Marshall Column: A Matter of Leadership

[aucom96 1,627]

2 hours ago, Squidward2016 said:

I'm not saying gus doesn't have problems. But we need to start being correct on what they actually are.

Remember we beat a top 15 team for the season opener- this shows he has gotten better at preparing his team before the season rather than in October. Not perfect yet, but a clear improvement in this facet.

LSU was a stolen fluke. We all know that without literally a single one of those phantom PI calls (or Jarrett's pick) we win the game and go into MSST undefeated and probably #5 or 6 in the country. 

MSST was a poor showing, but while a lot of things could be improved, the absolute biggest was this: 3 WIDE open deep receivers (sounds like good play calling and design to me) that our QB missed. A fumbled punt return. A fumbled touchdown by boobie. That on top of nick tearing through our defense. And had we beaten LSU, I bet our execution/fire would have been higher, but that's besides the point. Absolutely not on playcalling. 

Tennessee: Jarrett stidham throws 2 completely ridiculous interceptions that are on no one but him (yes the OL hurt him, but he had time to throw away and tried to force throws instead). Then he fumbles for a scoop and score- that fumble was understandable, but the picks were not. Our game plan that game was great and we had consistent throws downfield and utilization of our freshman talent. Our OL and QB lost us this game. 

So far, I challenge an intellectual argument for why any of these losses are on play calling, "meddling with chip", or any of the other recycled arguments we use against gus after every loss. No doubt he is at fault for the overall performance of the team as HC. But we are not here simply to assign blame, we're here to decide whether he is the man to fix it. 

Throughout gus's tenure he's had a lot of different mistakes. 2014 his defense collapsed so he hired the best DC in the game. Good on him. 

2015 his star QB was a bust, he put in the freshman backup, and we actually improved significantly throughout the season before Sean got injured before UGA and it all went to crap again. 

2016 same story. Started rolling and looked nearly elite before Sean, pettway, and Chandler all got injured before UGA and we had to play guess who, JJ andJF3 again. Without the injuries these two years we bead uga both times for sure and have a shot to beat Bama in 2016. 

This year's problems have a very clear underlying trend :  Inexperienced OL play and underwhelming QB play. 

I get this sounds like constant excuses for gus. But these are legitimate reasons mostly outside his control that screwed us. His depth at certain offensive positions has been his most consistent problem, and that really seems like something that's fixable for a young coach.

That trend lies at the feet of the man in charge. 

Gus is no longer a play caller. I have no idea who has been calling the plays and really, it's irrelevant. For a run-first spread team, we have average to a below average backfield and an offensive line that it terrible at run blocking and pitifully thin. That's poor recruiting and poor management. For a team trying to lean on a talent-heavy receiver corps and veteran QB, we have simplistic, predictable passing routes and a QB who is getting worse at checking down and stepping into the pocket every game. That's on planning and development. Year to year, we go into a season trying to figure out who we are for almost half of it. How many years have we switched starting RBs by game three? How many sure-bet starters are sitting the bench or transferring out year after year? We have the talent to be fighting bama and LSU for the west every season, but we're heading toward traditional Mississippi school territory quickly. Gus is the head coach and after year six, he's clearly in over his head. The financial realities that may force us to keep him aren't going to change that and neither is a window dressing with Freeze and another running QB. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

2 hours ago, Squidward2016 said:

I'm not saying gus doesn't have problems. But we need to start being correct on what they actually are.

Remember we beat a top 15 team for the season opener- this shows he has gotten better at preparing his team before the season rather than in October. Not perfect yet, but a clear improvement in this facet.

LSU was a stolen fluke. We all know that without literally a single one of those phantom PI calls (or Jarrett's pick) we win the game and go into MSST undefeated and probably #5 or 6 in the country. 

MSST was a poor showing, but while a lot of things could be improved, the absolute biggest was this: 3 WIDE open deep receivers (sounds like good play calling and design to me) that our QB missed. A fumbled punt return. A fumbled touchdown by boobie. That on top of nick tearing through our defense. And had we beaten LSU, I bet our execution/fire would have been higher, but that's besides the point. Absolutely not on playcalling. 

Tennessee: Jarrett stidham throws 2 completely ridiculous interceptions that are on no one but him (yes the OL hurt him, but he had time to throw away and tried to force throws instead). Then he fumbles for a scoop and score- that fumble was understandable, but the picks were not. Our game plan that game was great and we had consistent throws downfield and utilization of our freshman talent. Our OL and QB lost us this game. 

So far, I challenge an intellectual argument for why any of these losses are on play calling, "meddling with chip", or any of the other recycled arguments we use against gus after every loss. No doubt he is at fault for the overall performance of the team as HC. But we are not here simply to assign blame, we're here to decide whether he is the man to fix it. 

Throughout gus's tenure he's had a lot of different mistakes. 2014 his defense collapsed so he hired the best DC in the game. Good on him. 

2015 his star QB was a bust, he put in the freshman backup, and we actually improved significantly throughout the season before Sean got injured before UGA and it all went to crap again. 

2016 same story. Started rolling and looked nearly elite before Sean, pettway, and Chandler all got injured before UGA and we had to play guess who, JJ andJF3 again. Without the injuries these two years we bead uga both times for sure and have a shot to beat Bama in 2016. 

This year's problems have a very clear underlying trend :  Inexperienced OL play and underwhelming QB play. 

I get this sounds like constant excuses for gus. But these are legitimate reasons mostly outside his control that screwed us. His depth at certain offensive positions has been his most consistent problem, and that really seems like something that's fixable for a young coach.

Awesome post. There was nothing wrong with our playbook against Tennessee. Have said this many times. Stidham didn’t suck that game,but he had too many costly TOs.

Gus isn’t in the clear because a lot of our problems are the result of not having a next man up mentality because development isn't there. However, a lot of things that we do in our playbook make sense if taking into account strengths and weaknesses and the situations. Just an example, we had time and timeouts to try to score before the half v. Tennessee. Plenty were mad that we sat on the ball, but few wanted to reason that we already had a few turnovers. Would it have been great if we tried to score? Sure, Doing the opposite doesn’t make it bad play calling, though. 

[cctiger 571]

1 hour ago, lost said:

You still do not get it.  I am talking about the players.  I did not say Gus did not need replacing.  I said how do you do this and keep a level head and not be so negative it reflects on the players.  I see guys hoping AUBURN LOSES...So Gus will be gone...  I frown on that...  I see GUYS HOPING GUS FAILS ( AUBURN FAILS) so he will be gone...  That is what i am referring to---  Shoot Gus all you want, but while taking aim don't forget the program (the kids) I hope we stomp Bama, win the bowl game and Gus succeeds ...  WHY?  Because HE IS THE COACH AT AUBURN

I've never wished or hoped for Auburn to loose a game. NEVER! I never even wished that on ole Barfield! I hate it for the players. They deserve better coaching, better game planning and preparation period. They don't have that right now. I wish Gus was our version of Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian, Saban, or even a reincarnation of Coach Dye or Shug, etc.or whosoever you wish to insert. Gus has been here long enough to do better, a whole lot better with the facilities and name  that Auburn has. He's just a couple of notches above the Chiz as a HC. Chiz is history on the Plains,  I just think that Gus needs to be too.

[DAG 34,003]

3 hours ago, Squidward2016 said:

"We're not here to SIMPLY assign blame."

We have to assign blame to find a solution. I'm trying to actually understand the causes of our problems and the potential solutions instead of the easy way of looking at the end record and saying it's not good enough. I very clearly said all of the problems I mentioned were his fault, such as depth and development. Your response comes across as either disingenuous or as not having read my whole point. If you'd like to respond to any of the actual points I made or point out something I missed I'd be happy to discuss 

I am not going to respond to every single point as this has been talked about 1000x. I am also not going to review passed history with SW. What I have maintained and will continue to maintain is the ultimate responsibility falls under Gus. Injuries are unfortunate, but that is not an excuse for not having depth. Mishaps are a part of the game, but that does not mean you choose not to adapt. We don’t have a good enough line? Well why not ? These are the players you chose to recruit for your style. That falls under the coach . JS is not performing up to par? Well why is he still playing? If he is not getting it done then you need to move on to the next player you have recruited to get the job done. All of this falls directly under the head coach responsibility, so yes, simply put, he is at fault ultimately for how the team performs.

as far as solutions go, which btw, as been discussed 1000x as well

I would’ve A: made this team more pass balanced but the run blocking is atrocious. Yes I know, we risk more 3 and outs and JS hasn’t played the best, but running the ball is not a strength of this team. Quit forcing it. Again, the point has been made 1000x already

B: if you are insisted on running the ball, then you need a QB back there with speed, to hopefully keep the defense at bay. Oh but MW makes bad reads?! Well, when you never play, you never learn. He will have to learn the hard way. One more time, this has been said and discussed 1000x. 

So basically we are at a stalemate here.

[oracle79 3,569]

3 hours ago, aubaseball said:

Finally someone that’s actually watched the games and has no axe to grind

My guess is a burner account by one of the Gusbussers still on here.

[AU-HANDLEY-TIGER 205]

Marshall knew Auburn fans would like that tripe - in the words of 50 Cent like a fat kid loves cake. 

[Cozmo 54]

2 hours ago, aucom96 said:

That trend lies at the feet of the man in charge. 

Gus is no longer a play caller. I have no idea who has been calling the plays and really, it's irrelevant. For a run-first spread team, we have average to a below average backfield and an offensive line that it terrible at run blocking and pitifully thin. That's poor recruiting and poor management. For a team trying to lean on a talent-heavy receiver corps and veteran QB, we have simplistic, predictable passing routes and a QB who is getting worse at checking down and stepping into the pocket every game. That's on planning and development. Year to year, we go into a season trying to figure out who we are for almost half of it. How many years have we switched starting RBs by game three? How many sure-bet starters are sitting the bench or transferring out year after year? We have the talent to be fighting bama and LSU for the west every season, but we're heading toward traditional Mississippi school territory quickly. Gus is the head coach and after year six, he's clearly in over his head. The financial realities that may force us to keep him aren't going to change that and neither is a window dressing with Freeze and another running QB. 

 

 

Nailed it.  Thank you.  

[PoetTiger 1,899]

2 hours ago, lost said:

You still do not get it.  I am talking about the players.  I did not say Gus did not need replacing.  I said how do you do this and keep a level head and not be so negative it reflects on the players.  I see guys hoping AUBURN LOSES...So Gus will be gone...  I frown on that...  I see GUYS HOPING GUS FAILS ( AUBURN FAILS) so he will be gone...  That is what i am referring to---  Shoot Gus all you want, but while taking aim don't forget the program (the kids) I hope we stomp Bama, win the bowl game and Gus succeeds ...  WHY?  Because HE IS THE COACH AT AUBURN

Amen...but some think this approach is sunshine pumping or head in the sand....it’s not. He gets my support until he walks out that door or thrown out. And I’ll be all in on the next hire...

[tigerman1186 537]

I wished he would be more 'open' with us...should allow an open practice in the spring and the fall....the players will give you better effort when they know their friends/family are watching them....do something like the other sports do...if it wasn't for the hurricane, look how much attention Coach Pearl would have got out of playing at Toomer's Corner....

My biggest complaint is how secretive Gus is...maybe we need to have the Russians involved....

[AUwent 3,763]

6 hours ago, Squidward2016 said:

2016 same story. Started rolling and looked nearly elite before Sean, pettway, and Chandler all got injured before UGA and we had to play guess who, JJ and JF3 again. Without the injuries these two years we bead uga both times for sure and have a shot to beat Bama in 2016. 

I'm pretty sure Gus actively recruited him over Jerod Evans, and that the latter was interested in us. One of the absolute stupidest decisions I think he's made.

I'm not sure if it would've helped much this year, but if he had made a big splash OL coach hire, our OL recruiting would be going much better. Instead he made a lazy, LAZY re-hire.

Anyway, GREAT article by PM. It's soothing to know that the money people are getting angry.

[Hay Field 101 632]

if coach Chip is let go. I hope he spills the beans about what is really going on.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,368]

8 minutes ago, Hay Field 101 said:

if coach Chip is let go. I hope he spills the beans about what is really going on.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he had to sign an NDA prior to receiving his buyout. 

[augolf1716 21,254]

If he's smart he will keep it to himself at least for now

[fredst 9,064]

29 minutes ago, Hay Field 101 said:

if coach Chip is let go. I hope he spills the beans about what is really going on.

He won’t, but anybody that isn’t in complete denial about reality knows

[AUFriction 1,179]

7 hours ago, Squidward2016 said:

I'm not saying gus doesn't have problems. But we need to start being correct on what they actually are.

Remember we beat a top 15 team for the season opener- this shows he has gotten better at preparing his team before the season rather than in October. Not perfect yet, but a clear improvement in this facet.

LSU was a stolen fluke. We all know that without literally a single one of those phantom PI calls (or Jarrett's pick) we win the game and go into MSST undefeated and probably #5 or 6 in the country. 

MSST was a poor showing, but while a lot of things could be improved, the absolute biggest was this: 3 WIDE open deep receivers (sounds like good play calling and design to me) that our QB missed. A fumbled punt return. A fumbled touchdown by boobie. That on top of nick tearing through our defense. And had we beaten LSU, I bet our execution/fire would have been higher, but that's besides the point. Absolutely not on playcalling. 

Tennessee: Jarrett stidham throws 2 completely ridiculous interceptions that are on no one but him (yes the OL hurt him, but he had time to throw away and tried to force throws instead). Then he fumbles for a scoop and score- that fumble was understandable, but the picks were not. Our game plan that game was great and we had consistent throws downfield and utilization of our freshman talent. Our OL and QB lost us this game. 

So far, I challenge an intellectual argument for why any of these losses are on play calling, "meddling with chip", or any of the other recycled arguments we use against gus after every loss. No doubt he is at fault for the overall performance of the team as HC. But we are not here simply to assign blame, we're here to decide whether he is the man to fix it. 

Throughout gus's tenure he's had a lot of different mistakes. 2014 his defense collapsed so he hired the best DC in the game. Good on him. 

2015 his star QB was a bust, he put in the freshman backup, and we actually improved significantly throughout the season before Sean got injured before UGA and it all went to crap again. 

2016 same story. Started rolling and looked nearly elite before Sean, pettway, and Chandler all got injured before UGA and we had to play guess who, JJ andJF3 again. Without the injuries these two years we bead uga both times for sure and have a shot to beat Bama in 2016. 

This year's problems have a very clear underlying trend :  Inexperienced OL play and underwhelming QB play. 

I get this sounds like constant excuses for gus. But these are legitimate reasons mostly outside his control that screwed us. His depth at certain offensive positions has been his most consistent problem, and that really seems like something that's fixable for a young coach.

CAREFUL. I said something similar a few weeks ago, and got crucified from every corner.

You aren’t alone. I somewhat agree with your post, but for a different reason. The “blame Gus” mentality on this board is predictable. When people can’t find an obvious source of blame, they rush to judgment on a scapegoat, which, in football, is almost always the head coach or the quarterback. 

The reality is that things aren’t usually that simple. There’s not one single factor causing our struggles. But there’s also not ONE cause of our struggles. Gus is partially to blame for the inept offense this season, and to at least partially to blame for some of the issues in previous seasons. However, there are some bad play calls this season that look nothing like a Gus Malzahn offensive play. The OL has under achieved. That could be Gus’s fault for hiring a bad OL coach in the off-season, or Gus may have made a good hire to replace a bad one. It is possible that he saw Herb Hand’s players digressing, and wanted to bring in a better coach. QB play has been inconsistent this year. That’s either on Lindsay for bad coaching, it’s on the offensive line for making Stidham jumpy, or it is on Stidham for not keeping his head in the game, or it could be some of all three. You could attach some blame to Gus, but sometimes you have to take a chance on an unknown. Lindsay’s background suggested that he would be able to do an okay job.

I’m rambling. But my point is that Gus probably is partially to blame for this season, but I agree that people are overstepping by trying to put it all directly at his feet.

[Cozmo 54]

1 hour ago, tigerman1186 said:

I wished he would be more 'open' with us...should allow an open practice in the spring and the fall....the players will give you better effort when they know their friends/family are watching them....do something like the other sports do...if it wasn't for the hurricane, look how much attention Coach Pearl would have got out of playing at Toomer's Corner....

My biggest complaint is how secretive Gus is...maybe we need to have the Russians involved....

 

Hopefully 6-13 vs rivals and looking completely lost 70% of the time is up there as well..

[Cozmo 54]

People giving Gus a pass on the OL, it’s recruiting, the RBs, QB play etc are hilarious..

 

It is year freaking 6 and he’s had his hand in the recruiting and development of every single offensive player we have ..

 

He is who he is, a coach that can pull some big wins every now and then, but will still lose 5 games a year.  No other SEC program or it’s fans would want him as their head coach, as even 40% of the state of Arkansas would’ve burned the place down if they hired him last year...

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

10 hours ago, AUsince72 said:

Here was the issue, IMO.  It's not that Gus, all of a sudden, called plays in those games.  It's that the Offensive staff is not allowed to game plan without Gus' signature all over it.

However, he and his agent were more concerned with playing Contract Chicken with the administration than preparing for THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP so not only did they run out a one-armed KJ instead of preparing the back-up to be ready but they ran out a VERY familiar, and tired, game plan.... basically the same thing we've seen most of THIS season.

Gus failed.  ...and he's continued to fail in 2018.  And if he insists on being the primary voice in their game plans next year, regardless of if the OC is Freeze or Kodi, it'll be mostly more of the same next year.  Gus does not evolve or adapt....he merely tweaks.  Tweaks are not enough.  Defenses adjust to tweaks.  2nd half of games are case in point.

This exactly. Had Gus been a decent man and coach he would have spent the week before the SEC preparing his team for the game instead of trying to pad his pocket. That was putting hisself ahead of the guys he is supposed to take care of. Has a player done than Gus would have been furious. Still I blame Leath more than anyone. He could have and should have toldGus that week “ we will talk about it Monday after the SECCG” and told Gus he needed to get back to coaching the team. There is absolutely no way Gus would have taken Arky’s offer before he talked to Leath the Monday after. Just the facts. BOT needs to fire Leath right now. They have the power. They have a reason ( wasted money on extravagant expenditures on the President’s residence as well as other things. In fact this is Alabama they don’t even have to give a reason why they fire him. After terminating Leath then they can give Gus his walking papers. I also would not fault them at all with playing hardball on Gus’s money since he definitely used the SECCG to force them into the contract.

[DAG 34,003]

No middle ground in this debate 

[Beaker 2,457]

1 hour ago, Cozmo said:

People giving Gus a pass on the OL, it’s recruiting, the RBs, QB play etc are hilarious..

 

It is year freaking 6 and he’s had his hand in the recruiting and development of every single offensive player we have ..

 

He is who he is, a coach that can pull some big wins every now and then, but will still lose 5 games a year.  No other SEC program or it’s fans would want him as their head coach, as even 40% of the state of Arkansas would’ve burned the place down if they hired him last year...

This is it....Tremendous post.

6 years in and we can't recruit a blue chip RB, although we have history of producing 1,000 yd rushers for a decade?  

 6 yrs in and we can't recruit key OL or develop OL with any regularity?

6 yrs in and we have a losing record vs our rivals?

entering game 12 and our Offense has no real identity?

ALL OF THESE issues lie on the side of the ball that the HC micromanages.  

Sorry but he accepted a job paying $7.5 mil/yr and with that comes higher expectations, than say Arkansas.

These are the facts and they are indisputable.  

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

We all lose in this debate. Nobody walks away a winner

[DAG 34,003]

1 minute ago, Beaker said:

This is it....Tremendous post.

6 years in and we can't recruit a blue chip RB, although we have history of producing 1,000 yd rushers for a decade?  

 6 yrs in and we can't recruit key OL or develop OL with any regularity?

6 yrs in and we have a losing record vs our rivals?

entering game 12 and our Offense has no real identity?

ALL OF THESE issues lie on the side of the ball that the HC micromanages.  

Sorry but he accepted a job paying $7.5 mil/yr and with that comes higher expectations, than say Arkansas.

These are the facts and they are indisputable.  

Yeah but this all can’t fall at the feet of Gus Malzahn?!  [sarcasm detector off the roof]

[corchjay 5,311]

2 hours ago, Hay Field 101 said:

if coach Chip is let go. I hope he spills the beans about what is really going on.

There is nothing secret going on within the program.  Just haven’t played well on offense and with an offensive centered head coach that doesn’t fly well.  But the OC of 2 years now shares in that responsibility as well.

[penguin149 391]

I'll be cheering for AU tomorrow and believing we can win the IB!  IF AU loses, and IF Gus gets fired....AD Greene won't have to search far for a great replacement....this board is full of guys that can step in and win 'em all every year!!  Lil Nicky and Kirby had best be updating there resume's when our new coach owns them year after year after year....

[AURealist 2,185]

11 hours ago, oracle79 said:

There's a joke coaches tell about this very thing, so of course it's obvious to the fans.  Here's the short version.

Old coach leaving the school tells the new coach coming in that he left him 3 envelopes in his desk, and anytime he has a bad season open the first envelope. Things go well but after a few years he has a bad season, so he opens the first envelope and the note inside says, fire and replace your defensive coordinator. He does and things are good for a few years until the next bad season, so he opens the second envelope and the note inside says, fire and replace your offensive coordinator.  He does and again it's good for a few years and then another bad season.  So, he opens the third envelope and the note inside says, "Prepare three envelopes..."

Of course, if the fans and PTB keep falling for it, you can just keep recycling the first and second letters.  That's us.