Tim Jackson

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during the celebration we heard Tim Jacksons name mentioned many times and giving his share of gratitude. I knew of him by name but no idea how involved and close to the football team he was as an administrator. Goes to show more always more than meets the eye for a W on Saturdays.

Chizk right hand man

[ShocksMyBrain 9,560]

That article is actually being considered as a slam against Auburn, so here's the text:

AUBURN

Auburn fans walked away from last week's national championship celebration with more than smiles. They had questions, too.

Where's my free poster?

Who does the governor think he's fooling?

Who is Tim Jackson?

For a guy who works behind the scenes, Jackson was front and center twice on Celebration Saturday. At the microphone, Cam Newton kidded him for being his "shadow," and Gene Chizik complimented him for helping the head coach do his job.

That's nice, but what exactly does Jackson do?

He's been at Auburn for more than two decades, as everything from football graduate assistant to ticket manager to his current position as executive associate athletics director.

He's been more visible than ever this year. You couldn't help but notice him on the sideline in a sport coat or on camera at Newton's elbow.

He wears a lot of hats as the No. 2 man in the athletics department behind AD Jay Jacobs - Jackson also heads the Tigers Unlimited Foundation, the fund-raising arm for athletics - but his work with the football program has put him in the spotlight more than ever before.

Jackson said director of football relations Wayne Bolt jokingly called him "Steinbrenner," a reference to the late owner of the New York Yankees, who was hands-on with his team to the point of suffocation at times.

Jackson is there at every Auburn football practice and every team meeting, often in a suit because he also attends senior staff meetings, but he's more like Auburn's general manager. That's become his nickname among players and coaches alike: GM.

In a rare interview in his office Thursday, Jackson said the leadership of Auburn football breaks down like that of an NFL franchise. "Jay Jacobs is the owner. Gene's the head coach. I'm the general manager."

Chizik said their management structure "is probably unique in college football. This may not work for everybody else. It works for us. Everybody is on the same page."

It works because Chizik and Jackson have a unique bond and level of trust for a coach and administrator, especially at Auburn, where the last two head coaches, Terry Bowden and Tommy Tuberville, seemed at constant odds with "the suits."

They first met as graduate assistants, Jackson from Auburn and Chizik from Clemson, at a coaching convention in 1989. They renewed their acquaintance at Auburn when Chizik arrived in 2002 as defensive coordinator. Jackson's role as Jacobs' second-in-command gave Chizik another strong ally during the head coaching search in 2008.

After Chizik was hired, before he had a director of football operations, Jacobs gave Jackson administrative oversight of the football program. Chizik didn't just accept Jackson's role. He embraced it and expanded it.

"This was my idea in terms of having him around as much as I can," Chizik said. "He knows me inside and out. He knows what's important to me."

Chizik said Jackson might handle issues ranging from class schedules to team meals, saving the coach valuable time and allowing him to focus on "trying to win this game this week."

Jackson said he'll discuss everything from team travel plans to what he sees on the practice field with Chizik.

"There's nothing too small I'm not willing to do to help these players and coaches be successful, if it's within the rules," Jackson said.

At times, Jackson will brainstorm an idea and Chizik will trust him to run with it. At the Sunday team meeting of Georgia week last season, Chizik let Jackson address the team. Jackson scolded senior defensive end Antoine Carter for smiling because he'd never beaten Georgia, then told the team to watch a video he'd prepared.

The theme: "It's Time to Get Serious."

The video started with Chizik answering a question at a press conference, then switched gears. The heads of Chizik and his wife, Jonna, had been photoshopped on two disco dancers. As had the heads of Newton and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Uproarious laughter ensued.

"It really broke the ice," Jackson said.

Jackson's anonymity started to melt when he became Newton's handler after the quarterback's breakout performances against South Carolina and Kentucky. Jackson walked him to and from class, shielding him from autograph hunters, and made sure he adhered to his football and non-football schedules.

"I probably did become a bodyguard," Jackson said. "Cam needed somebody to be the bad guy, somebody to say no. That's not his personality."

Jackson said that, unlike his role in so many other areas, he was not in the middle of the backstage discussions when the NCAA started investigating Newton's recruitment. Jackson said he didn't sit in on the NCAA's interview with Newton during Georgia week and didn't offer advice later about turning pro.

But Jackson did accompany Newton to Orlando for the College Football Awards, to New York for the Heisman and to Los Angeles, after the BCS Championship Game, for "The Jay Leno Show."

Newton may have joked about Jackson on stage in Jordan-Hare Stadium last weekend, but afterward said they have "a great friendship" that will continue. "Tim Jackson is a person who kept me level-headed through the trying times," Newton said. "I'm glad to have a person like Tim in my life."

Funny, but Jackson has spent a lot of time making Auburn people mad, from disciplining players as part of Pat Dye's staff to turning down requests as ticket manager.

"My job wasn't to be the most popular," Jackson said. "If I was popular, I probably wasn't doing my job."

If you have a problem with Jackson these days, you'll have to take it up with Chizik. What Jackson does for the football program, he does with Chizik's support. That's why the coach thanked him at the celebration.

"You very, very rarely hear the name 'Tim Jackson,' " Chizik said. "For what he meant to me personally, for what he meant to our football team, for me not to mention his name wouldn't have been right."

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How can this be considered a slam? He wrote two questions to start with about not enough posters and letting our new governor speak.Your right he is right up this sport by brooks,Thamel and Thayer. If people are getting upset with his own GM statement they need to get over it.

[BigSammyK 171]

That article is in now way supposed to be slamming AU. People (Brooks) have taken one line of it and are trying to twist it as so but that really doesn't seem to be Scarb's intention.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,560]

How can this be considered a slam? He wrote two questions to start with about not enough posters and letting our new governor speak.Your right he is right up this sport by brooks,Thamel and Thayer. If people are getting upset with his own GM statement they need to get over it.

That article is in now way supposed to be slamming AU. People (Brooks) have taken one line of it and are trying to twist it as so but that really doesn't seem to be Scarb's intention.

I guess I should have said that it's being twisted into a slam by the evil ones.

I've never cared for Scarbinsky, and he seems to write more trash than good regarding Auburn. Recently he went after Chizik for the whole "War Damn Eagle" thing.

[lovemyAU 0]

I think it is a nice read..Paul Finescam is just trying to get people to listen.

[AUgrad00 7]

I think it is a nice read..Paul Finescam is just trying to get people to listen.

I can attest he is not the most popular figure in the athletic department. When he was ticket director he was considered kind of an arrogant jerk who spent more time playing golf then working. To be honest Stacey Danley got clipped from AU and we are unsure what his employment responsibilities were I would say the same about Jackson.

They mention scheduling and travel and all of that but normally that is what your director of football operations handles. Under Tubbs that was Andy Lutz and Buddy Davidson (though not how much Uncle Buddy did other then collect a paycheck)

I also love the part where he says when he was ticket director he should not be liked by many because he had to say no. I know the current ticket director personally and he is very well liked a very nice guy much more accomodating and easy to deal with then Tim Jackson.

Anyone notice every AU TV show Tim Jackson is front and center getting air time. Do you think thats coincidence? I had an athletic department official point that out to me this fall.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

[Hoopie 6]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

TJ is there to report to the PTB. He does watch the coach's and team's back from outsiders. The "menial" tasks he mentioned doing are totally a Director of Football Operations job. TJ doesn't need to wear a suit just to report to JJ. He reports much higher than JJ. Someone on another blog called him a "consigliere".

Tubs kept TJ away from the team as much as possible. It was one of the problems Lowder had with Tubs.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,560]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

Why'd you bother even replying with this?

[WarEagle84 0]

I've never cared for Scarbinsky, and he seems to write more trash than good regarding Auburn. Recently he went after Chizik for the whole "War Damn Eagle" thing.

I think you're being hypersensitive. I haven't always agreed with Scarbinsky, but I've never thought he was anti-Auburn. I happened to agree with his position on the "damn" and didn't think he was "going after" Chizik.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,560]

I've never cared for Scarbinsky, and he seems to write more trash than good regarding Auburn. Recently he went after Chizik for the whole "War Damn Eagle" thing.

I think you're being hypersensitive. I haven't always agreed with Scarbinsky, but I've never thought he was anti-Auburn. I happened to agree with his position on the "damn" and didn't think he was "going after" Chizik.

Matter of difference of opinions I suppose.

[Hoopie 6]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

Why'd you bother even replying with this?

Surely you can figger out what PT means here. Unlike me, PT was just trying to be a little bit diplomatic with his message.

Why don't you think before asking something like you did?

[Hoopie 6]

I've never cared for Scarbinsky, and he seems to write more trash than good regarding Auburn. Recently he went after Chizik for the whole "War Damn Eagle" thing.

I think you're being hypersensitive. I haven't always agreed with Scarbinsky, but I've never thought he was anti-Auburn. I happened to agree with his position on the "damn" and didn't think he was "going after" Chizik.

Matter of difference of opinions I suppose.

I can take or leave Scarbo. He sometimes says stuff just to get attention, but is rarely out of line. I appreciate TJ's candor in this article. It is indeed a "unique" position in college football. Unfortunately for AU and given the recent press frenzy against AU, TJ's "NFL pro team" analogy is just fodder for the bottomfeeder press types. At least Scarbo didn't speculate or get into what TJ's real job is.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

Why'd you bother even replying with this?

Why do you bother to ask?

[ShocksMyBrain 9,560]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

Why'd you bother even replying with this?

Surely you can figger out what PT means here. Unlike me, PT was just trying to be a little bit diplomatic with his message.

Why don't you think before asking something like you did?

I was being curious. Why even post something along the lines of "I know what I want to say, but I won't, so I'll be cryptic about it"? Whatever, nothing for any of us to get worked up about.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,560]

I can take or leave Scarbo. He sometimes says stuff just to get attention, but is rarely out of line. I appreciate TJ's candor in this article. It is indeed a "unique" position in college football. Unfortunately for AU and given the recent press frenzy against AU, TJ's "NFL pro team" analogy is just fodder for the bottomfeeder press types. At least Scarbo didn't speculate or get into what TJ's real job is.

That's a good point.

I guess I should be more bothered by Jackson's analogy that it just provided substance for the Thayer Evans' of the "journalist" world.

[AURaptor 1,137]

I noticed this guy talking to CGC during the season, and wondered who the heck it was. Seeing him so much reminded me of UF's AD, Jeremy Foley. Since it wasn't Jacobs, I finally had to ask around.

What kinda gripes me is, if this was such a story, why did they wait until now to run it ? It seems the newsies, you know, the guys who get PAID to write this sort of stuff, should have picked up on Tim roaming the sidelines long before the BCS Celebration event at JSH.

I personally thought it was sorta interesting, but not worthy of a full blown article, all by itself. A couple of paragraphs on it's own, as a stand alone box off to the side of a main article, might have made more sense.

[AUgrad00 7]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

I agree with this totally. Not to mention I had interactions with most of the athletic department officials. Jay Jacobs, David Housel, media relations, Jackson was one of the few guys that I thought carried himself like an @ss.

[WarEagle84 0]

... if this was such a story, why did they wait until now to run it ?

Because there's no football being played, but we all still want to read about our team.

There were a couple of snippets during the season about Cam's "bodyguard" that identified him by name and title, but I didn't see anything in-depth.

[WarEagle84 0]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

I agree with this totally.

This is the kind of stuff I expect from bamzos and Thayer. Why do you guys insist on seeing conspiracy inside our football program?

[arnaldoabru 11]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

Why'd you bother even replying with this?

Surely you can figger out what PT means here. Unlike me, PT was just trying to be a little bit diplomatic with his message.

Why don't you think before asking something like you did?

I was being curious. Why even post something along the lines of "I know what I want to say, but I won't, so I'll be cryptic about it"? Whatever, nothing for any of us to get worked up about.

You seem like a very enthusiastic poster.We're glad to have you. Just take Proud's opinion on this one.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,560]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

I agree with this totally.

This is the kind of stuff I expect from bamzos and Thayer. Why do you guys insist on seeing conspiracy inside our football program?

The only issue I had with the statement is that it rides the line with BamaGrad's most recent thread regarding Cam. And BG got creamed from all sides for making such a statement.

The way I see it, just say what you mean and be done with it. There are ways to express what you want and how you want without coming off as a jerk. Not saying PT was being a jerk, but perhaps bit his tongue in an attempt to not come off as one.

I don't know much about Jackson other than just being Cam's handler, I don't know much of his pre history.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,560]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

Why'd you bother even replying with this?

Surely you can figger out what PT means here. Unlike me, PT was just trying to be a little bit diplomatic with his message.

Why don't you think before asking something like you did?

I was being curious. Why even post something along the lines of "I know what I want to say, but I won't, so I'll be cryptic about it"? Whatever, nothing for any of us to get worked up about.

You seem like a very enthusiastic poster.We're glad to have you. Just take Proud's opinion on this one.

I guess I'll have to, but I still would like to know what he meant by saying what he did. If he'd like to PM me his opinion without airing it out on the board, that's perfectly fine for me.

[AUn Collierville 1]

I shhouldn't even comment but I'm really surprised Chizik thinks highly of Jackson. I will leave it by just saying Chizik better watch his back.

Why'd you bother even replying with this?

Surely you can figger out what PT means here. Unlike me, PT was just trying to be a little bit diplomatic with his message.

Why don't you think before asking something like you did?

I was being curious. Why even post something along the lines of "I know what I want to say, but I won't, so I'll be cryptic about it"? Whatever, nothing for any of us to get worked up about.

You seem like a very enthusiastic poster.We're glad to have you. Just take Proud's opinion on this one.

So what's the big mystery? How do we get into the Circle of Trust?