Malzhan Growth

[DAG 33,997]

26 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Kam Martin's school, Port Arthur Memorial, does that some of the time. It is difficult to get used to and even harder to get calls made and aligned to.  That said, AU hasn't run much hurry up lately. More of hurry to the line and wait.

You mean the meerkat offense?!

[LakeBum 187]

OP is a great summary. I think CGM has the makings of an excellent coach, having already coached in two NC games and doing a good job recruiting.  In addition to the points above, I think it is important for CGM to be willing to make staff changes proactively and not just when someone decides to leave.  I think he did that with CRL, albeit a year or two longer than it should have been.  If he sees someone out there that would enhance the staff, take the initiative to make it happen.  I see way too much loyalty among coaches to keep assistant coaches, even if they are not producing to the level of the rest of the staff.  As much as I loved CTT, one of his biggest challenges was his lack of good staff management. I hope CGM does not have the same problem.  

[ausburn 159]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

Kam Martin's school, Port Arthur Memorial, does that some of the time. It is difficult to get used to and even harder to get calls made and aligned to.  That said, AU hasn't run much hurry up lately. More of hurry to the line and wait.

[CameronCrazy 1,072]

There have been some very good points made in this thread. I would simply add that we need more stability with our roster. I'm not sure what Dabo has done at Clemson to limit the attrition from year-to-year, but we always seem to struggle with losing players that we didn't intend to lose.

I think Gus needs to do a better job getting to know these players individually and determine what he can do to make each individual player successful. You can't make everyone happy, but I think we can do a much better job. My example of this is Rodney Garner's coaching style. If certain players aren't responding to that, then Gus needs to step in and determine the support those kids need to be successful. Byron Cowart & Antwaun Jackson weren't recruiting by everyone for no reason. Get in touch with their high school coaches or their families and see what motivates them.

That doesn't mean that you put up with insubordination. But ESPN's 30 for 30 "The Best that Never Was" is a prime example. Marcus Dupree didn't respond to the criticism from his coach Barry Switzer. His family member even stated that if you cuss Marcus, he'll lay down on you. But if you praise Marcus, then he'll run through a brick wall for you. 

Bottom line - we need to get to a full 85 man roster of scholarship players instead of having to hand them out to walk-ons  to fill the 85 limit.

[Tiger 8,829]

As others have stated we knew what we were getting into when we hired him. We knew it was going to be a process. Saying that now is much easier than trying to say it in an emotional state after we blow a game vs a mediocre UGA squad, though. 

What would suck is if we spend this much time "developing" Gus and then he uses his on-the-job training here as a way to reach his potential elsewhere after we have gone come this far.

I would definitely like to see time management/timeout management improved, though. I seriously still think about our red zone blunders in our '14 Iron Bowl -- specifically the one right before halftime. We freaking could have put them AWAY at the end of the 1st half but we left the door open for them...UGH 

Lots of great comments in this thread!!

[triangletiger 1,599]

27 minutes ago, Tiger said:

As others have stated we knew what we were getting into when we hired him. We knew it was going to be a process. Saying that now is much easier than trying to say it in an emotional state after we blow a game vs a mediocre UGA squad, though. 

What would suck is if we spend this much time "developing" Gus and then he uses his on-the-job training here as a way to reach his potential elsewhere after we have gone come this far.

I would definitely like to see time management/timeout management improved, though. I seriously still think about our red zone blunders in our '14 Iron Bowl -- specifically the one right before halftime. We freaking could have put them AWAY at the end of the 1st half but we left the door open for them...UGH 

Lots of great comments in this thread!!

When is the last time a head coach has left Auburn of his own choice to go and coach elsewhere?  It doesn't happen.  We are at the top of the food chain as far as college head coaching jobs go.  A bigger concern would that the powers-that-be lose patience and run him off prematurely.  Seeing as how it hasn't happened yet, I think the decision-makers have wisely decided to give him time to get things established. I think it 's going to pay off.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

9 minutes ago, triangletiger said:

When is the last time a head coach has left Auburn of his own choice to go and coach elsewhere?  It doesn't happen.  We are at the top of the food chain as far as college head coaching jobs go.  A bigger concern would that the powers-that-be lose patience and run him off prematurely.  Seeing as how it hasn't happened yet, I think the decision-makers have wisely decided to give him time to get things established. I think it 's going to pay off.

I think that's the point Tiger was trying to make.  If we get rid of him just as he's getting it, we may get to watch some other team reap the fruits of our labor.

[Tiger 8,829]

@triangletiger, please refer to @lionheartkc as he clarified my post for me.

[Rednilla 5,391]

1 hour ago, LakeBum said:

OP is a great summary. I think CGM has the makings of an excellent coach, having already coached in two NC games and doing a good job recruiting.  In addition to the points above, I think it is important for CGM to be willing to make staff changes proactively and not just when someone decides to leave.  I think he did that with CRL, albeit a year or two longer than it should have been.  If he sees someone out there that would enhance the staff, take the initiative to make it happen.  I see way too much loyalty among coaches to keep assistant coaches, even if they are not producing to the level of the rest of the staff.  As much as I loved CTT, one of his biggest challenges was his lack of good staff management. I hope CGM does not have the same problem.  

I'm inclined to somewhat disagree with this...but only somewhat. Loyalty is a two way street, and having coaches who will stick around rather than jumping at the first opportunity to either get a pay raise or a higher level coaching position creates staff continuity, which is good for the players. It's a balancing act: do you want to bring in a coach with more potential who may or may not fit in with the rest of the staff, or do you want to settle for the good of the current coach, even with the warts that go with it? Tubs had a pretty darned good run at Auburn, one which should include a national championship as well as 6 straight over our arch-rival, so while he probably WAS loyal to a fault, having some measure of that loyalty is probably a desirable trait in the head coach.

[jAUSon 2,836]

With half the hc's in the conference on the hot seat, it would be a real shot in the arm to see CGM cement himself this season. Imo he doesn't need to grow as a coach as much as inventory the mess-ups from '14-'16 and make sure to never repeat them. I believe replacing Rhett will have been a giant step in the right direction. Good comments above about seeing and managing the game as a whole. Let's win the ones we're supposed to and shock the rest. War Eagle.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

5 hours ago, corchjay said:

That's a very good one and I agree.  However, in general I think Gus is very conservative and the more pressure on his job the more conservative he seems to be.  

I so agree with this, especially if the game is close. Back when he was the OC we would take chances, we were more creative, and we seemed to play loose. In big games we almost always keep it close the vest. When we ran the fake FG against ARK ST I kept saying "why can't we run these type things in bigger games, or at least SEC games". His fear of losing is greater now than it has ever been with his job on the line. 

I hope the team plays loose and has fun this year.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

1 hour ago, Rednilla said:

Tubs had a pretty darned good run at Auburn, one which should include a national championship as well as 6 straight over our arch-rival, so while he probably WAS loyal to a fault, having some measure of that loyalty is probably a desirable trait in the head coach.

The problem Tubbs had was he was loyal to some guys who weren't that great of coaches (save Eddie Gran). When Tubbs had his best years it was because he brought in outsiders who seriously changed the dynamic (Chizik, Muschamp, Borges, Petrino) and then left for bigger things.  When he tried to win with his guys and only his guys, it was our two worst seasons of his tenure. The key to being a great manager, or in this case head coach, is to surround yourself with talent.  If you want to make friends with them and be loyal to them, great, but don't bring in and then carry your buddies who are in over their head. 

[Rednilla 5,391]

5 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

The problem Tubbs had was he was loyal to some guys who weren't that great of coaches (save Eddie Gran). When Tubbs had his best years it was because he brought in outsiders who seriously changed the dynamic (Chizik, Muschamp, Borges, Petrino) and then left for bigger things.  When he tried to win with his guys and only his guys, it was our two worst seasons of his tenure. The key to being a great manager, or in this case head coach, is to surround yourself with talent.  If you want to make friends with them and be loyal to them, great, but don't bring in and then carry your buddies who are in over their head. 

Like I said, he was loyal to a fault...but again, there has to be a balancing act there. Otherwise, you're stuck trying to replace coaches every year and/or trying to create chemistry between new coaches and old ones.

[AUBwins 10,075]

4 hours ago, bigbird said:

Kam Martin's school, Port Arthur Memorial, does that some of the time. It is difficult to get used to and even harder to get calls made and aligned to.  That said, AU hasn't run much hurry up lately. More of hurry to the line and wait.

Yep.  I think some of the hurry and wait will go away if we just trust or QB to make calls at the line.  I think we could get there by year end with Stidham.  Curious how much trust JS is given early in this regard. 

[AU64 10,122]

Agree with corch...  Gus should coach the team and then just let them play....that screaming and running along a the sideline when the offense is on the field makes him look disorganized.  Hopefully with Lindsey running the offense, Gus will be able to enjoy the games more.

[ausoldiergrad 57]

I agree with many of the fine points made in this thread. If I could change one thing about ole Gustav, it would be to give the man a personality...some swagger if you will. I think great leaders need that to inspire confidence in their teams.

[DAG 33,997]

20 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Agree with corch...  Gus should coach the team and then just let them play....that screaming and running along a the sideline when the offense is on the field makes him look disorganized.  Hopefully with Lindsey running the offense, Gus will be able to enjoy the games more.

[aujeff11 6,243]

5 hours ago, CameronCrazy said:

I'm not sure what Dabo has done at Clemson to limit the attrition from year-to-year, but we always seem to struggle with losing players that we didn't intend to lose.

Does anybody? I'd love to know what he's doing because it is atypical to the normal power 5 football factories. 

[corchjay 5,311]

19 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Does anybody? I'd love to know what he's doing because it is atypical to the normal power 5 football factories. 

As much as I dislike Dabo he is truly a players coach.  He's created a great atmosphere there and the players see security in the coaching staff.  I'm surprised Venebles didn't get poached after last season but he makes so much it would take a P5 school to get him.

[fredst 9,064]

48 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Does anybody? I'd love to know what he's doing because it is atypical to the normal power 5 football factories. 

As painful as it is to admit because he's a Bammer, Dabo is actually a good dude and I think his players love him. Doesn't mean I don't want to see us send him running off the field this year with those big ears red from embarrassment from a humiliating loss, lol.

[DAG 33,997]

5 minutes ago, fredst said:

As painful as it is to admit because he's a Bammer, Dabo is actually a good dude and I think his players love him. Doesn't mean I don't want to see us send him running off the field this year with those big ears red from embarrassment from a humiliating loss, lol.

That's called being objective . It's totally okay and quite a good characteristic .

[lemonade_drinker 1]

Fix the 3rd quarter dry spells and release the injury info. That is all since he fixed the D.

Side note-go back and watch how short and rude chip kelly was with the sideline reporters at the bcsncg and watch how pro CGC was. I also like how Gus handles the media. Same sortof way. Way better than Saybin imo. 

[oracle79 3,569]

Two things.

1) Gus needs to realize, if he's the smartest man in the room, he's in the wrong room (i.e. hire people as assistants that you can learn from).

2) Unfortunately in his 5th year, it's nut cutt'in time.  Nuff said.

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

Nobody is a bigger fan of Malzahn's offensive abilities than me and his O value IMHO is not teachable because he's especially brilliant in tempo calls & judgment DURING games - something that simply depends on what's happening in a given game at a given moment. He's a good, not great recruiting closer and we knew he would be a learn-on-the-job HC hire. Chip may end up being a perfect OC but keeping Gus totally out of the offense is the same mistake Chizik made staying too much out of D. I would like to see Gus develop an effective gametime-input partnership w/ Chip rather than staying hands off during games. Sort of like President Muffley consulting with Dr. Strangelove...

[johnnyAU 3,634]

10 hours ago, corchjay said:

As much as I dislike Dabo he is truly a players coach.  He's created a great atmosphere there and the players see security in the coaching staff.  I'm surprised Venebles didn't get poached after last season but he makes so much it would take a P5 school to get him.

I totally agree about Venables. He's got to be one of the next off the blocks. I'm a little lukewarm about Dabo.  I still remember his antics when we lost at Clemson a few years ago, maybe 2011. I think he's calmed down a bit since then, and I did pull for him the past couple of seasons in those final games.