Last Chance

[jAUSon 2,836]

I don't give a dang what he wins. It's not on the table for a next year turnaround. He's had his last optimistic offseason, no recruit is gonna even take him serious, the attrition will multiply this winter, coaches will move out like DC did, and the remainder of his carreer at Auburn, however long that is, will have an asterisk beside it. He is now the coach about to be fired, he won't shake that title until he starts his new job elsewhere. It's over even if it aint over, regardless if any "miracles" he may pull off this season.

[mustache eagle 2,412]

3 hours ago, TigerOne said:

its a lot easier to pay Gus to coach up than stay home and add another unproven head coach, keep the recruits and relationships. There isn't a homerun hire out there right now. Catch 22.

I bet if we played LSU again we would win 45-10. A lot can happen over the next 6 weeks lets just hope it doesn't involve Auburn other than us winning

Basically Gus will have to reinvent himself, see a psychologist or listen to his coaches.

I’d bet my auburn diploma that if we had let stidham call his own plays against LSU we win going away ....

we have the talent.  Gus is an anchor on the potential of this offense.

[AUDynasty 585]

Now the more I thought about it, I think Gus would have one more chance if we were sitting at 5-2. But the debacle that we went through last Saturday, blowing a 20-point for one of the most asinine playcalling and planning, Gus lost all of lifelines he could have.

[aubiefifty 16,836]

anyone that calls himself an auburn fan and quits pulling for the team because of coaching sux as a fan. no other way to put it. it tells everyone you are no better a fan than gus is as a head coach.and yet that is ok with some of you?

[oldaufeller 367]

I think Gus has a challenge here with his job. But it’s not a done deal and I am really sure he’s not going to repeat this mistake. Ever. It’s stuns me the number of individuals absolutely locked into throwing him out. What confounds me most is the number actually hoping for failure so your wishes of his firing are fulfilled.  I guess Gus isn’t the only one who makes an absolute game plan to see it through no matter what.  If he changes I guess you won’t?  You guys pulling against Auburn need to look at yourselves. Even as a long shot,  if he takes us to seccg  I won’t be mad - quite contrary I’d love to see Auburn succeed. Perhaps you should root for Syracuse - I hear they had a good week. Let me add though - mediocre coaching isn’t going to work here. He’s got s short leash that may very likely run out at year end. It’ll play out. Stop promoting failure. 

[gctiger 937]

7 minutes ago, oldaufeller said:

I think Gus has a challenge here with his job. But it’s not a done deal and I am really sure he’s not going to repeat this mistake. Ever. It’s stuns me the number of individuals absolutely locked into throwing him out. What confounds me most is the number actually hoping for failure so your wishes of his firing are fulfilled.  I guess Gus isn’t the only one who makes an absolute game plan to see it through no matter what.  If he changes I guess you won’t?  You guys pulling against Auburn need to look at yourselves. Even as a long shot,  if he takes us to seccg  I won’t be mad - quite contrary I’d love to see Auburn succeed. Perhaps you should root for Syracuse - I hear they had a good week. Let me add though - mediocre coaching isn’t going to work here. He’s got s short leash that may very likely run out at year end. It’ll play out. Stop promoting failure. 

He's had 4.5 seasons to prove himself yet keeps making the same mistakes folllowed by the same promises that they'll be fixed and it won't happen again.  

How many more seasons do you you feel he needs to turn it around?

For me, it's not that we're losing nearly as much as how we're losing.  

[oldaufeller 367]

Just now, gctiger said:

He's had 4.5 seasons to prove himself yet keeps making the same mistakes folllowed by the same promises that they'll be fixed and it won't happen again.  

How many more seasons do you you feel he needs to turn it around?

For me, it's not that we're losing nearly as much as how we're losing.  

Yeah. I do get it. I see it. Short leash. He’s put on notice. It’s not that I’m trying to pump sunshine -  but (not you) others hoping for failure. Boycotting games and hateful actions against our program. “If we band together and punish our program then they know we want him gone.” Boycotts.  Protesting. Foul letters.  Call in media. Printed opinion and hit pieces. Name calling. Believe me they know we’re not pleased with our coaching. But this kind cancer makes me sick. I am not happy with Gus. But I’m surprised at the vileness of some of the fan base. The whole “I’m so hurt by his coaching decisions” environment by some is too much for me. I look at it from how the players and recruits might look at Auburn. I’m not so sure who’s doing more damage - Gus or the poor pitiful fan victims of his bad coaching decisions. He’s probably not going to survive the end of season - why make the whole ordeal so wretched?

[milehighfan 1,240]

4 hours ago, gr82b4au said:

I'm with you. 

As far as the OP - I find it hard to believe that any coach will change his ways of coaching after many years in the business. Gus is who he is and he has proven that he will do things his way. It is his program. 

These next several weeks are going to be interesting for sure, one way or another. 

I have a feeling it will be the other.

[auskull 239]

10 hours ago, gctiger said:

He's had 4.5 seasons to prove himself yet keeps making the same mistakes folllowed by the same promises that they'll be fixed and it won't happen again.  

How many more seasons do you you feel he needs to turn it around?

For me, it's not that we're losing nearly as much as how we're losing.  

I would offer that in the 4.5 years as HC, I have seen him progress as a HC. He has realized that we must play Defense in this league to win consistently and addressed it. He has recruited well except for getting QB s that can run his system. What I feel he has not done yet is bringing in experienced and recognized SEC offensive position coaches. He is learning on the job and is slow to adapt and change his offensive philosophy to keep ahead of the competition. I was hoping Al Borges could help make an impact but I am not sure that has happened.

The problem I have is we hired someone who is new to being a HC and is learning on the job. It may very well take 10 years to get the experience needed to win consistently, much like John Wooden at UCLA back in the day (9 straight NC in basketball). As you remember, Wooden struggled for years at UCLA and then boom, he was unstoppable with many different type teams. We, the ALUM, Boosters, and fans simply don't have that long in the world we live in today. Remember Shug was an above average coach for 25 yrs, not great and we never even considered changing.

[gctiger 937]

53 minutes ago, auskull said:

I would offer that in the 4.5 years as HC, I have seen him progress as a HC. He has realized that we must play Defense in this league to win consistently and addressed it. He has recruited well except for getting QB s that can run his system. What I feel he has not done yet is bringing in experienced and recognized SEC offensive position coaches. He is learning on the job and is slow to adapt and change his offensive philosophy to keep ahead of the competition. I was hoping Al Borges could help make an impact but I am not sure that has happened.

The problem I have is we hired someone who is new to being a HC and is learning on the job. It may very well take 10 years to get the experience needed to win consistently, much like John Wooden at UCLA back in the day (9 straight NC in basketball). As you remember, Wooden struggled for years at UCLA and then boom, he was unstoppable with many different type teams. We, the ALUM, Boosters, and fans simply don't have that long in the world we live in today. Remember Shug was an above average coach for 25 yrs, not great and we never even considered changing.

While I agree with much of what you've said, most institutions give their coaches 3-4 years to prove themselves.  Gus is on his 5th year and you want to give him another 5?   Coaches rarely make it past 10 years at any stop, so if it takes 10 years build a quality program and then Gus leaves then what have we really gained?

I'm not so hell bent on Gus being fired as I am on getting the repetitive problems resolved.  I don't care if Gus solves them or someone else.  The bottom line is that there's absolutely no excuse for a $4.5m head coach to be making the same mistakes over and over.  If I do that in my job, I'll be fired, so why shouldn't I expect the same when ticket prices have gone through the roof?

IMO, we took a gamble in hiring a head coach with limited experience and it hasn't worked, so it's time to move on.  

[auskull 239]

Wow, gctiger: I certainly did not mean to imply that Gus needs to stay. I was just trying to offer some prospective given that we hired an inexperienced HC to began with and what our expectations should be given this fact. I too am ready for a change, only this time with a proven HC.

[McLoofus 35,182]

6 hours ago, auskull said:

I would offer that in the 4.5 years as HC, I have seen him progress as a HC. He has realized that we must play Defense in this league to win consistently and addressed it. He has recruited well except for getting QB s that can run his system. What I feel he has not done yet is bringing in experienced and recognized SEC offensive position coaches. He is learning on the job and is slow to adapt and change his offensive philosophy to keep ahead of the competition. I was hoping Al Borges could help make an impact but I am not sure that has happened.

The problem I have is we hired someone who is new to being a HC and is learning on the job. It may very well take 10 years to get the experience needed to win consistently, much like John Wooden at UCLA back in the day (9 straight NC in basketball). As you remember, Wooden struggled for years at UCLA and then boom, he was unstoppable with many different type teams. We, the ALUM, Boosters, and fans simply don't have that long in the world we live in today. Remember Shug was an above average coach for 25 yrs, not great and we never even considered changing.

Strongly agree.

My issue with Gus is not so much his ability to learn the ropes- as you eloquently explained, he has mostly learned them rather quickly- but what I perceive to be a major, fundamental flaw that can't be fixed. The moment rather quickly and easily becomes too big for him. He might have the tools, but not the instincts. He's the Jeremy Johnson of football coaching. 

[jAUSon 2,836]

If he were losing through inexperience, I could agree. But he experienced this last year. Losses are losses, but ours have a....personal touch. 

[Mikey 16,658]

16 hours ago, gctiger said:

Rooting against Auburn = Tough Love

Sometimes you've gotta go against the grain in order to make things better.  

It'a good thing that who you root for has no effect on the outcome of a game. I won't ever root for Auburn to lose a game. That's very poor, in my opinion.

[gctiger 937]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

It'a good thing that who you root for has no effect on the outcome of a game. I won't ever root for Auburn to lose a game. That's very poor, in my opinion.

Do you honestly think that keeping Gus is in the best long term interest of the football team?   If so, how many more seasons of the same mistakes can you stomach?  The program has been trending in the wrong direction for several years now and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight.

I want what's best for the long term interest of Auburn.  If that involves hoping for a loss so that issues are addressed in a more timely manner then so be it.  

At this point I'm probably more neutral than anything.  I've seen enough so I really don't care either way and I certainly won't lose any sleep over a loss.  

[ChltteTiger 649]

15 hours ago, oldaufeller said:

I think Gus has a challenge here with his job. But it’s not a done deal and I am really sure he’s not going to repeat this mistake. Ever. It’s stuns me the number of individuals absolutely locked into throwing him out. What confounds me most is the number actually hoping for failure so your wishes of his firing are fulfilled.  I guess Gus isn’t the only one who makes an absolute game plan to see it through no matter what.  If he changes I guess you won’t?  You guys pulling against Auburn need to look at yourselves. Even as a long shot,  if he takes us to seccg  I won’t be mad - quite contrary I’d love to see Auburn succeed. Perhaps you should root for Syracuse - I hear they had a good week. Let me add though - mediocre coaching isn’t going to work here. He’s got s short leash that may very likely run out at year end. It’ll play out. Stop promoting failure. 

Your mindset is the reason AU Football is stuck in mediocrity!

[gctiger 937]

I think some folks are assuming that those of us that desire a change also desire failure when the two aren't necessarily the same.  If I had to guess, I'd say that those that many of those that desire a change really just want the critical issues addressed once and for all and are tired of anticipating a good season only to be disappointed when yet another poorly prepared team takes the field and attempts to execute a game plan that obviously doesn't work, followed by few, if any in-game adjustments.   For the life of me I don't think understand how anyone can justify paying Gus his huge salalry based on his performance over the last several seasons.  It's well past time for some accountability!

[Tiger 8,830]

I can't pull for AU to lose. I want these hard working kids to make plays and feel good doing it for AU.

That being said, anyone who sees the bright side in future AU losses is not necessarily wrong. Look no further than the 76ers in the NBA. They became INTENTIONALLY bad to put themselves in a position to be good and are now seeing their plan come to fruition.

We don't have to follow this model exactly but this short term negative (loss/losses) can be used in this case to yield a long term positive (coaching change).

[oldaufeller 367]

1 hour ago, gctiger said:

I think some folks are assuming that those of us that desire a change also desire failure when the two aren't necessarily the same.  If I had to guess, I'd say that those that many of those that desire a change really just want the critical issues addressed once and for all and are tired of anticipating a good season only to be disappointed when yet another poorly prepared team takes the field and attempts to execute a game plan that obviously doesn't work, followed by few, if any in-game adjustments.   For the life of me I don't think understand how anyone can justify paying Gus his huge salalry based on his performance over the last several seasons.  It's well past time for some accountability!

I guess I wasn't clear.  I'm not calling out those who want a coaching change.  There's a whole lot of anger that is broadly applied.  I feel the vitriol is toxic to the program in general - especially to our players and recruits.  I'm not coming down on anyone who wants Gus replaced.  It will happen in it's due time (probably year end.)  But individuals going after boycotts,  name calling, opinion hit pieces, protesting, mocking the program in general is what bothers me.  I don't believe that some people realize the full effect of those actions.  

2 hours ago, ChltteTiger said:

Your mindset is the reason AU Football is stuck in mediocrity!

If the route to get Gus fired is a scorched earth policy in our program then yes I am the reason.  I'm not convinced we have to burn down the house to get rid of the rats - but I will admit that is an effective strategy (sarc.)  But I'm against holding up hate signs at the game or boycotting games altogether or calling into radio shows and unloading etc.  I'm also not in favor of rash decision like "fire him today!" stuff. Whether anyone is on or off the Gus bus there is a process and that process takes time.  Maybe because I've owned businesses, managed people and played sports (oh some 40 years ago) that I have a little more patience than rash decisions.  Just call me old. And today tired.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

On 10/19/2017 at 8:12 AM, McLoofus said:

Strongly agree.

My issue with Gus is not so much his ability to learn the ropes- as you eloquently explained, he has mostly learned them rather quickly- but what I perceive to be a major, fundamental flaw that can't be fixed. The moment rather quickly and easily becomes too big for him. He might have the tools, but not the instincts. He's the Jeremy Johnson of football coaching. 

That might well be the most beautifully and concisely constructed metaphor I've seen in my life.

I'd offer an internet GITM except for the fact that, in my beer-foresaken wilderness, I can't even put my hands on a virtual bottle. If you'll accept an internet canned PBR, know that I'm toasting with you now.

[McLoofus 35,182]

46 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

That might well be the most beautifully and concisely constructed metaphor I've seen in my life.

I'd offer an internet GITM except for the fact that, in my beer-foresaken wilderness, I can't even put my hands on a virtual bottle. If you'll accept an internet canned PBR, know that I'm toasting with you now.

The day I mistake myself to be too good for whatever you're drinking is the day that I need to just go gentle into that good night. Today is not that day. Cheers, my friend, and thank you. 

Heading to a rehearsal dinner soon and will return the favor, although it may go unannounced. My supervisor is lenient and fair, but technology at the table is the rare trigger. 

[weagl1 1,786]

I hate the thought of changing coaches again.  I think you set your program back when you do that.  I would love to see this team win out and Gus remain in place.  I think we may have one of the most talented rosters top to bottom that we have ever had and you have to give him credit for recruiting it.  The turnaround on defense the past 3 years has been great.  I do fault him for ever letting get as bad as it did but it has improved tremendously.   But this inept crap on offense has to cease.  Gus is inbreeding into his on system.  First he loses a good OL coach under less than clear circumstances.  Then what does he do?  Brings in his ole buddy Hand who has proven to be a big step down.  Then he gets rid of Lashlee only to go after another one of his boys.  He keeps Kodi around because he came up in his system.   Kodi has done a great job of bringing in top talent for our receiver corps but has done an awful job developing it.  

You see Gus is his own worst enemy.  He thinks he is some kind of offensive guru and he just can't admit to himself that regardless of what kind of system he sprang on the SEC and ran up all those yards and points when we first hired him there are DC's out there who can figure out how to stop it.  You have to evolve to be successful in the league unless you have Saban's talent, which ain't going to happen.  What's he had 8 or 9 top recruiting classes in a row?  

Gus should have cleaned house on offense last year, hired a top flight coordinator, got his butt out of the way, let the new guy hire who he wanted for position coaches and let him run his offense.  Instead he just used it as another chance to inbreed in his own system and it ain't working.  I doubt it is ever going to change.  I hope it does but I doubt it.