see Hand shown the door, but that isnt happening after 1 year not to mention, its not like Kendall coaches OLs. And I don't see us making a move with Kodi. And we certainly better NOT force out Horton like Gus did Grimes... But if Horton gets a head coaching gig (he was up for a few last season) maybe we bring in Kendall as RB coach?

21 hours ago, doug3020 said:

There's just too much smoke for something not to have happened for Gus to just flip a switch and hand over the reigns to RL. Nuheisel (sp) tweets out Briles to Auburn earlier this week. Crowe sends out info yesterday morning. Gus makes it public last night. The LSU game was considered the biggest of Gus's career (job wise). Why all of a sudden completely put your job in someone else's hands when you've preached all offseason you needed to be more involved? I just don't see it adding up.

Because he is right. He is giving his OC THE NORMAL EVERYDAY DUTIES that 99.999% of other OCs do for their job. 

I took a LOT of heat after Clemson for saying just that...

20 hours ago, Tiger said:

Something doesn't sit well with me about this. Not that it's Rhett calling the shots, although I'd feel better if it was somebody who was more proven and had history backing them. But the fact that Gus worked his butt off for years proving to the world how great of a play caller he is and then AU pays him $4 million a year to NOT call the offense? The whole reason we hired him was his offense and his playcalling --that's what makes him worth $4 million/year, right? So we are stuck in a position where our best playcaller doesn't have time to get mentally prepared to call the plays. That seems counterproductive to me. I know it's how football staffs work but this is why there were segments of the board asking why we have someone so under-qualified as the head of our offense back when our staff was being filled out in 2012.

Again, he is simply handing over the OCs normal duties. I don't get why its such a big deal. He IS the head coach. We DO have an OC/QB coach. There is zero reason for Gus to do the job of both. Especially when his job is on the line. Its not like he is pawning off something that is a normal responsibility of the head coach. He is simply letting the OC do his job. 

Gus is the head coach....not OC.

17 hours ago, CleCoTiger said:

CGM was hired to be a HC and win games. That's it. His expertise and rep is what got him the opportunity (along with the crystal football in AU's trophy case.)  Having him call plays may have been what everyone expected and we've had that,  but since it wasn't working all that well last season or early on this season, that expectation has given way to reality and change.  That's what is, IMHO.

Exactly. Just like he said in the post game, he has to get back to being the head coach. 

I really don't get why everyone wants our HC to be the OC...especially when we have an OC....on staff...who makes over half a million per season in salary.

17 hours ago, leglessdan said:

You know damn well Gus was brought in due to his offensive production of past teams. You should also know damn well that we expect and should be getting ALOT more than we are. If we're not paying Gus to be an offensive guru, then we need to get one in here to be the OC. Rhett is NOT a guru. He is a student to an offensive scheme that is in a MAJOR slump right now and nobody seems to be able to figure out how to utilize the talent we have. We're still trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. 

Gus was brought in to win games and be the head coach. Not the OC. Under no circumstances should the HC be doing the OCs job.

16 hours ago, icanthearyou said:

I think you may have broken the code.  I can remember in the past, we accelerated the pace the closer we got to the goal line.  Maybe, maybe it is the difference between getting a defense tired and confused versus, our offense being the ones who look tired and confused?

The difference is not having a game changing QB. Sean is fantastic in the between the 20s but EXTREMELY limited in the red zone. This is where not being a  DT guy hurts Sean, and us for that matter. If defenses had to account for his legs + his arm in the red zone, things change. But they don't... Thus we kick a LOT of FGs. 

#LegatronForHeisman!

5 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

man at some of you guys thinking gus is selling at rhett. i do not for a minute believe the crap some of you are spewing about him and rhett. i believe he is giving rhett a chance to shine because he has failed with clempson and a and m. and helloooooooo? it does not seem like he is letting his o line guy call many if any plays. when the crowd smells blood it is often sink or swim. yes this is just my opinion but if you all of a sudden think a class guy like gus would suddenly start betraying his coworkers some of you need your heads examined. i have not been happy with gus this year but i will not smear gus when the shoe does not fit. he is and remains a classy coach. we got issues we can work with instead of just making things up. lets try to stick with the facts like i was told in a different thread................

I don't see it as him betraying anyone. He is giving Lashlee the normal duties of an OC. Also, its reported (on this site) that both Gus and Rhett feel its time for him to make his name away from Gus. It was understood Lashlee would not return before the season even started. Regardless of offensive production (or the lack thereof.) In the past, Lashlee had turned down HC offers from small schools. He didnt want to go that route. He will no longer be turning those small schools down.

3 hours ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Funny how the OC can be a scapegoat for calling plays. Shows you how messed up AU really is. 

Couldn't of said it better myself. 

1 hour ago, lionheartkc said:

Other than landing a top 10 recruiting class every year of his head coaching tenure... something that was never done until he stepped on the Plains.  Oh yea, and then there's the fact that our D is playing at a level not seen since Tubberville. And I guess team chemistry that has these boys fighting against serious adversity until the final whistle each week... yea... none of that is worth the money we are paying him.

Gus makes the upper middle of the pack  in SEC HC salary. I think he is worth every penny of it. 

Personally I love Gus. I hope he gets a real OC in sometime, AND ACTUALLY LISTEN TO HIS OC...

46 minutes ago, IronMan70 said:

There is SO much more to being a head coach than "calling plays" on game day. Quite frankly, to be that involved in the offense takes away from all the other details a HC must be involved in to be successful. Oh you may be able to do it for awhile but without the management of the entire program it will eventually suffer. In turn, those other responsibilities can take away from preparing the offense properly and calling the best plays possible.

This is Gus's offense the same way another coach in the state has his imprint all over the defense. It doesn't mean either one of them needs to "call the plays" or produce the game plan. That's what those high paid assistants are there to do. A CEO's (the HC) time is better spent providing the vision, communicating clearly to his staff what he wants done, motivating them, measuring their progress and holding them accountable for making it happen.     

Very well said. This guy gets it.

 

Sorry for the huge post everyone

[Tiger 8,827]

@Auburn2Eugene, I can only reply to my portion quoted -- but my concern is we have a guy who is maxed out as an OC except he is manning the HC spot. And we have a guy who has no business being an OC at an SEC power directing the entire offense. 

I have no issue with the standard hierarchy of a college football staff. I have an issue with it when we seem to have mismatched our pieces. 

 

That being said, I think Gus CAN turn it around and learn how to be a great HC in this conference. The question is will he be able to do it before the clock runs out on him. Because if he doesn't achieve a certain level of HC competency in a limited time he may not get that opportunity to get to that level at all here at AU.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

13 minutes ago, Tiger said:

@Auburn2Eugene, I can only reply to my portion quoted -- but my concern is we have a guy who is maxed out as an OC except he is manning the HC spot. And we have a guy who has no business being an OC at an SEC power directing the entire offense. 

I have no issue with the standard hierarchy of a college football staff. I have an issue with it when we seem to have mismatched our pieces. 

 

That being said, I think Gus CAN turn it around and learn how to be a great HC in this conference. The question is will he be able to do it before the clock runs out on him. Because if he doesn't achieve a certain level of HC competency in a limited time he may not get that opportunity to get to that level at all here at AU.

I agree with you. I just hope the LSU win saved the season for him so he can get a real OC in there. Because I too think Gus can be a successful coach in the SEC. We just have to have patience. We knew there would be growing pains... But that doesnt mean he will listen to the OC brought in anyway though...I hope he does though. 

[JGLEATON 1,244]

5 hours ago, IronMan70 said:

There is SO much more to being a head coach than "calling plays" on game day. Quite frankly, to be that involved in the offense takes away from all the other details a HC must be involved in to be successful. Oh, you may be able to do it for awhile but without the management of the entire program, the program will eventually suffer. In turn, those other responsibilities will take away from preparing the offense properly and calling the best plays possible.

This is Gus's offense the same way another coach in the state has his imprint all over the defense. It doesn't mean either one of them needs to call the plays or produce the game plan. Oversee yes, produce no. That's what those high paid assistants getting $600K are there to do. A CEO's (the HC) time is better spent providing the vision, clearly communicating  to his staff what he wants done, motivating them, measuring their progress and holding them accountable for making it happen.     

^^^ THIS... and more THIS....

Now I'm not sure WHAT CRL is capable of...

but I think the two headed monster trying to run / call the plays in on the Offense during the game is ONE of the many problems we've had SLOWING DOWN and defeating what Gus style of Offense overall is capable of... and ending up with slowed down... vanilla (disagreement in what  to run)... conservative play calling.

I think we will find out about Lashlee now...

I just wonder if Gus now as HC has more of a tendency as a HC to play it SAFE and be more conservative on the O... not only conservative to protect the D, but also trying to manage the game being conservative overall as the HC... and looses sight of attacking as an offense and having the approach an OC needs to have to make adjustments and really ATTACK the Defense weakness using his Offense like a good OC should.  

and I've been considering this...

If CRL called the game last year we won against ATM,

and THAT was the difference and change we saw because Gus got out of the way which lead to a more concise, unpredictable, free flowing (free to attack), and an overall consistent game plan called by CRL... (and also the play calling against LSU on Sat night)

Then WHAT was the Difference between the 2014 UGA and 2014 BAMA games?? 

the Offensive game plan in the 2014 UGA game that was a horrible game plan, poorly played and overall horrible game in which nothing worked... and everyone thought for SURE Alabama was gonna walk all over us... and the Difference between the game vs BAMA where we put up more points on them in forever (44pts w/ 456 yards passing and 630 yards of total Offense.. on a GOOD Bama D ), and but for the lack of our Defense getting worn out (and Lane Kiffen making adjustments) we may have won that game... look at the passing stats...

http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2014-2015/au12.html        

I wanna know who called THAT 2014 Bama game... That is who we need.

It was NOT conservative and we really attacked their Defense.

Even if Gus called that game (and shouldn't CRL be able to call a similar game )... That is the exact kind of aggressive and NOT CONSERVATIVE game plan and play calling we need now. Now I know we don't have the same players and the Offense won't attack anywhere NEAR the same way as they did in 2014,

BUT with an unpredictable run and AGGRESSIVE  PASSING game... with more Vertical passing, attacking along with perimeter sweeps, screens (RB) wheel routes and slant / middle of the field passing (TE) and the strong runners we have should work... 

Just thinking out loud...

If our HC is going to be the OC he can't play it conservative... and if he can't be an aggressive play caller, then he needs his OC to step up an execute his game plan and mix up the play calls unpredictably and aggressively for him.
 

[BornAU76 398]

Let's give Lashlee a shot...if he has not truly been calling all of the plays then he hasn't had an opportunity to fully steer that ship.  If he fails, he fails and perhaps we move on.  If he succeeds, then everyone wins.  

I agree we need some spark and the play calling needs some adjustments but now that he's been dubbed 'OC' by Gus he can be directly held accountable for his plays (or lack thereof).  

[macauburn 6]

It does seem like a strategic move on Gus' part.  IF I were Rhett , I would be wary.  At least, I would be looking for a new job.

[WeagleAU 594]

4 minutes ago, macauburn said:

It does seem like a strategic move on Gus' part.  IF I were Rhett , I would be wary.  At least, I would be looking for a new job.

Why would Rhett be wary?  He's the OC, that's his job.  He shouldn't have to have a babysitter.  If he can't cut is as an OC, his training at Auburn is done.

[macauburn 6]

7 hours ago, Charhair said:

I don't see any point in not putting all of the play calling on Rhett

Gus seems to have realized that his 3 plays and the order he's running them in was about to get him fired. So he's gonna let Rhett call plays for a few reason 

More experience for Rhett, whether he stays leaves or gets fired at the end of the year, it's good for him.

maybe Rhett will do great, the offense will roar back to life and he'll get a different job offer at the end of the year, maybe he'll stay here and do great things. (I do believe Gus handing over the reigns is the equivalent to the writing behind on the wall)

if Rhett does terrible, it gives the university an oppurtunity to fire him. 

Either way it goes, it shows whoever we target next as OC that Gus has gotten out of the way and the offense will be yours. Which could definitely help entice some of the bigger names. 

I kinda feel bad for rhett

"hey bud, I know I made this really sh***y playbook for this year...and I know I haven't been able to do anything with it...but it's on you now. Good luck, if you don't produce better than the past 16 games, you're donezo lol" 

- gus 

This^^^^ reason^^

[Tiger 8,827]

One thing I am for SURE happy about is that there will no longer be a game of telephone in regards to play calling. We will be able to go faster now if one guy is calling the shots. I hope this helps our overall cause offensively. I'm not sure about how I feel about RL calling the offense but hopefully this will lead to quicker calls and more hurry up