The anti-bash Gus Thread

[corchjay 5,311]

This is for sunshine,bubblegum, and honeysuckles..

No in all seriousness let’s have a legitimate discussion based on facts not on opinion of the status of the program under Gus.

My take historically AU is 6th in the conference in wins,MNC, and conf championships.  Probably in some order of Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, UGA, and Florida however 3-6 could change but historically we are probably behind all of those.  

Is Gus some mega coaching star based off stats?  Nope.  But he’s better then historical coaches in our past.  

Is he a Top 10 head coach in the nation? I think so.  His team is in the top 10 and gets there a lot.  This is based on stats and not opinion other then voting in the polls being opinion.  

Gus has no control of what is going on at Tennessee or Florida at this time but Gus is also putting us in position to take the 3rd most talented team honor away from LSU.  Putting us squarely behind UGA and Bama for talent level.  Yes I know they are our biggest rivals but at the end of the day what control does Gus have over UGA and/or Bama?  None.  

Do I want more wins over our rivals?  Yes.  But that’s it the games we lose generally we are the less talented team with a few exceptions.  We beat the teams we should and play well against teams with greater talent.  I can’t for the life of me see that as a coaching failure.

Do I want to settle for 3rd in the conference?  Hell no but the 2 previous years most would say we were the #2 in the conference save a KJ injury.  

A lesser coach would crumble under Saba and Smart doing what they are doing.  

What is the realistic expectations that aren’t being met?  Please don’t throw the $49m out because I’m a capitalist and say to whoever get what you can get

[gr82b4au 5,583]

I think he has the hardest job in college football. Our main rival has been the best team in college football since he has been at AU. Our second main rival has been good but is now elite. We play both every year and because of scheduling, sometimes both on the road. 

He has to put up with a fan base that is spoiled - because of the wins that have happened since he has been at AU (as oc and hc). It was 50 + years since AU played for a title. We have played for it all twice in the last 8 years and we were 1 win away from the playoffs last year. 

He has us recruiting better than ever before. We may not bring in 5 5 stars but we never have before. 

After 2012 I thought we would end up like UT, OM, or Florida. I thought we would get beat like a drum every year for about a decade. He has kept that from happening and we are a national contender every year.

That is as much sunshine as I have. I am still not on the bus like I used to be though. Games like LSU are hard to swallow. 

[sevenlee36 2,021]

Full disclosure I’m not a sunshine pumper 

Gus has the hardest job, and it’s getting more difficult. He has to finish, as difficult as that may be.

[Zeek 17,013]

There was a tweet talking about how Gus statistically has performed at Auburn and how he leads in a lot of categories. We could be a lot worse off.

[AUwent 3,971]

8 minutes ago, sevenlee36 said:

Full disclosure I’m not a sunshine pumper 

Gus has the hardest job, and it’s getting more difficult. He has to finish, as difficult as that may be.

The problem with that is that as Smart and Fisher rise and Saban continues to be Saban, Gus was given a huge buyout. He does not strike me as someone who has that fire right now. I'm not advocating we tell him he's going to be fired before every game, but I don't think it's a coincidence that our best stretch of football since 2013 was when he was fighting to save his job. The fact that he re-hired JB Grimes was particularly telling.

@Zeek: Right now, I'm being reminded of how McElwain overachieved his first two years at Florida. Our recruiting as of late has been solid but unspectacular, and at our very most important need, it's been atrocious.

[cammycam2 173]

Gus is a strategist. We blew the game to lsu intentionally. With our one loss, we look to win out the rest of the eay while watching lsu go undefeated in the regular season. This helps us avoid playing uga twice, allowing us to slide into the playoff picture as georgia takes down lsu in the SECCG only a few weeks after we rout uga over between those dreadful headges. We walkin in boys. 13-1.

[aubcali 573]

[alexava 6,998]

I get frustrated with things at times. But most of the coaches the Gus moaners have cried out for over the last 4 years, end up sucking ass at their next gig. We should have won last week. It helps nothing to constantly bitch about the coach. It’s tiring. 

[doc4aday 1,887]

Gus has done a remarkable job with putting together solid coaching staff that can and will do their best to put a winning product on the field every game last season and this year so far. Yes, we lost to LSU, but I blame that outcome 80% on the refs throughout the course of the game and 20% on the coaching staff.

I think we will likely go 9-3 or better this season, but it will require good hard nosed coaching and hard nosed play and fewer critical penalties in future games. We have the talent to beat bammer and UGA, but it will require efforts as good of if not better than last season.

I think we will recover nicely against Arky and beyond. MSU will require keeping FItzgerald from making big plays like he has done so far this season and in the past. We could possibly see a big win against MSU that could propel us into the season we all want. A loss to state will make things tough. This is the most pivotal game of the season after Arky.

[corchjay 5,311]

2 hours ago, AUwent said:

The problem with that is that as Smart and Fisher rise and Saban continues to be Saban, Gus was given a huge buyout. He does not strike me as someone who has that fire right now. I'm not advocating we tell him he's going to be fired before every game, but I don't think it's a coincidence that our best stretch of football since 2013 was when he was fighting to save his job. The fact that he re-hired JB Grimes was particularly telling.

@Zeek: Right now, I'm being reminded of how McElwain overachieved his first two years at Florida. Our recruiting as of late has been solid but unspectacular, and at our very most important need, it's been atrocious.

There is no evidence to support that Gus doesn’t have fire.  None 

[penguin149 397]

So Jimbo has beaten NW State & ULM....that makes him a Super Star?!  He needs to produce before I put him in that category.  He did well a few years ago in the ACC before Clemson arrived....look at what he left a FSU.  Kirby won the SEC last year in his 2nd season in the weak East....Gus won in his first season in the tough West.  Played for it last year as well.  That's not too shabby considering we've had to win the West against the Machine.

[corchjay 5,311]

28 minutes ago, penguin149 said:

So Jimbo has beaten NW State & ULM....that makes him a Super Star?!  He needs to produce before I put him in that category.  He did well a few years ago in the ACC before Clemson arrived....look at what he left a FSU.  Kirby won the SEC last year in his 2nd season in the weak East....Gus won in his first season in the tough West.  Played for it last year as well.  That's not too shabby considering we've had to win the West against the Machine.

Agreed.  However I will say that the money, the boosters, and the fans have all backed Jimbo and Kirby from day 1 and haven’t waivered.  That goes a long long way towards the goal of creating a championship atmosphere.  Mostcoaches have to prove themselves.  

Everyone on here wonders when we will ever get over the hump...  well that’s when we do.  When admin, donors, fans, and coaches all are on the same page working in the same direction.  

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

3 hours ago, AUwent said:

The problem with that is that as Smart and Fisher rise and Saban continues to be Saban, Gus was given a huge buyout. He does not strike me as someone who has that fire right now. I'm not advocating we tell him he's going to be fired before every game, but I don't think it's a coincidence that our best stretch of football since 2013 was when he was fighting to save his job. The fact that he re-hired JB Grimes was particularly telling.

I think this discounts how bad of shape the roster was in post 2013/14.  There was very little depth by the time we got to 2015 thanks to discipline issues under Chizik and transfers that always happen under a new coach.  We're finally seeing the fruits of a stable coaching staff with our overall roster depth and having talented backups.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,976]

Gus is at worst the second or third best Auburn football coach ever considering the situation

 

take that how you may 

[AUJedi 243]

1 minute ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Gus is at worst the second or third best Auburn football coach ever considering the situation

 

take that how you may 

So who are you leaving out? Shug Dye or Tubby? 

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

5 hours ago, AUJedi said:

So who are you leaving out? Shug Dye or Tubby? 

Tubs easily.  That guy drove me nuts.  I'm still peeved about 2006.

[EagleReedle 17]

I personally think Malzahn is such a boss. I love Coach Steele's type of way too. As long as he keeps bringing in top 10 recruiting classes than we can expect to be contenders but thats the thing... i'm seeing some drop off in the recruiting department, still early. 

[alexava 6,998]

It’s hard to put it all together at this level.  Few do get it all together consistently as we’d like. We just usually have to play the ones that do. 

[AuCivilEng1 13,531]

IMO, the only thing that's going to stop Gus from becoming one of the GOAT's is just the times he lives in. The Bama and Saban thing is unprecedented and we will probably never see anything like that again. Gus is just in a bad place at a bad time, and the Crapstones ability to cheat and do whatever they want has made it a lot harder for great coaches with great minds to succeed. The reason I know this is, if you compare Gus to Saban, it's not even close, but if you compare him to Shug, Dye, or Tuberville, he's right up there and in some ways even more successful. I understand why he got that extension. He's one of the best coaches we've ever had. It just sucks for him that he has to compete directly with a one in a lifetime type of coach (Saban). 

[EagleReedle 17]

4 minutes ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

IMO, the only thing that's going to stop Gus from becoming one of the GOAT's is just the times he lives in. The Bama and Saban thing is unprecedented and we will probably never see anything like that again. Gus is just in a bad place at a bad time, and the Crapstones ability to cheat and do whatever they want has made it a lot harder for great coaches with great minds to succeed. The reason I know this is, if you compare Gus to Saban, it's not even close, but if you compare him to Shug, Dye, or Tuberville, he's right up there and in some ways even more successful. I understand why he got that extension. He's one of the best coaches we've ever had. It just sucks for him that he has to compete directly with a one in a lifetime type of coach (Saban). 

I totally agree. Doesn't Malzahn have a winning record over Saban too if you factor his time as OC as well? The media affair w Saban has been nauseating. 

[Win4AU 4,294]

2 hours ago, Brad_ATX said:

Tubs easily.  That guy drove me nuts.  I'm still peeved about 2006.

That Georgia game ?.  Auburn would have played in Atlanta for a shot at the whole wheel of cheese if it wasn’t for that 11am disaster against a 6-5 Georgia team with a freshman Matt Stafford.  Tubs always found a way to lose to Arkansas and usually lose badly.

[gravejd 3,458]

You know i've been thinking a lot about the topic over the last week. And i just can't make my mind up on Gus and his ability to coach. There is no denying from a statistical standpoint that he is one of the most successful coaches in AU history. But with that no one can deny the absolute head scratching decisions that are made at times. But when all is said and done i expect Gus to fall about dead even with ol Tubs in the history of AU coaches and that would put him in the top 5. Not bad if you ask me. 

Like Tubs, Gus will be more appreciated after he leaves. They're both good for some unexpected wins every year and some gut wrenching loses. Tubs will always have 6 in a row over bama and no AU coach is likely to match that feat. But Gus has kept us pretty close to one of the greatest dynasties college football has ever seen. Not many coaches can claim multiple wins against Saban. 

As much as i hate losing  games we should win like last weekend, i wish AU fans would chill out on all the Gus bashing. He's not my favorite person in the world either but he isn't the worst coach college football. And if nothing else he is our coach for at the very least the next 2 years so sit back and try to enjoy the ride.  

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

2 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

That Georgia game ?.  Auburn would have played in Atlanta for a shot at the whole wheel of cheese if it wasn’t for that 11am disaster against a 6-5 Georgia team with a freshman Matt Stafford.  Tubs always found a way to lose to Arkansas and usually lose badly.

Oh don't forget the Arkansas game that year.  The fabled 2006 Florida game that everyone loves....yeah, I've never been more pissed in my life walking out of JHS that night.

Heard someone go "We just beat the #2 team in the nation!"  I flipped my head around and said "Ya know who was #2 a week ago before getting drilled at home by unranked Arkansas?!"

I firmly believe Tubs cost us a national title that year.  He couldn't do anything about 2004 because of the polls, but 2006 is squarely on him.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

38 minutes ago, EagleReedle said:

I totally agree. Doesn't Malzahn have a winning record over Saban too if you factor his time as OC as well? The media affair w Saban has been nauseating. 

No.  If you include OC years (2009-2011), Malzahn is 3-5 vs Saban.

But 2009 and 2014 could have gone either way.  (We should have won in 2014 TBH).

[Win4AU 4,294]

16 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Oh don't forget the Arkansas game that year.  The fabled 2006 Florida game that everyone loves....yeah, I've never been more pissed in my life walking out of JHS that night.

Heard someone go "We just beat the #2 team in the nation!"  I flipped my head around and said "Ya know who was #2 a week ago before getting drilled at home by unranked Arkansas?!"

I firmly believe Tubs cost us a national title that year.  He couldn't do anything about 2004 because of the polls, but 2006 is squarely on him.

Don’t forget who the OC at Arkansas was in 2006!  

Thankfully Wisconsin put the cherry on top with that bowl performance.