Fountain will not be on the field next year

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

14 hours ago, AUIH1 said:

Didn't Gus ask T Rocker to be on the staff when Gus was hired and T Rocker said no?

 

wde

This is correct. And the reason was CTR didn't want to pull his kids out of their high school in Athens. Not anything to do with Gus or CRG. CTR is a huge family man. I do believe his kids have graduated. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

19 hours ago, cole256 said:

Because when he left here there had to be a problem with him if you notice the trend of every coach that leaves.....When it looked as if garner was in a little trouble we were about to do it to him as well. And the opposite, when kodi was first hired he was the greatest and Craig was all of a sudden a pos

It's been years, so I can't find it (especially with his name all over Google for the current stuff), but I distinctly remember reading an interview with him where he talked about not liking being on the road, away from his family, and that being part of why he preferred coaching in the NFL.

It's not like people are disparaging the man... it's been a consistent talking point about Rocker that recruiting is not his favorite thing to do. It had nothing to do with sour grapes of him leaving.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I know it may never happen, but I'd still like to see Tracy back on our staff. Oh well. I wonder the next TE / ST coach will be.

[Strychnine 1,802]

39 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

It's been years, so I can't find it (especially with his name all over Google for the current stuff), but I distinctly remember reading an interview with him where he talked about not liking being on the road, away from his family, and that being part of why he preferred coaching in the NFL.

It's not like people are disparaging the man... it's been a consistent talking point about Rocker that recruiting is not his favorite thing to do. It had nothing to do with sour grapes of him leaving.

 

It makes perfect sense to me.  I can easily see recruiting being the most undesirable part of a college coach's job.  Seems like long hours spent traveling, evaluating prospects, forging relationships with prospects and parents, etc.

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

It makes perfect sense to me.  I can easily see recruiting being the most undesirable part of a college coach's job.  Seems like long hours spent traveling, evaluating prospects, forging relationships with prospects and parents, etc.

Agree. There are probably also (lots of) times when you have to pretend to like a kid whose athletic skills surpass his social skills. You probably deal with a lot of "uncles" and "cousins" and "stage moms" and other handlers who make your skin crawl a little. Mark Richt once sang happy birthday to a kid over the phone. I wonder if he was like, "Man, I really loved my job today" after that? I wouldn't have been. 

There are the outliers, like Paul Johnson at Tech, but I think most of those guys have to love sales almost as much as they love football. No thank you. 

[Tiger 8,827]

I can certainly see how the manipulation, brainwashing, and back breaking to get a teenage kid to sign with you can turn someone off to the whole process. And that's not even mentioning the actual time and travel you have to put in. I'm sure that wears on you even more if you're not wired for the recruiting lifestyle.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

8 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I can certainly see how the manipulation, brainwashing, and back breaking to get a teenage kid to sign with you can turn someone off to the whole process. And that's not even mentioning the actual time and travel you have to put in. I'm sure that wears on you even more if you're not wired for the recruiting lifestyle.

And it gets harder and harder each year as "yes sirs" turn into "yeas" and it becomes more about stroking egos than promoting a chance to be successful. 

[Strychnine 1,802]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Agree. There are probably also (lots of) times when you have to pretend to like a kid whose athletic skills surpass his social skills. You probably deal with a lot of "uncles" and "cousins" and "stage moms" and other handlers who make your skin crawl a little. Mark Richt once sang happy birthday to a kid over the phone. I wonder if he was like, "Man, I really loved my job today" after that? I wouldn't have been. 

There are the outliers, like Paul Johnson at Tech, but I think most of those guys have to love sales almost as much as they love football. No thank you. 

 

I suspect the football part of conversations with recruits are the only part most college coaches get any enjoyment out of.  As for singing happy birthday over the phone, imagine how bad it would be if you did that and the recruit either did not sign or ended up not panning out as a player.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

9 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

I suspect the football part of conversations with recruits are the only part most college coaches get any enjoyment out of.  As for singing happy birthday over the phone, imagine how bad it would be if you did that and the recruit either did not sign or ended up not panning out as a player.

As a hardcore introvert, I would find a lot of that type of thing to me mortifying. I honestly don't know how Gus does as well as he does, recruiting, with his personality, or lack there of.

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

As a hardcore introvert, I would find a lot of that type of thing to me mortifying. I honestly don't know how Gus does as well as he does, recruiting, with his personality, or lack there of.

He gets Auburn to pay other people to do that.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

4 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

He gets Auburn to pay other people to do that.

Truth... he's still got a pretty good rep as a closer for someone who comes across as slightly more animated than a 2x4 in his press conferences. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

7 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Truth... he's still got a pretty good rep as a closer for someone who comes across as slightly more animated than a 2x4 in his press conferences. 

Ever so slightly...

[oracle79 3,569]

Am I missing it, or is there a reason we don't have a "Candidates for ST/TE Coach" thread started?

[lionheartkc 6,150]

Just now, oracle79 said:

Am I missing it, or is there a reason we don't have a "Candidates for ST/TE Coach" thread started?

I think everyone finally gave up on guessing what direction we're going to go in with hiring. It's not just this board.  CoachingSearch.com doesn't even have the position listed...
http://coachingsearch.com/article?a=List-Open-FBS-assistant-jobs-in-college-football

 

[Strychnine 1,802]

26 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

As a hardcore introvert, I would find a lot of that type of thing to me mortifying. I honestly don't know how Gus does as well as he does, recruiting, with his personality, or lack there of.

 

Me too.  I am not very good at, or even remotely interested in, small talk.  It made me terrible at interacting with fans while in touring bands, and would make me a terrible recruiter for a football program.  "Hey man, awesome show!" was never a good segue into conversation, as all I had to say was some form of "thanks".  A brilliant career in sales was never in the cards for me.

I doubt Gus does much independent recruiting, unless it is a recruit that he has a particular interest or connection with a recruit.  Gus likely provides reinforcement to the better recruiters when a harder sell might be needed.  You know, head coach making a visit so you feel more important, that sort of thing.  If Gus were a lead recruiter, I suspect recruiting would not be going as well.  The longer he is left alone with a recruit is probably related to counter-productivity.  I do not look at it as lack of personality, as he obviously has one.  He has friends and a wife, after all.  I bet Gus turns into a chatterbox when someone wants to have an in-depth chat about football, or any subject he is interested in.  However, you will probably not get much more than "good" when you ask him how someone is doing, unless something is actually wrong.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

5 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

Me too.  I am not very good at, or even remotely interested in, small talk.  It made me terrible at interacting with fans while in touring bands, and would make me a terrible recruiter for a football program.  "Hey man, awesome show!" was never a good segue into conversation, as all I had to say was some form of "thanks".  A brilliant career in sales was never in the cards for me.

Sounds like we are cut from the same cloth. Fortunately, as the drummer, I was never engaged much in conversation.

5 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

 I do not look at it as lack of personality, as he obviously has one.

Not according to his own words

5 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

I bet Gus turns into a chatterbox when someone wants to have an in-depth chat about football, or any subject he is interested in.  However, you will probably not get much more than "good" when you ask him how someone is doing, unless something is actually wrong.

You're probably right.  Get him talking about offensive strategies (or possibly sports cars, based on the i8) and everyone else in the room will probably start looking at their watch.

[Strychnine 1,802]

Just now, lionheartkc said:

Sounds like we are cut from the same cloth. Fortunately, as the drummer, I was never engaged much in conversation.

Not according to his own words

You're probably right.  Get him talking about offensive strategies (or possibly sports cars, based on the i8) and everyone else in the room will probably start looking at their watch.

 

Bassist here.

I think Gus' own words in that regard were more in response to the way he comes across to people (especially media).  He is not an effective communicator in a world that communicates in sound bytes.

As for cars:  Considering that he had a rather substantial budget for a sports car, and came home with an i8, that tells me that he is poorly equipped to discuss sports cars.  There are much better options in its price range.  Given the money he makes, moving up to a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or McLaren is not out of the question.  Apologies, I am definitely a car enthusiast.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

1 minute ago, Strychnine said:

Bassist here.

Now that should have worked out perfectly for you.  Bassists have the magical ability to become nearly invisible.

2 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

As for cars:  Considering that he had a rather substantial budget for a sports car, and came home with an i8, that tells me that he is poorly equipped to discuss sports cars.  There are much better options in its price range.  Given the money he makes, moving up to a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or McLaren is not out of the question.  Apologies, I am definitely a car enthusiast.

Ah... but nothing else out there looks like an i8. Sure, a McLaren would be amazing, as would several models of Ferrari and Lambo, but the i8 definitely stands out as an "I've never seen anything like it" recruiting tool. I also bet Kristy had a lot to say about how much he as going to spend on a toy, with the 540C coming in at $50-60k more than an i8. The fact that he chose to go with a car as his recruiting toy tells me that he probably appreciates all of the above. Of course, for all we know he has a garage full of exotic cars and only brings out the "cheap" one to show the recruits. He has to spend his Waffle House money on something.

[Strychnine 1,802]

41 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Now that should have worked out perfectly for you.  Bassists have the magical ability to become nearly invisible.

Ah... but nothing else out there looks like an i8. Sure, a McLaren would be amazing, as would several models of Ferrari and Lambo, but the i8 definitely stands out as an "I've never seen anything like it" recruiting tool. I also bet Kristy had a lot to say about how much he as going to spend on a toy, with the 540C coming in at $50-60k more than an i8. The fact that he chose to go with a car as his recruiting toy tells me that he probably appreciates all of the above. Of course, for all we know he has a garage full of exotic cars and only brings out the "cheap" one to show the recruits. He has to spend his Waffle House money on something.

 

I like the design of the i8, and it is certainly a styling departure for BMW.  That said, I would have preferred the car have bigger teeth if they were going to make it look like that, at that price point.  Give it the M4 or M5 engine in an MR layout, and we now have a legitimately good car.  As it is, it is too soundly trounced by its competitors to be called a sports car.  It has the looks, it has the price, but it lacks the performance.  That is a lot of money to spend for something that performs much more like a Nissan 370Z than it does a Porsche 911 Turbo, while trying to look more like a McLaren than a BMW.  It is an unacceptable amount of compromises that were made trying to do the sporty-hybrid thing.

As far as appearance, put the i8 in a parking lot full of modern exotics, and the i8 really does not stand out.

EDIT:  As a recruiting tool, take a recruit out in a V8 Jaguar F-Type.  The conversation magically becomes:  "I've never heard anything like it!! MORE PLEASE!!!"  It is like having your ears personally massaged by Otis Redding.

[McLoofus 35,182]

but in a totally okay way? I dig it. 

[Strychnine 1,802]

4 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

but in a totally okay way? I dig it. 

 

The car talk?  Hop in.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

22 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

I like the design of the i8, and it is certainly a styling departure for BMW.  That said, I would have preferred the car have bigger teeth if they were going to make it look like that, at that price point.  Give it the M4 or M5 engine in an MR layout, and we now have a legitimately good car.... It is an unacceptable amount of compromises that were made trying to do the sporty-hybrid thing.

Unfortunately, I think you nailed it with that last sentence. That was the trade-off for making it a plug-in hybrid. I don't know that we are ever going to see something with the gas consumption of an M4 or M5 engine sporting the "Hybrid" label.

Now... turn it full electric and give it Tesla's Ludicrous Speed mode and then we're talking. 

22 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

EDIT:  As a recruiting tool, take a recruit out in a V8 Jaguar F-Type.  The conversation magically becomes:  "I've never heard anything like it!! MORE PLEASE!!!"  It is like having your ears personally massaged by Otis Redding.

I've never had Mr. Redding personally massage my ears, but I'm up for the experience.

Speaking of Jags... have they improved in quality or do they still come back from 100,000 mile endurance tests in a large box?

[McLoofus 35,182]

26 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

The car talk?  Hop in.

Nope, I'll let you guys chat it up. I know nothing. I love a cool car, but I don't know much about what's going on under the hood, at least not relative to you guys. 

I was actually in Florence, IT when the Mille Miglia rolled right by the flat we were staying in. Didn't even realize what it was at the time or that it was going to be happening. You would not believe the cars I saw. The highlight for me was probably a group of SLR Stirling Mosses. As in, yes, multiple. The whole time, I was thinking, "It shouldn't be me standing here. It should be a LOT of other dudes I know." But it was still awesome. 

[Strychnine 1,802]

Just now, lionheartkc said:

Unfortunately, I think you nailed it with that last sentence. That was the trade-off for making it a plug-in hybrid. I don't know that we are ever going to see something with the gas consumption of an M4 or M5 engine sporting the "Hybrid" label.

Now... turn it full electric and give it Tesla's Ludicrous Speed mode and then we're talking. 

I've never had Mr. Redding personally massage my ears, but I'm up for the experience.

Speaking of Jags... have they improved in quality or do they still come back from 100,000 mile endurance tests in a large box?

 

That is my thing with it.  In trying to be sport-hybrid, it ends up not being very good at either, and apocalyptically bad at sport.  It handles decent, but that is because BMW does not know how to build a car that does not handle well.  If they could have accomplished everything at a 1000 pounds lighter, it would be a VERY different car.  That would have made it brilliant in the way a Lotus Elise is brilliant.

Like you, I say go full electric or full petrol.  If you want to go sport-hybrid, accept that it is prohibitively expensive and look at how McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari did it with their superb offerings.  Even the full electric option is slow, but at least there is the included excuse of it being powered by nothing but batteries.  Looking like it does, BMW should have made it a proper sports car, which they certainly know how to do.  As it is, it is powered by nothing but disappointment and poor decisions.

As for Jaguar, their quality started improving under Ford's ownership, but I think they have benefited most from the partnership with Land Rover.  The F-Type is a legitimately good car, and the exhaust is great for letting Prius owners hear you hurt the environment (credit Clarkson).

[Strychnine 1,802]

4 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Nope, I'll let you guys chat it up. I know nothing. I love a cool car, but I don't know much about what's going on under the hood, at least not relative to you guys. 

I was actually in Florence, IT when the Mille Miglia rolled right by the flat we were staying in. Didn't even realize what it was at the time or that it was going to be happening. You would not believe the cars I saw. The highlight for me was probably a group of SLR Stirling Mosses. As in, yes, multiple. The whole time, I was thinking, "It shouldn't be me standing here. It should be a LOT of other dudes I know." But it was still awesome. 

 

You can see all sorts of interesting cars simply by going to a local or major city's Caffeine & Octane or Cars & Coffee event.  Talk to the right people the right way and you may end up driving or riding in something that makes the trip worth it on its own.