New Coach..Candidates..Feel Free to Weigh In

[WarTiger 3,919]

a friend of mine suggested it to me, and after I thought about him, i think i'm ok with the idea:

Tubby Smith?

Not NO, but HELL FREAKIN' NO. Absolute NO WAY in HELL I want Tubby Smith at Auburn. He's a hack of a coach. He would set us further back than we already are and that boggles the mind. Tubby smith can't coach his way out of a paper bag. He's a joke of a coach.

War Tiger,

That was quite possibly the dumbest post I have ever seen on the AUNation basketball forum. A short list of Tubby Smith's accomplishments.

15 NCAA appearances in 18 seasons as a head coach with 4 different teams (Tulsa, Georgia, UK, Minnesota), almost double the number of times Auburn has made the tourney all time (8)

Of the 15 NCAA appearances, his teams went to at least the sweet 16 on nine different occasions - Auburn has been to the sweet sixteen 3 times

Of the 9 sweet 16 appearances, his teams advanced to the elite 8 four different times - Auburn has 1 elite 8 appearance

1 of those elite 8 appearances led to a final 4 (auburn has 0) and a national championship

7 regular season conference championships (2 MVC, 5 SEC) - Auburn has 2 all time

5 SEC tourney titles in 12 years coaching in the league - Auburn has 1 all time

16 20+ win seasons in 18 years as head coach with 4 different teams - Don't know that Auburn has had many more if as many 20 win seasons. 2 of those seasons were 30+ win seasons (I know Auburn has never had that)

He went 139-53 in SEC play over a 12 year span and 308-102 overall and never once missed the NCAA tourney (this includes his time at UGA - a football school like Auburn). In 77 years plus of SEC play, Auburn has 546 conference wins. This means Tubby Smith won 1/4 of the amount of SEC games Auburn has in 1/7 the amount of time. Almost on pace to double us up.

In his 10 year run at UK, they were 120-40 in conference play. That's an average of 12-4 per season for you non math majors out there. Auburn might have won 12 conference games 5 times.

We won't even mention his head to head record against Auburn. Suffice it to say his teams wiped their asses with us on a regular basis.

Yes, it is clear that Tubby Smith couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag . His team may be struggling this season, but to say Tubby Smith is a hack of a coach is just plain stupid.

If Auburn were ever lucky enough to bring in a class act and winner like Tubby, every Auburn basketball fan should feel like they just won the Georgia powerball lottery.

It really doesn't matter what you think of my opinion. You have yours and I have mine, and mine is: Tubby Smith is a hack of a coach. I wouldn't and don't want him anywhere near auburn much less our coach. That's my opinion. Of course his teams beat us on a regular basis. What is our overall record vs. Kentucky? It's not like he changed the course of history between auburn and kentucky. We rarely beat kentucky over our entire programs history. Hell, when we were 29-4 we still lost to kentucky TWICE. We don't exactly have a rich history of basketball accomplishments. He spent the majority of his career at one of the top basketball programs in the country, and clearly the #1 program in the SEC, BY FAR. It's not like he had to coach them up to win (except for his son, who was AWFUL while at kentucky, but played anyway). The top players across the country are itching to go to schools like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina. I could be a successful coach at kentucky. There are a TON of coaches out there WAY BETTER THAN TUBBY SMITH WILL EVER BE. Several of them have been mentioned in this thread.

[AUgrad00 7]

I agree with War Tiger. I have no interest in Tubby. Class guy, good guy, decent coach but he really took what Pitino had built and ran it into the ground that is why he is no longer at UK. Sure he won a national title with Pitino's players. I do not consider him even a great coach.

I will get laughed at right off this damn board but I would start at the top sending blank checks to some of the best coaches Auburn could go after and make them say no. Hell go ask Larry Brown and George Karl make there @ss say no. Can Auburn get them 99% chance no but at least you got a no. You never know if you can hit the ball till you swing the bat.

I am in agreement with the prior poster Auburn needs a splash hire a proven winner from a good conference not taking a flyer on some unproven assistant or unproven head coach from a smaller conference. If Auburn is going to do that I just assume they keep Lebo. I realize Auburn is not a brinks truck but I wish Dan Snyder was running this search that is my general philosophy on how you conduct it though I realize Auburn does not have anywhere near the financial resources of Snyder.

It really doesn't matter what you think of my opinion. You have yours and I have mine, and mine is: Tubby Smith is a hack of a coach. I wouldn't and don't want him anywhere near auburn much less our coach. That's my opinion. Of course his teams beat us on a regular basis. What is our overall record vs. Kentucky? It's not like he changed the course of history between auburn and kentucky. We rarely beat kentucky over our entire programs history. Hell, when we were 29-4 we still lost to kentucky TWICE. We don't exactly have a rich history of basketball accomplishments. He spent the majority of his career at one of the top basketball programs in the country, and clearly the #1 program in the SEC, BY FAR. It's not like he had to coach them up to win (except for his son, who was AWFUL while at kentucky, but played anyway). The top players across the country are itching to go to schools like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina. I could be a successful coach at kentucky. There are a TON of coaches out there WAY BETTER THAN TUBBY SMITH WILL EVER BE. Several of them have been mentioned in this thread.

[WarTiger 3,919]

I agree with War Tiger. I have no interest in Tubby. Class guy, good guy, decent coach but he really took what Pitino had built and ran it into the ground that is why he is no longer at UK. Sure he won a national title with Pitino's players. I do not consider him even a great coach.

I will get laughed at right off this damn board but I would start at the top sending blank checks to some of the best coaches Auburn could go after and make them say no. Hell go ask Larry Brown and George Karl make there @ss say no. Can Auburn get them 99% chance no but at least you got a no. You never know if you can hit the ball till you swing the bat.

I am in agreement with the prior poster Auburn needs a splash hire a proven winner from a good conference not taking a flyer on some unproven assistant or unproven head coach from a smaller conference. If Auburn is going to do that I just assume they keep Lebo. I realize Auburn is not a brinks truck but I wish Dan Snyder was running this search that is my general philosophy on how you conduct it though I realize Auburn does not have anywhere near the financial resources of Snyder.

It really doesn't matter what you think of my opinion. You have yours and I have mine, and mine is: Tubby Smith is a hack of a coach. I wouldn't and don't want him anywhere near auburn much less our coach. That's my opinion. Of course his teams beat us on a regular basis. What is our overall record vs. Kentucky? It's not like he changed the course of history between auburn and kentucky. We rarely beat kentucky over our entire programs history. Hell, when we were 29-4 we still lost to kentucky TWICE. We don't exactly have a rich history of basketball accomplishments. He spent the majority of his career at one of the top basketball programs in the country, and clearly the #1 program in the SEC, BY FAR. It's not like he had to coach them up to win (except for his son, who was AWFUL while at kentucky, but played anyway). The top players across the country are itching to go to schools like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina. I could be a successful coach at kentucky. There are a TON of coaches out there WAY BETTER THAN TUBBY SMITH WILL EVER BE. Several of them have been mentioned in this thread.

I agree. Except I would prefer we stick with current and proven collegiate coaches and stay away from the NBA coaches. BUT, if we are able to spend close to $90 Million if not more on a new arena, why couldn't we afford to let a coach name his price, literally. We never know until we ask, and the worse they can do is say no thanks. There's an old saying: "Everybody has a price". What would it take as an annual salary to get one of the top coaches in the country? Several names come to mind: Williams at NC, Barnes at Texas, Few at Gonzaga, Stephens at Butler, Pitino at Louisville, hell even Huggins at West Virginia.

[Tigermike 3,053]

After 34 years maybe Jim Boeheim would consider leaving Syracuse.

[Mikey 16,734]

Well then, let's just hire Billy Donovan away from Florida.

[bdc81 90]

Best Coach AU could have hired and didn't was Mac McCarthy, took over a CSS team with a losing record mid-season to the NCAA. Took UTC multiple times to the NCAA and to the sweet sixteen.

Just didn't "look" like a basketball coach. He's currently 9-19 at East Carolina, guess he's available.

When we are throwing names around, think we should consider who would come. With a new arena and the mediocre condition of the other SEC schools, a great coach should be successful at AU.

My personal choice, keep Coach Lebo, hire CTT as recruiting co-ordinator and hire the assistant coach at UAB that taught those players how to play defense.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

The question is: what are we going to do now?

Jay Jacobs gets paid to figure that out.

That's a scary thought.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I have spent a reasonably long career involved with interviewing and hiring potential employees.

You may conduct a preliminary interview just about anywhere, but when you notify an applicant that he/she has been selected for a final round of interviews, that round is almost always conducted at the place of expected employment.

If, at that time, the potential employee refuses to go to the final interview without imposing some conditions, (in Anderson’s case not willing to come to Auburn unless he’d already been hired) that’s not just a red flag, it’s a deal-breaker.

The potential employee is trying to establish control, no matter that the employer is going to be signing the paychecks.

Do y’all not see where that goes? Anderson was expected to be Auburn’s employee and he was trying to tell his employer what to do. That ain’t how it works. The employer does the telling, the employee does the doing. Auburn was right to walk away from Anderson.

Would he have won more games than Lebo? Let’s just assume that he would have. Would it have been worth the trouble he'd have caused? I’m saying not.

I agree 100%. Anderson thought he was bigger than Auburn.I don't want Tubby Smith either. A few years ago I was in a restaurant in Louisville and happened to be seated nest to a large group of BB coaches attending an SEC meeting. They were all friendly except Tubby. He clearly thought he was better than everybody else.

[arnaldoabru 11]

Dean Smith is available.

[Mikey 16,734]

Dean Smith is available.

Now yer talkin'!

[AUdmd07 2]

a friend of mine suggested it to me, and after I thought about him, i think i'm ok with the idea:

Tubby Smith?

Not NO, but HELL FREAKIN' NO. Absolute NO WAY in HELL I want Tubby Smith at Auburn. He's a hack of a coach. He would set us further back than we already are and that boggles the mind. Tubby smith can't coach his way out of a paper bag. He's a joke of a coach.

War Tiger,

That was quite possibly the dumbest post I have ever seen on the AUNation basketball forum. A short list of Tubby Smith's accomplishments.

15 NCAA appearances in 18 seasons as a head coach with 4 different teams (Tulsa, Georgia, UK, Minnesota), almost double the number of times Auburn has made the tourney all time (8)

Of the 15 NCAA appearances, his teams went to at least the sweet 16 on nine different occasions - Auburn has been to the sweet sixteen 3 times

Of the 9 sweet 16 appearances, his teams advanced to the elite 8 four different times - Auburn has 1 elite 8 appearance

1 of those elite 8 appearances led to a final 4 (auburn has 0) and a national championship

7 regular season conference championships (2 MVC, 5 SEC) - Auburn has 2 all time

5 SEC tourney titles in 12 years coaching in the league - Auburn has 1 all time

16 20+ win seasons in 18 years as head coach with 4 different teams - Don't know that Auburn has had many more if as many 20 win seasons. 2 of those seasons were 30+ win seasons (I know Auburn has never had that)

He went 139-53 in SEC play over a 12 year span and 308-102 overall and never once missed the NCAA tourney (this includes his time at UGA - a football school like Auburn). In 77 years plus of SEC play, Auburn has 546 conference wins. This means Tubby Smith won 1/4 of the amount of SEC games Auburn has in 1/7 the amount of time. Almost on pace to double us up.

In his 10 year run at UK, they were 120-40 in conference play. That's an average of 12-4 per season for you non math majors out there. Auburn might have won 12 conference games 5 times.

We won't even mention his head to head record against Auburn. Suffice it to say his teams wiped their asses with us on a regular basis.

Yes, it is clear that Tubby Smith couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag . His team may be struggling this season, but to say Tubby Smith is a hack of a coach is just plain stupid.

If Auburn were ever lucky enough to bring in a class act and winner like Tubby, every Auburn basketball fan should feel like they just won the Georgia powerball lottery.

It really doesn't matter what you think of my opinion. You have yours and I have mine, and mine is: Tubby Smith is a hack of a coach. I wouldn't and don't want him anywhere near auburn much less our coach. That's my opinion. Of course his teams beat us on a regular basis. What is our overall record vs. Kentucky? It's not like he changed the course of history between auburn and kentucky. We rarely beat kentucky over our entire programs history. Hell, when we were 29-4 we still lost to kentucky TWICE. We don't exactly have a rich history of basketball accomplishments. He spent the majority of his career at one of the top basketball programs in the country, and clearly the #1 program in the SEC, BY FAR. It's not like he had to coach them up to win (except for his son, who was AWFUL while at kentucky, but played anyway). The top players across the country are itching to go to schools like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina. I could be a successful coach at kentucky. There are a TON of coaches out there WAY BETTER THAN TUBBY SMITH WILL EVER BE. Several of them have been mentioned in this thread.

Maybe you missed the fact that he took Tulsa, Georgia, and Minnesota to the tourney also. In each case he came in when the teams had experienced years of losing and had them dancing within at the most 2 seasons. Hell he took UGA to the sweet 16. When has Georgia ever been worth a damn in basketball when they weren't cheating? Oh yeah, the two year Tubby Smith era. Tubby Smith is a better and more proven coach at the college level than anyone else listed in this thread. Out of the 8 seasons in his head coaching career that he wasn't at UK, he has gone to the tourney 6 times (all at football schools). That is 3/4 of the time, and 2/3 of the time assuming he doesn't make it this year.

You know who was the coach of the Kentucky team that our 29-4 team lost to twice? Tubby. He coached circles around Cliff "pay for play" Ellis in both games. Auburn had superior talent that year but Tubby drew up the right game plan to beat us twice. If he were coach at Auburn, he'd be doing the same thing against many of the other hacks that roam SEC sidelines.

George Karl or Larry Brown? You guys are joking right? Neither one of them would ever pick up the phone if Jacobs called, let alone interview. Some of these mid major coaches make a lot more sense, but their resumes look a lot like Lebo's coming in.

[AUgrad00 7]

You people can laugh but every man has his price see the million dollar man. If a guy turns down the job u simply did not offer him enough money. Case in point u give most guys five mil they would get down with nasty @ss rosie ofat.

If you dont think most people have a price then check out all the tramps that were

getting down with Tiger Woods. I guess they were intersted in his golf game,

his views on social issues and his intellect but I could not imagine they were

pursuing him for his money.

Debate me please

[Mikey 16,734]

You people can laugh but every man has his price see the million dollar man. If a guy turns down the job u simply did not offer him enough money. Case in point u give most guys five mil they would get down with nasty @ss rosie ofat.

Debate me please

Bullcrap.

[ziggyg 2]

You people can laugh but every man has his price see the million dollar man. If a guy turns down the job u simply did not offer him enough money. Case in point u give most guys five mil they would get down with nasty @ss rosie ofat.

Debate me please

This an outrageous point and holds no water. Its sometimes not about going and spending whatever just to have what you want. There is thing called a coaches worth and value. If he exceeds that in negotiations then let them walk. No one is worth a blank check. I honestly hate the fact of where the coaching profession in college sports both basketball and football have gone in the arena of paying these guys insane amounts of money. i understand the business side of college sports and have to pay for a winner which in turn bring in revenue to make salary acceptable to pay, but whats the ceiling of paying these guys?

[AUslug 1]

I see a bunch of names being thrown around in this thread but what is the possiblity of Auburn getting any of them? Jay Jacobs lowballed when he hired Lebo and he is going to lowball again if he even fires Lebo this year. Heaven help us if Lebo finally figures out how to win the in the SEC tourney and makes a run to save his job. Auburn's basketball program is the worst in the SEC under Lebo, and that is a damn shame. Same thing happened with that loser of baseball coach Jacob's hired before Pawlowski, Auburn was the worst program in the SEC during that 4 year span. I have little faith in Jay Jacobs and his hiring prowess. WarTiger, you have shown you are a buffon if you think Tubby is a "hack", he may not be huggable but the man is a winner. I see Lebo staying on another year, Auburn will lose to Northeast Central Tech and UAH and flirt with .500.

[Auburnfan91 1,407]

I think we should go after a proven coach with NCAA Tournament experience. I'd actually like to get Tubby Smith if we could get him but if you think we're going to get a big-name hire like Tom Izzo or Roy Williams then you're being irrational.

Auburn basketball is not in the position to be picky as long as we get someone with NCAA tournament experience and Tubby Smith would have that.

[AUgrad00 7]

I agree with most of this post. Auburn will NEVER drop the amount of cash it takes to win. Sorry make a coach say no to 5-6 million to come coach at Auburn. You get what you pay for usually.

People make fun of my posts but throw a @hitload of jack at good name coaches and make them say no.

However I agree with this poster Jacobs will spend maybe a mil and go get some no uninspiring hire from Wichita State or Southern Illinois.

If your not going to committ to win why spend 85 million on an new arena and lowball a new coach. Its illogical.

If Lebo is back next season I will try to go the opening game at the new arena and that is it. I am done with AU hoops till he is history. I love Auburn I love basketball probably even more so then football or at least very close but at least try and win.

Again I agree with War Tiger. Tubby has never impressed me. If he was such a damn good coach he would still be winning championships at UK. Of course he is probably an upgrade from Lebo.

Lebo should get alot a ton of credit for trying to win without cheating or cutting corners. It could be a justifiable reason for bringing him back next season but its the only reason.

High very high character, decent coaching ability, no personality, and little ability to recruit.

For the record if you want change your voices need to be heard I emailed Jacobs myself and in a very classy way said its time to move on.

I see a bunch of names being thrown around in this thread but what is the possiblity of Auburn getting any of them? Jay Jacobs lowballed when he hired Lebo and he is going to lowball again if he even fires Lebo this year. Heaven help us if Lebo finally figures out how to win the in the SEC tourney and makes a run to save his job. Auburn's basketball program is the worst in the SEC under Lebo, and that is a damn shame. Same thing happened with that loser of baseball coach Jacob's hired before Pawlowski, Auburn was the worst program in the SEC during that 4 year span. I have little faith in Jay Jacobs and his hiring prowess. WarTiger, you have shown you are a buffon if you think Tubby is a "hack", he may not be huggable but the man is a winner. I see Lebo staying on another year, Auburn will lose to Northeast Central Tech and UAH and flirt with .500.

[AUgrad00 7]

I will say this he is damaged goods right now so you have to weigh that but I would take a shot at Rick Pitino is the

biggest name coach who could be looking for a change of scenary If I was a betting man I would bet 80 to 90% he is not in Louisville next year. Of course I know I will get laughed at for this but from all I read he wants out. If he comes to Auburn there is less pressure and not as high expectation level. From what I read on TSN he looks tired and uninterested in Louisville and he has become a PR nightmare there.

Personally I would not be interested with a guy of his character coaching at Auburn but the point is our administration is to stupid to at least give hims the chance to say no.

I think we should go after a proven coach with NCAA Tournament experience. I'd actually like to get Tubby Smith if we could get him but if you think we're going to get a big-name hire like Tom Izzo or Roy Williams then you're being irrational.

Auburn basketball is not in the position to be picky as long as we get someone with NCAA tournament experience and Tubby Smith would have that.

[ziggyg 2]

I will say this he is damaged goods right now so you have to weigh that but I would take a shot at Rick Pitino is the

biggest name coach who could be looking for a change of scenary If I was a betting man I would bet 80 to 90% he is not in Louisville next year. Of course I know I will get laughed at for this but from all I read he wants out. If he comes to Auburn there is less pressure and not as high expectation level. From what I read on TSN he looks tired and uninterested in Louisville and he has become a PR nightmare there.

Personally I would not be interested with a guy of his character coaching at Auburn but the point is our administration is to stupid to at least give hims the chance to say no.

I think we should go after a proven coach with NCAA Tournament experience. I'd actually like to get Tubby Smith if we could get him but if you think we're going to get a big-name hire like Tom Izzo or Roy Williams then you're being irrational.

Auburn basketball is not in the position to be picky as long as we get someone with NCAA tournament experience and Tubby Smith would have that.

You have to be kidding me on both points. Pitino isnt going anywhere unless he leaves on his terms. he is Louisvilles Spurrier and they will make tourney this year. Tubs is far far from damaged goods. He had Minnesota in tourney with 8 seed last year. He got a raw deal in Kentucky and the Gillespie after him deifnately tore program dwn instead of build up and he was a HOT coach at the time coming from A&M. tell me this is like he is damaged, he was hired in 07 at Minnesota.

The team went from 8–22 in 2006–07 to 20–14 in 2007–08. Smith also led his Golden Gophers to the Big Ten Tournament semi-finals after defeating 2nd seeded Indiana. Coach Smith also harvested a top 25 recruiting class, the best in years for the program. In the 2008–09 season, Tubby led Minnesota to a record of 22–11, culminating in a berth in the NCAA tournament.

And Tubs is on a 17 year run of 20 + win seasons. I think any Auburn fan would be happy with that and a chance to be competitive every year.

[Mikey 16,734]

I see a bunch of names being thrown around in this thread but what is the possiblity of Auburn getting any of them? Jay Jacobs lowballed when he hired Lebo and he is going to lowball again if he even fires Lebo this year. Heaven help us if Lebo finally figures out how to win the in the SEC tourney and makes a run to save his job. Auburn's basketball program is the worst in the SEC under Lebo, and that is a damn shame. Same thing happened with that loser of baseball coach Jacob's hired before Pawlowski, Auburn was the worst program in the SEC during that 4 year span. I have little faith in Jay Jacobs and his hiring prowess. WarTiger, you have shown you are a buffon if you think Tubby is a "hack", he may not be huggable but the man is a winner. I see Lebo staying on another year, Auburn will lose to Northeast Central Tech and UAH and flirt with .500.

Jacobs didn't hire Lebo and he didn't hire Tom Slater. If you want to bash the guy, at least get your facts straight. JJ was hired as AD in December of 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Jacobs_%28athletics_director%29 You do the math.

[ziggyg 2]

I agree with most of this post. Auburn will NEVER drop the amount of cash it takes to win. Sorry make a coach say no to 5-6 million to come coach at Auburn. You get what you pay for usually.

People make fun of my posts but throw a @hitload of jack at good name coaches and make them say no.

However I agree with this poster Jacobs will spend maybe a mil and go get some no uninspiring hire from Wichita State or Southern Illinois.

If your not going to committ to win why spend 85 million on an new arena and lowball a new coach. Its illogical.

If Lebo is back next season I will try to go the opening game at the new arena and that is it. I am done with AU hoops till he is history. I love Auburn I love basketball probably even more so then football or at least very close but at least try and win.

Again I agree with War Tiger. Tubby has never impressed me. If he was such a damn good coach he would still be winning championships at UK. Of course he is probably an upgrade from Lebo.

Lebo should get alot a ton of credit for trying to win without cheating or cutting corners. It could be a justifiable reason for bringing him back next season but its the only reason.

High very high character, decent coaching ability, no personality, and little ability to recruit.

For the record if you want change your voices need to be heard I emailed Jacobs myself and in a very classy way said its time to move on.

I see a bunch of names being thrown around in this thread but what is the possiblity of Auburn getting any of them? Jay Jacobs lowballed when he hired Lebo and he is going to lowball again if he even fires Lebo this year. Heaven help us if Lebo finally figures out how to win the in the SEC tourney and makes a run to save his job. Auburn's basketball program is the worst in the SEC under Lebo, and that is a damn shame. Same thing happened with that loser of baseball coach Jacob's hired before Pawlowski, Auburn was the worst program in the SEC during that 4 year span. I have little faith in Jay Jacobs and his hiring prowess. WarTiger, you have shown you are a buffon if you think Tubby is a "hack", he may not be huggable but the man is a winner. I see Lebo staying on another year, Auburn will lose to Northeast Central Tech and UAH and flirt with .500.

You are delusional if you think any coach would be worth 5-6 million dollars

[AUgrad00 7]

Coach K or Roy Williams is not? No way in hell AU is getting them but your telling me there not?

You are delusional if you think any coach would be worth 5-6 million dollars

[AUdmd07 2]

I see a bunch of names being thrown around in this thread but what is the possiblity of Auburn getting any of them? Jay Jacobs lowballed when he hired Lebo and he is going to lowball again if he even fires Lebo this year. Heaven help us if Lebo finally figures out how to win the in the SEC tourney and makes a run to save his job. Auburn's basketball program is the worst in the SEC under Lebo, and that is a damn shame. Same thing happened with that loser of baseball coach Jacob's hired before Pawlowski, Auburn was the worst program in the SEC during that 4 year span. I have little faith in Jay Jacobs and his hiring prowess. WarTiger, you have shown you are a buffon if you think Tubby is a "hack", he may not be huggable but the man is a winner. I see Lebo staying on another year, Auburn will lose to Northeast Central Tech and UAH and flirt with .500.

Jacobs didn't hire Lebo and he didn't hire Tom Slater. If you want to bash the guy, at least get your facts straight. JJ was hired as AD in December of 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Jacobs_%28athletics_director%29 You do the math.

True, but Jacobs has also allowed both to stay around much longer than need be. He gave Lebo an extension last year after we lost in the NIT on our home floor. Lebo has only made the postseason 1 time in any form or fashion in 6 years as head coach (he isn't going to the NIT this year either). That is pathetic. Why did he get an extension? Because Jacobs is a poor AD when it comes to decisions that are non football.

[Mikey 16,734]

"True, but Jacobs has also allowed both to stay around much longer than need be."

The baseball coach was fired two seasons ago, after four years at Auburn. You have to at least give a new coach a chance.

[WarTiger 3,919]

I agree with most of this post. Auburn will NEVER drop the amount of cash it takes to win. Sorry make a coach say no to 5-6 million to come coach at Auburn. You get what you pay for usually.

People make fun of my posts but throw a @hitload of jack at good name coaches and make them say no.

However I agree with this poster Jacobs will spend maybe a mil and go get some no uninspiring hire from Wichita State or Southern Illinois.

If your not going to committ to win why spend 85 million on an new arena and lowball a new coach. Its illogical.

If Lebo is back next season I will try to go the opening game at the new arena and that is it. I am done with AU hoops till he is history. I love Auburn I love basketball probably even more so then football or at least very close but at least try and win.

Again I agree with War Tiger. Tubby has never impressed me. If he was such a damn good coach he would still be winning championships at UK. Of course he is probably an upgrade from Lebo.

Lebo should get alot a ton of credit for trying to win without cheating or cutting corners. It could be a justifiable reason for bringing him back next season but its the only reason.

High very high character, decent coaching ability, no personality, and little ability to recruit.

For the record if you want change your voices need to be heard I emailed Jacobs myself and in a very classy way said its time to move on.

I see a bunch of names being thrown around in this thread but what is the possiblity of Auburn getting any of them? Jay Jacobs lowballed when he hired Lebo and he is going to lowball again if he even fires Lebo this year. Heaven help us if Lebo finally figures out how to win the in the SEC tourney and makes a run to save his job. Auburn's basketball program is the worst in the SEC under Lebo, and that is a damn shame. Same thing happened with that loser of baseball coach Jacob's hired before Pawlowski, Auburn was the worst program in the SEC during that 4 year span. I have little faith in Jay Jacobs and his hiring prowess. WarTiger, you have shown you are a buffon if you think Tubby is a "hack", he may not be huggable but the man is a winner. I see Lebo staying on another year, Auburn will lose to Northeast Central Tech and UAH and flirt with .500.

You are delusional if you think any coach would be worth 5-6 million dollars

And you clearly haven't checked your facts before you post. We may not have a $5 million a year head coach yet, but look at some of these salaries for collegiate basketball coaches..not far off. seven coaches are making $2 million a year or more. Next time North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Syracuse, etc. are looking for coaches, don't be surprised if we hit the $5 million a year mark.

Highest Paid Coaches in Basketball

Calipari's Kentucky Deal Raises the Bar

By Charlie Zegers, About.com Guide

Kentucky's John Calipari tops the salary scale for Division I coaches

Say what you want about the Kentucky job... the prestige, the tradition, the fan base...

The money ain't bad, either.

The University of Kentucky continues to set the bar high for coaching salaries, giving John Calipari an eight-year deal reportedly worth an average $4,000,000 annually... and laden with enough extras to make the Federal budget look lean and mean.

Calipari's deal tops the contract signed by Florida's Billy Donovan by approximately $500,000. Donovan signed that deal last year, after a brief flirtation with the NBA.

To illustrate how salaries have grown: in 2002, according to a report in Sports Illustrated, there were relatively few basketball coaches making "CEO money." SI's list at the time put just three coaches over the $1 million mark in salary, with Kentucky's Tubby Smith the highest-paid at $2.4 million a year.

Here's a look at some of the top reported salaries in Division I men's college basketball. Bear in mind, this is not a straight applies-to-apples comparison... some schools include apparel deals with sneaker companies as part of the reported compensation package (Florida is one), others do not. Public Universities -- most of the schools on this list -- have to be more forthcoming about the salaries they are paying, while private institutions like Duke and Syracuse can play things a bit closer to the vest.

Coach Team Average Salary (Millions) Source

John Calipari Kentucky 4 ESPN.com

Billy Donovan Florida 3.5 Orlandosentinel.com

Bill Self Kansas 3 ESPN.com

Thad Matta Ohio State 2.5 Diverseeducation.com

Rick Pitino Louisville 2.25 ESPN.com

Roy Williams North Carolina 2.11 ESPN.com

Rick Barnes Texas 2 USAToday.com

Tom Izzo Michigan State 1.735 MSUSpartans.cstv.com

Jim Calhoun Connecticut 1.6 ESPN.com

Ben Howland UCLA 1.5 LATimes.com

Tom Crean Indiana 1.48 Insidethehall.com

Mike Krzyzewski Duke 1.2 charitynavigator.org

Jim Boeheim Syracuse 1.00 plus Syracuse.com