Coach Candidates Thread (OP Updated 12/22)

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

2 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

So I have a question. How good of a recruiter is Kiffin? I do not remember how his classes were when he was at UT and USC. The reason that I mainly want MC is because of his pedigree and his recruiting prowess. He has been an absolute beast on the recruiting trail and he prioritizes the trenches which is what we need to get caught up with our rivals.

He's a very good recruiter, especially on the offensive side.  He's got Ole Miss at 18th nationally right now (and climbing).

[AUFriction 1,179]

1 minute ago, Brad_ATX said:

By this rationale, the Patriots should have never hired Bill Belicheck.  After all, he mostly sucked in Cleveland.

We just fired a coach with a winning record every single year, and paid him 21 million to do it. This hire has to be a slam dunk. He's too much of a chance hire, and he has too much baggage. It would be different if our coach had just gone 3-9. If we'd had a terrible record last year or over the last few years, we'd be desperate for anything better than we have. As it stands though, Gus was fired for his inability to elevate the program. The next coach HAS to be able to do that.

[PigskinPat 2,579]

9 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Yes. He built Washington up. But, when he moved to a program that actually had some pressure to win and some prestige, he couldn't handle it. Sorry, he's too risky of a hire. 

Too risky of a hire? What indication has he given you that he still struggles with the issues he had 5 years ago? There is no concrete proof that the pressure of the job itself is what led to his downfall. He and his wife were getting divorced in the spring of 2015 and I think played a huge part in him turning to alcohol to cope. He hit rock bottom and has worked and proven himself since. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,751]

42 minutes ago, AuburnTiger4Life said:

From the reddit thread I posted earlier. Jazzmaurder is the Oregon poster that seems to have some good info 

I think if they gave him all that, I feel like we're F'd. No way we dish 7m out again and promise absolute commitment with one of the biggest bankrolls we got looking elsewhere 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,751]

26 minutes ago, PoetTiger said:

 What happens if Diaz flames out at Miami..no concern MC could want to go back to UM in the future?

Miami simply doesn't care about sports or football enough on the highest level to shell that much out for him. They're kinda in that modern USC and Michigan lane. They would've rode Richt out if he was willing to depose his son, from what a local super fan I know told me. If Diaz had them as a perennial top 15 team, I think he'd be teflon

but there'd probably be some level of desire from him. IMO, he seems like someone that geographically loves South Florida but would be content with any major program in the deep south 

[Tony4AU 386]

8 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

So I have a question. How good of a recruiter is Kiffin? I do not remember how his classes were when he was at UT and USC. The reason that I mainly want MC is because of his pedigree and his recruiting prowess. He has been an absolute beast on the recruiting trail and he prioritizes the trenches which is what we need to get caught up with our rivals.

Freeze I believe is the best overall coach of the 3. He and Kiffin both have been great at developing QBs. I would probably give MC a slight edge in recruiting over Freeze, and Kiffin a slight edge over Freeze in terms of scheme/system, but I think Freeze checks all the boxe the best. Can Freeze recruit to the level he did at Ole Miss without the lot lizzards though? 

 

Mario definitely best recruiter of these three.  I believe Kiffin is a good recruiter as well.  Either would bring a spark to Auburn.
Freeze is just itching to get back to SEC so he would do the same.  I don’t know about his recruiting though.  I just believe Mario stays in Eugene.   Leaving Freeze and Kiffin as next targets.  

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

4 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

We just fired a coach with a winning record every single year, and paid him 21 million to do it. This hire has to be a slam dunk. He's too much of a chance hire, and he has too much baggage. It would be different if our coach had just gone 3-9. If we'd had a terrible record last year or over the last few years, we'd be desperate for anything better than we have. As it stands though, Gus was fired for his inability to elevate the program. The next coach HAS to be able to do that.

I agree on the bolded.  However if you discount circumstances of someone's previous job, you aren't evaluating correctly.  Simply looking a record and saying "Well that's the same wins we already had" is lazy.  What did that coach inherent?  How was recruiting before he got there?  These are all important things that you have to ask.

Pat Dye was 6-5 at Wyoming before coming to AU.  Looking back, would you say that was a bad hire?

How about Chip Kelly when Oregon hired him?  Dude was a D2 coach.

Saban's record at Michigan State wasn't spectacular by any means.  However you could see the upside.

Point being, look deeper man.  All of your arguments against certain candidates are very surface level and show me that you don't actually pay much attention to football outside of Auburn.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

So Josh Pate said we would start hearing some names not mentioned yet in the coming days with this search party and all....Who are some names you think could be thrown out there besides what we have heard and discussed so far (Mario, Sark, Freeze, Kiffin, Steele, Napier, Chadwell, Vennebles, Elliot, Tom Allen, etc?)

[AUFriction 1,179]

4 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

So I have a question. How good of a recruiter is Kiffin? I do not remember how his classes were when he was at UT and USC. The reason that I mainly want MC is because of his pedigree and his recruiting prowess. He has been an absolute beast on the recruiting trail and he prioritizes the trenches which is what we need to get caught up with our rivals.

Freeze I believe is the best overall coach of the 3. He and Kiffin both have been great at developing QBs. I would probably give MC a slight edge in recruiting over Freeze, and Kiffin a slight edge over Freeze in terms of scheme/system, but I think Freeze checks all the boxe the best. Can Freeze recruit to the level he did at Ole Miss without the lot lizzards though? 

The pros for Kiffin are that a) he generally has good offenses and b) he recruits really well.

The negatives are that he a) is an internet troll, b) his programs have not typically had very good defenses, and c) In general, he's an egotistical jerk, which eventually wore out his welcome with the administration and players at USC. 

Freeze has weaknesses too. Freeze did recruit well, but he was cheating to do it. No idea how he would do without cheating, which is another problem. If we hire him, the NCAA will constantly have their nose in our business. The other thing is that he is stylistically pretty close to Gus. He coaches very similarly. His offense is in the same family as Gus's and Kelly's. Freeze is one of my top 2 (the other being Cristobal), but I honestly have some questions about whether he will actually elevate the program at all. With the new energy and the personnel that fits his scheme, we'd probably win early like we did with Gus, and but then I could see his career kind of going the same way Gus's did... Above average seasons with an occasional big win or good season. 

[AUFriction 1,179]

8 minutes ago, PigskinPat said:

Too risky of a hire? What indication has he given you that he still struggles with the issues he had 5 years ago? There is no concrete proof that the pressure of the job itself is what led to his downfall. He and his wife were getting divorced in the spring of 2015 and I think played a huge part in him turning to alcohol to cope. He hit rock bottom and has worked and proven himself since. 

Proven himself as a coordinator, not as a head coach. You know, I feel like we recently hired someone who was an effective offensive coordinator for a season or two. But I think he actually even had one successful year of head coaching experience before we hired him.  How did his career go?

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,751]

2 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

No idea how he would do without cheating, which is another problem

I doubt he'll have to worry about not doing that no matter where he went, here, Tennessee, wherever

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,751]

there's no elite program on God's green earth that doesn't "CHEAT" man

[Tony4AU 386]

3 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

there's no elite program on God's green earth that doesn't "CHEAT" man

💯

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

4 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Proven himself as a coordinator, not as a head coach. You know, I feel like we recently hired someone who was an effective offensive coordinator for a season or two. But I think he actually even had one successful year of head coaching experience before we hired him.  How did his career go?

Man, I can't think of any coaches who have ever done well while only being a coordinator before becoming a HC.  Oh wait.....

Smart, Kirby

Swinney, Dabo

Stoops, Bob

Shall I go on?

[PigskinPat 2,579]

10 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Proven himself as a coordinator, not as a head coach. You know, I feel like we recently hired someone who was an effective offensive coordinator for a season or two. But I think he actually even had one successful year of head coaching experience before we hired him.  How did his career go?

Well, he almost won us a national championship and got us to the SECCG twice, winning it once. But Gus’s downfall was that he refused to adapt and didn’t recruit to the needs of his team.

Not proven himself as a head coach?!! If what he accomplished at Washington doesn’t show you what he’s capable of, then I’m not sure what else to say. Sark has shown that his offensive philosophy is successful everywhere he’s gone and is setting records with it this year. As others have said, where you fail in your argument is that you do not take into consideration the states of the programs these coaches you shoot down were in, the teams they inherited, and what they were able to do with them.

[AUFriction 1,179]

3 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

I agree on the bolded.  However if you discount circumstances of someone's previous job, you aren't evaluating correctly.  Simply looking a record and saying "Well that's the same wins we already had" is lazy.  What did that coach inherent?  How was recruiting before he got there?  These are all important things that you have to ask.

Pat Dye was 6-5 at Wyoming before coming to AU.  Looking back, would you say that was a bad hire?

How about Chip Kelly when Oregon hired him?  Dude was a D2 coach.

Saban's record at Michigan State wasn't spectacular by any means.  However you could see the upside.

Point being, look deeper man.  All of your arguments against certain candidates are very surface level and show me that you don't actually pay much attention to football outside of Auburn.

Let's try this. What about Sark makes you think he'd be successful here? I don't want to hear about offense. We just got done with an offensive coordinator that 10 years ago was considered the best of the best. He didn't meet fan expectations. So, what about Sark suggests that he has that ability to elevate the program? 

[Tony4AU 386]

11 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

So Josh Pate said we would start hearing some names not mentioned yet in the coming days with this search party and all....Who are some names you think could be thrown out there besides what we have heard and discussed so far (Mario, Sark, Freeze, Kiffin, Steele, Napier, Chadwell, Vennebles, Elliot, Tom Allen, etc?)

Wow.  Who else would be out there? Jedd Fisch? Oh.  I read someone mention Greene was AD at UB so Lance Leipold.  

[AUFriction 1,179]

5 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Man, I can't think of any coaches who have ever done well while only being a coordinator before becoming a HC.  Oh wait.....

Smart, Kirby

Swinney, Dabo

Stoops, Bob

Shall I go on?

Gus Malzahn

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,751]

I wouldnt have Sark in my top 5 or anything, but if his demons are truly long gone, he's not a horrible choice. I feel like he should cut his teeth at a place with resources yet not awfully high expectations (not us). South Carolina would've been great...USF wouldn't be bad. Va Tech could keep him within this general region and take adv of his pipelines

[Zeek 16,660]

5 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I wouldnt have Sark in my top 5 or anything, but if his demons are truly long gone, he's not a horrible choice. I feel like he should cut his teeth at a place with resources yet not awfully high expectations (not us). South Carolina would've been great...USF wouldn't be bad. Va Tech could keep him within this general region and take adv of his pipelines

Terry Bowden is only like 2 years older than Steele lmao 

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

11 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Let's try this. What about Sark makes you think he'd be successful here? I don't want to hear about offense. We just got done with an offensive coordinator that 10 years ago was considered the best of the best. He didn't meet fan expectations. So, what about Sark suggests that he has that ability to elevate the program? 

If you don't talk about Sark's offense, you aren't giving him fair consideration.  That's like saying "What makes this steakhouse the best?  But I don't want to hear about what grade or cuts they use or how they cook it."  That's just dumb.

So yes, I will talk about his offense in my evaluation.

1) He has HC experience and brought Washington from the depths to respectability at the height of Oregon's powers under Kelly and the .  If you are unaware, and I think you are, those two schools are monster rivals.  He got that job when he was just 34 as well.  Dude was young and still successful.

2) His offense is a true, modern day, pro-style offense.  Not this kiddie **** we've been running.

3) Players get better under his tutelage and are ready to step in and go.  Look no further than Mac Jones.  That dude followed arguably the best QB I've ever seen at Bama and hasn't missed a beat.

4) He's still young (46).  This is a guy that we could literally have for the next 10-15 years.

I don't think Sark is any more of a risk than Napier, Steele, or Cristobal.  And frankly, we could get Sark for about $3M less than we could Cristobal.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

11 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Gus Malzahn

Yep, he flamed out after a while.  But your argument that HC experience is a must defies logic. I can show you plenty of dudes with HC experience that sucked when they got a shot at a big school.

Hell man, one coaches 20 minutes from me (Tom Herman).

[autigeremt 6,710]

35 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I think if they gave him all that, I feel like we're F'd. No way we dish 7m out again and promise absolute commitment with one of the biggest bankrolls we got looking elsewhere 

7 mil may not come out of AU alone. I "think", based on what I've "heard", is more like 5 years, 30 mil with incentives that would come from TUF money and the new SEC TV deal with ABC/ESPN. 

[PigskinPat 2,579]

9 hours ago, Tigerpro2a said:

So Josh Pate said we would start hearing some names not mentioned yet in the coming days with this search party and all....Who are some names you think could be thrown out there besides what we have heard and discussed so far (Mario, Sark, Freeze, Kiffin, Steele, Napier, Chadwell, Vennebles, Elliot, Tom Allen, etc?)

Might be crazy for thinking this, but my dark horse is Kiffin. 
 

He makes $3.9 million a year, so we could definitely afford him and give him the money he needs to hire the best assistants he can get.

He is the only coach this year that has gone toe-to-toe with bama, and Lane coaches at OLE MISS. We might not want to admit his success against bama is important, but we all know it is.

His offenses have been successful everywhere he’s been and his quarterbacks produce. If we can pair his offense with a good defense?....

He’s got them at 4-4 this year. Last year they were 4-8. If he had a regular schedule with cupcakes, they would have a winning record this year.

He wants to win championships. He can’t do that at Ole Miss. He knows he can do that here.

He loves getting under Saban’s skin and wants to be the former assistant that beats him. He knows he has a much better chance of doing that here. Kiffin would be like fingernails on a chalkboard to Saban if he was coaching at Saban’s biggest rival school.

He commented about our coaching search and referenced Saban’s quote when he left the Dolphins for bama. Was it random, or was he sending out a signal? lol

We’ve ticked Ole Miss off before by stealing a coach from them, it’s about time to do it again.

My first choice is Cristobal, but if we got Kiffin, he would be successful here and his tweets would be absolute gold.

[USATiger 741]

52 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

If you want to knock the guy for his alcohol problem, I get that.  But he has, by all accounts, rehabbed from that.  The dude was hired TWICE by Saban in the last few years and was the OC for the Falcons between stints.  He's also only 46. 

You'd be dumb not to take a hard look at him.

 

I have a hard time taking anyone seriously that mentions Sark and alcoholism.  Damn, it isn’t a life sentence and those that turn their life around are the hardest workers of all.   If anything, he buries himself in work, which ain’t all bad.   
 

I know of the demands Saban puts on a staff, most should by now.  Sark wouldn’t be where he is if he were still drinking.  Saban wouldn’t tolerate it, the results Sark gets wouldn’t be the same.  
 

I have no problem with Auburn interviewing and possible hiring Sarkisian as the next HC.  I prefer Cristobal but Sark is way up there for me.