Hardest job in America

[James Howell 80]

4 hours ago, AU64 said:

Could be that Barfield having a good season in 79 changed some plans but who saw that coming?  and  I understand that AU PTBs were looking for a new coach in 77 and 78.  I was at the AU-Wake game and saw that collapse in the second half and was surprised he made it through the season.   

Anyway..... I was living in that area and it was rumored that Dye was going to AU  and that was while he was at ECU....and the Wyoming job was not where he planned to go.  I don't have any inside knowledge but I do recall what people were saying when he left Greenville NC for Wyoming because the move made no sense....well made no sense to Pirate fans......but it worked out well for him and Wyoming.     

 

I was living in alabama at that time and most everyone that was Auburn was very supportive of Barfield.  1979 was his 4th and he was showing improvement he went from 3-8, to 5-6 to 6-4-1 and then to 8-3. So I never saw in the press or anywhere Auburn was trying to replace  Barfield in 77 or 78.  

In addition, Dye designed at ECU in December of 1979, so by that time Dye would have known Barfield was not going to be fired and certainly would not have resigned knowing Auburn was not going to fire the coach.

His move to Wyoming made all the sense in the world.  Dye was attempting to gain a coaching position in the SEC by being a coach that turnaround teams.  ECU was a doormat before Dye arrived.  In 6 years he never won fewer than 7 games but to continue to build his rep as a coach that turns around programs he needed to build his resume further so he took the Wyoming job which had only one winning season prior to Dye.

 

[AU64 10,122]

4 hours ago, James Howell said:

I was living in alabama at that time and most everyone that was Auburn was very supportive of Barfield.  1979 was his 4th and he was showing improvement he went from 3-8, to 5-6 to 6-4-1 and then to 8-3. So I never saw in the press or anywhere Auburn was trying to replace  Barfield in 77 or 78.  

In addition, Dye designed at ECU in December of 1979, so by that time Dye would have known Barfield was not going to be fired and certainly would not have resigned knowing Auburn was not going to fire the coach.

His move to Wyoming made all the sense in the world.  Dye was attempting to gain a coaching position in the SEC by being a coach that turnaround teams.  ECU was a doormat before Dye arrived.  In 6 years he never won fewer than 7 games but to continue to build his rep as a coach that turns around programs he needed to build his resume further so he took the Wyoming job which had only one winning season prior to Dye.

 

For the record ECU was 9-2 the two seasons before PD arrived.....but he did well there.

[AUwent 3,776]

On 5/24/2019 at 3:30 PM, WalkingCarpet said:

Totally agreed about having our guy lined up before we pull the trigger, we don't need to end up with Derek Dooley. In practice it probably matters how we lose if it comes to that. If we have a total howler against Ole Miss or Arkansas the drumbeat will be deafening and there's going to be some phone calls made. If there's signs of improvement by the end of the year and we keep it close in our losses he'll deserve another year. I think people put too much stock in media fallout, the national types will talk about it for a few days and then the next shiny object will come along and then everyone will forget we're changing coaches. I don't think many people remember our little dalliance with Maybe-Bob-Stoops back in February. I listen to sports talk a heck of a lot at work and nobody on ESPN radio has mentioned that in months. We got bagged on pretty hard for firing Chizik, nobody cared after a few weeks and the media has an even shorter attention span now than in did in 2012. 

Our offensive line is ALL SENIORS, and our recruiting for that unit at the moment is ABYSMAL. I shudder at the thought of him being around another year after this...or at very least, keeping JB Grimes. I don't give two craps what Sexton tries to do, if we're having conversations similar to what's bolded by 12/2, we should pull the plug.

[Mikey 16,740]

8 hours ago, James Howell said:

You just gave the best reason to conduct a coaching search instead of having just one person waiting in the wing to take over. Auburn should have a search committee which would include the AD to interview several prospects.  That would decrease the uncertainty of hiring a coach vs just having one waiting to take over.

I remember the last true coaching search Auburn conducted, it was not planned but forced on us when Dooley turned us down for HC.  We ended up getting a good coach named Dye.

In fact, if it could lead to a true coaching search, I hope the first guy that we offer would turn us down.

 

The search committee that hired Gus Malzahn consisted of Pat Sullivan, Bo Jackson and Mac Crawford. All three said the hire was the committee's decision. They did interview a number of other candidates as well as Malzahn. https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2012/11/jay_jacobs_names_bo_jackson_pa.html

[Tiger 8,830]

On 5/23/2019 at 8:49 PM, tbone4jc said:

Coaches but to think Clemson would go undefeated in the SEC is ludacris

 

On 5/23/2019 at 9:21 PM, DAG said:

Yeah how Ludacris of me to think a team who annihilated Alabama , a team who pretty much slept walk through the SEC , could possibly go undefeated in the SEC

 

[keesler 5,928]

On 5/24/2019 at 1:53 PM, auburnphan said:

Minus a disaster season, I believe Gus will be around another season.  Sexton will try to control the conversation of starting a freshman quarterback in the media.  He will smear Auburn through National Media types complicating our job search  If they don't have the perfect coach lined up the hit the Auburn brand could take might not be worth it.

I totally agree!

CGM & Sexton are a brilliant pair, they controlled the narrative in '17 with Bret Belima crashing & burning Arky.  The timing couldn't have been better for Gus/Jimmy to go in for the kill on the Auburn Admin/BOT.  They worked for weeks, building up the script and Gus did his part by kicking uga/uat's asses in a dominating fashion.  

Then after an abysmal '18 season with fans/boosters/bot member's all in an uproar the leaks escaping the AD were on fire for weeks with every hair-brained rumor imaginable.  Greene/Leath had to go public with Gus' job security, ensuring he "is the Coach of the Future" in order to save the recruiting class.   

It's the same old crap year after year, we should brace ourselves because it's undoubtedly going to get nasty again.

 

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

3 minutes ago, keesler said:

I totally agree!

CGM & Sexton are a brilliant pair, they controlled the narrative in '17 with Bret Belima crashing & burning Arky.  The timing couldn't have been better for Gus/Jimmy to go in for the kill on the Auburn Admin/BOT.  They worked for weeks, building up the script and Gus did his part by kicking uga/uat's asses in a dominating fashion.  

Then after an abysmal '18 season with fans/boosters/bot member's all in an uproar the leaks escaping the AD were on fire for weeks with every hair-brained rumor imaginable.  Greene/Leath had to go public with Gus' job security, ensuring he "is the Coach of the Future" in order to save the recruiting class.   

It's the same old crap year after year, we should brace ourselves because it's undoubtedly going to get nasty again.

 

Jacobs and Leath should've let him walk after the '17 season.  Gus had a contract and had done nothing to show he deserved a larger one.

[McLoofus 35,182]

12 minutes ago, dyehardfanAU said:

Jacobs and Leath should've let him walk after the '17 season.  Gus had a contract and had done nothing to show he deserved a larger one.

Irony of ironies. The losses earlier in 2017- which his resident cheerleaders swore up and down didn't count- rendered those November wins completely meaningless.

Just wanted to say it out loud before you get the inevitable pushback on that. 

[keesler 5,928]

5 minutes ago, dyehardfanAU said:

Jacobs and Leath should've let him walk after the '17 season.  Gus had a contract and had done nothing to show he deserved a larger one.

There was too much fear of the unknown in late '17.  Gus/Sexton set up a perfect script and used the Arky job as leverage to get that ridiculous contract. 

Arky had to replace Bert (4-8), + AU saw the way LSU crashed on the Tom Herman hire and had to settle for Ed Orgeron in 2016 + Butch Jones crashed at UT (4-8) + Jim McElwain crashed at UF (4-7), then Matt Luke at Ole Miss as interim HC after Freeze got canned, there was just a LOT of turmoil in the SEC at the time. 

Auburn didn't want to get mixed in the fray of having to search for a HC while at least 3-4 other SEC programs were in the market for a HC as well.  It was a perfect storm for Gus to cash in, AU didn't want to go out in turbulent waters with the likes of UT/UF/Arky/OM and Gus provided a steady ship at the time.

[James Howell 80]

On 5/25/2019 at 11:28 PM, Mikey said:

The search committee that hired Gus Malzahn consisted of Pat Sullivan, Bo Jackson and Mac Crawford. All three said the hire was the committee's decision. They did interview a number of other candidates as well as Malzahn. https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2012/11/jay_jacobs_names_bo_jackson_pa.html

A search committee may have been formed but either gus was either already selected or the search committee did a shotty job of a coaching search.  The 2012 iron bowl was 11/24, the date of the article is 11/25 and gus was named HC in 12/04 which leaves about a week to identify and conduct interviews  there is no way a legitimate coaching search was performed.

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

2 minutes ago, keesler said:

There was too much fear of the unknown in late '17.  Gus/Sexton set up a perfect script and used the Arky job as leverage to get that ridiculous contract. 

Arky had to replace Bert (4-8), + AU saw the way LSU crashed on the Tom Herman hire and had to settle for Ed Orgeron in 2016 + Butch Jones crashed at UT (4-8) + Jim McElwain crashed at UF (4-7), then Matt Luke at Ole Miss as interim HC after Freeze got canned, there was just a LOT of turmoil in the SEC at the time. 

Auburn didn't want to get mixed in the fray of having to search for a HC while at least 3-4 other SEC programs were in the market for a HC as well.  It was a perfect storm for Gus to cash in, AU didn't want to go out in turbulent waters with the likes of UT/UF/Arky/OM and Gus provided a steady ship at the time.

As I said, he had a contract.  His choices should've been to live with it or walk.  AU can't be afraid to take decisive actions when necessary.

[James Howell 80]

17 minutes ago, dyehardfanAU said:

As I said, he had a contract.  His choices should've been to live with it or walk.  AU can't be afraid to take decisive actions when necessary.

AMEN

[AUApostle 7,659]

1 hour ago, James Howell said:

A search committee may have been formed but either gus was either already selected or the search committee did a shotty job of a coaching search.  The 2012 iron bowl was 11/24, the date of the article is 11/25 and gus was named HC in 12/04 which leaves about a week to identify and conduct interviews  there is no way a legitimate coaching search was performed.

One could speculate that Gus the was #1 target early in the 2012 season, if not before.  It’s almost as if he was sent away for that season so that he wouldn’t be tarnished by the eminent failure that we all saw coming.  That search committee was window dressing...and if I was Kirby Smart I’d probably have a chip on my shoulder, too.

[James Howell 80]

1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

One could speculate that Gus the was #1 target early in the 2012 season, if not before.  It’s almost as if he was sent away for that season so that he wouldn’t be tarnished by the eminent failure that we all saw coming.  That search committee was window dressing...and if I was Kirby Smart I’d probably have a chip on my shoulder, too.

Agree with you.  Gus was jj hand picked successor  and the search committee was just for show.

[WalkingCarpet 1,379]

2 hours ago, keesler said:

There was too much fear of the unknown in late '17.  Gus/Sexton set up a perfect script and used the Arky job as leverage to get that ridiculous contract. 

Arky had to replace Bert (4-8), + AU saw the way LSU crashed on the Tom Herman hire and had to settle for Ed Orgeron in 2016 + Butch Jones crashed at UT (4-8) + Jim McElwain crashed at UF (4-7), then Matt Luke at Ole Miss as interim HC after Freeze got canned, there was just a LOT of turmoil in the SEC at the time. 

Auburn didn't want to get mixed in the fray of having to search for a HC while at least 3-4 other SEC programs were in the market for a HC as well.  It was a perfect storm for Gus to cash in, AU didn't want to go out in turbulent waters with the likes of UT/UF/Arky/OM and Gus provided a steady ship at the time.

Good post. The end of 2017 is going to be interesting to look back on after the Malzahn era ends (whenever that may be). I don't think Gus would have bailed to Arky unless something really bad happened between him and the AD but we couldn't take the risk with postseason games looming. We should have told his party that we'd talk after the SECCG against Georgia. Instead announce the contract the day after we fall on our faces against Georgia and we look like we spent the week playing politics instead of gameplanning. I've been pretty harsh on Gus but I don't think the extension was the wrong thing to do at the time. The possibility of ending up with a Derek Dooley type was too great with so many other teams in the market. If we flame out again this year it'll be our chance to be the big fish, the only other team in the league that might be in the market is South Carolina.

[Mikey 16,740]

11 hours ago, James Howell said:

A search committee may have been formed but either gus was either already selected or the search committee did a shotty job of a coaching search.  The 2012 iron bowl was 11/24, the date of the article is 11/25 and gus was named HC in 12/04 which leaves about a week to identify and conduct interviews  there is no way a legitimate coaching search was performed.

All I know is that Bo, Pat and Mac all said they conducted a legitimate search. That's three pretty good Auburn men. I'll take them at their word.

[AU64 10,122]

18 hours ago, AUDevil said:

One could speculate that Gus the was #1 target early in the 2012 season, if not before.  It’s almost as if he was sent away for that season so that he wouldn’t be tarnished by the eminent failure that we all saw coming.  That search committee was window dressing...and if I was Kirby Smart I’d probably have a chip on my shoulder, too.

I don't know about that.....back in 2012, KS would have been a worse choice IMO....no HC experience should have been an issue for example...JMO but no reason that he should have been considered as  the top candidate.   It was not even established that he ran the defense at bama….everyone figured it was Saban's defense and offense.     Likely as was suggested, many at AU knew who they wanted and the committee verified it for them and gave it some credibility.  Folks might not like the outcome but anyone who thinks something better might have resulted with a longer search are just guessing....considering how many were hired in 2012.

Just take a look at this list of coaches hired the same year as Gus.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/grading-college-footballs-head-coach-hires-2013\   

[McLoofus 35,182]

16 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I don't know about that.....back in 2012, KS would have been a worse choice IMO....no HC experience should have been an issue for example...JMO but no reason that he should have been considered as  the top candidate.   It was not even established that he ran the defense at bama….everyone figured it was Saban's defense and offense.     Likely as was suggested, many at AU knew who they wanted and the committee verified it for them and gave it some credibility.  Folks might not like the outcome but anyone who thinks something better might have resulted with a longer search are just guessing....considering how many were hired in 2012.

Just take a look at this list of coaches hired the same year as Gus.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/grading-college-footballs-head-coach-hires-2013\   

Agree. I think this situation is highly susceptible to revisionist history and we could not have assumed in 2012 that KS would be what he has become. And there's no guarantee that he could have gone about his business in Auburn the way he has in Athens. 

That said, @AUDevil offers a very plausible explanation IMO for why Kirby seems to have a very particular distaste for us. 

[AU64 10,122]

14 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Agree. I think this situation is highly susceptible to revisionist history and we could not have assumed in 2012 that KS would be what he has become. And there's no guarantee that he could have gone about his business in Auburn the way he has in Athens. 

That said, @AUDevil offers a very plausible explanation IMO for why Kirby seems to have a very particular distaste for us. 

I guess that's possible but some folks said he did not really want the job....was just "checking us out"...so who knows ?.   Could be his distaste was from being at bama when AU nailed them a couple times..

But look at how few of the coaches hired the same year as Gus are still at their same schools....or even working.   Dang....that's a really interesting list and shows how slim the odds are for a  school making a coaching change.  

[Win4AU 4,054]

If Auburn comes out and looks good first half of the season then I think you’ll see recruiting pick up.  Auburn is fighting the poo storm that was stirred up between the Iron Bowl and the bowl game on the recruiting trail.  It’s too easy for coaches to walk in to a kids living room and say Gus won’t be the coach after this season.  If there is anyway Auburn can get to 5-1 or 6-0 heading into the off week in October then 9-3, 10-2 should be achievable.  Also if that happens I’d imagine Tega would be getting some spotlight and Auburn would be able to land some tackles. 

[WalkingCarpet 1,379]

40 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I don't know about that.....back in 2012, KS would have been a worse choice IMO....no HC experience should have been an issue for example...JMO but no reason that he should have been considered as  the top candidate.   It was not even established that he ran the defense at bama….everyone figured it was Saban's defense and offense.     Likely as was suggested, many at AU knew who they wanted and the committee verified it for them and gave it some credibility.  Folks might not like the outcome but anyone who thinks something better might have resulted with a longer search are just guessing....considering how many were hired in 2012.

Just take a look at this list of coaches hired the same year as Gus.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/grading-college-footballs-head-coach-hires-2013\   

After reading that article... nobody really knows how a coach is going to work out until you get on the field. Half those guys with A and B grades either couldn't get it going or were train wrecks. 

[boisnumber1 2,821]

On 5/22/2019 at 8:14 AM, bigbird said:

Because we play in the toughest division, in the toughest conference, with the toughest permanent cross-divisional rival.

Tougher than Vandy, and USCe because we play in the west, so we play UA, LSU, TAMU unlike Vandy and USCe

Tougher than Arky, OM, and MSU because, although in the same division, we play UGA a minimum of once every year.

The toughest teams in the SEC besides AU are UA, UGA, LSU, TAMU, UF. We play 4/5 every single season no matter what and some seasons we play all 5. After all that, if we succeed,  we play the SECe winner, potentially another UF or UGA match up.

That's how it's different.

And add to all of that - expectations. 

[WalkingCarpet 1,379]

37 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

If Auburn comes out and looks good first half of the season then I think you’ll see recruiting pick up.  Auburn is fighting the poo storm that was stirred up between the Iron Bowl and the bowl game on the recruiting trail.  It’s too easy for coaches to walk in to a kids living room and say Gus won’t be the coach after this season.  If there is anyway Auburn can get to 5-1 or 6-0 heading into the off week in October then 9-3, 10-2 should be achievable.  Also if that happens I’d imagine Tega would be getting some spotlight and Auburn would be able to land some tackles. 

Starting 6-0 would mean home/neutral wins against Oregon and MSU and road wins against TAMU and Florida. If we get through that unscathed we'll be in the top 5. There's just no breaks in the schedule this year. 

[auburnphan 6,050]

Wade Christopher would crush this job, probably would only have to work part time too.

[keesler 5,928]

40 minutes ago, WalkingCarpet said:

After reading that article... nobody really knows how a coach is going to work out until you get on the field. Half those guys with A and B grades either couldn't get it going or were train wrecks. 

Most times it's a crap shoot, and Auburn isn't willing to take a risk by replacing a good coach like Gus.  At the same time, the fan base (at least myself) are tired of the status quo with Gus averaging 3-4 losses a year while he too often puts a product on the field that looks unprepared and ill equipped in a few games every dang year.

I feel like some fans are ok with lowering expectations because we are currently where we've always been historically.  That way of thinking is sometimes used as a crutch by fans and they seem ok with those lowered expectations while they make excuses for the team not excelling.

There's always a risk when a program has a turnover, but history has also shown that new AU coaches do pretty good in their first couple of years on the job, they just have a hard time sustaining that level of success.