How much do you dislike Ed Richardson?

[AU_James 0]

Can we really blame Lebo for the last 6 years? If there's a man whose picture deserves to be used as target practice for Auburn fans, would it not be crusty, power-hungry Ed Richardson? If there's a man that you would just assume cut an arm off before you see TOUCH your athletic program, would it not be this guy? I remember having a nice drink when this hapless loser finally went away. Now, 6 years later, we're hanging on a limb on whether or not Mike Anderson will even pick up the phone and talk to us. Instead of getting ready to see our guys play in the tournament this week, we're merely hoping for a coach to take us there maybe in a couple of years. Hopefully Anderson realizes that the senile cancer is gone and this is a whole new administration. Richardson was and always will be a joke. And I mean even before his interim days at Auburn. Why couldn't he have graduated in Mississippi 

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I was glad the day he left. But yes, a lot of the blame does go to Lebo. He was there 6 years and didn't do a darn thing to make us a winner.

[wardon1345162806 0]

Richardson was my jr high principal, and he could lift you up off the ground with his special board with small hol;es. Hurt all day after one of Ed's-

[Mikey 16,654]

Ed Richardson took over at Auburn in some difficult times and straightened some big messes out, not only within athletics. All Auburn people owe him a lot.

As far as Anderson is concerned, anybody that's too good to drive to Auburn for an interview can keep himself in Birmingham. That's where Anderson stayed for a while, and if that's as close as he ever gets to Auburn University I'll be delighted.

[kingofhill1 2]

Can we really blame Lebo for the last 6 years? If there's a man whose picture deserves to be used as target practice for Auburn fans, would it not be crusty, power-hungry Ed Richardson? If there's a man that you would just assume cut an arm off before you see TOUCH your athletic program, would it not be this guy? I remember having a nice drink when this hapless loser finally went away. Now, 6 years later, we're hanging on a limb on whether or not Mike Anderson will even pick up the phone and talk to us. Instead of getting ready to see our guys play in the tournament this week, we're merely hoping for a coach to take us there maybe in a couple of years. Hopefully Anderson realizes that the senile cancer is gone and this is a whole new administration. Richardson was and always will be a joke. And I mean even before his interim days at Auburn. Why couldn't he have graduated in Mississippi 

Well, no, I'm not hanging on a limb on whether or not Mike Anderson will even pick up the phone and talk to us. I frankly don't care if he does or does not. In fact, I'm prefer that we don't pick up the phone to talk to him. I have had a number of jobs in my lifetime. Each time I was seriously considered for a job I was expected to go to my prospective place of employment for an interview. If Mike Anderson thought he was too good to do that we did not need him, nor do we need him now. I tip my hat to Richardson for not hiring him.

[TKO204 0]

Richardson was in a tough spot when he came in because of Jetgate & Sacs. He had to do things to assert the presidents authority over ath. dept. and show independence from the board. As far as to whether Mike Anderson should have come for an interview. NO NO No. If you're a public figure and coach (basketball anyway) at UAB, especially considering Andersons position at the time, you don't go to interview at Auburn unless you have the job in hand. Period. And that was what Anderson wanted before he came down to "interview".  AU_JAmes, on those interviews you went on, did you tell your then employer you were going on them? As a business owner myself, if one of my employees came to me after I'd just giving him a raise and said "by the way, I need a couple of hours to go interview at saban inc." I would have said sure, don't come back.  Because as a public figure, that was what Anderson would have been doing. It would have leaked, and if he didn't get the job, he would have been in a bad place with UAB.

[wareagle987 0]

Richardson and Baird screw up the Anderson deal. Could it be that Richardson is a closet bammer?

[Guest BibliothekarTiger]

Ed Richardson guided Auburn through some extremely difficult times while Auburn was on watch with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.  If Auburn had lost accreditation it would have been a death knell for Auburn University.  It took years and years for UGA to recover when they lost SACS accreditation after interference from Talmadge and the Georgia governor’s office.  I will always, and I think all Auburn men and women should too, give Richardson credit for preventing this.  Auburn was walking a fine line with SACS when the last basketball coach was hired and there could be absolutely not even the hint of impropriety in the coaching search.  I know all of us would have liked the result of that search to have turned out more successfully, but the method and approach was correct for the time.  JMHO 

[Mikey 16,654]

Richardson and Baird screw up the Anderson deal. Could it be that Richardson is a closet bammer?

For sure he is, just like Hal Baird and Bo Jackson are. Ed Richardson holds three college degrees, Bachelor's, Master's and PhD. All from Auburn University.

[jonesc1_98 0]

......If Mike Anderson thought he was too good to do that we did not need him, nor do we need him now. I tip my hat to Richardson for not hiring him.

Was anyone saying this when our whole athletic department took the private jet and flew up to Louisville..... I think it was a slap in the face that we didn't go to Anderson and interview him. I don't blame him for not coming. If you look at every big name coach, they are courted to come coach their team. Do you think Saban flew to UAT to interview... HELL NO....

Now I am not saying Anderson was an elite coach, but I do think we took him for granted. He's a hell of a coach and is a winner.  I don't know anything about him as a person, but the man can win... that's what we need

[kingofhill1 2]

Chizik interviewed.

Lebo interviewed.

I have interviewed.

I do not buy what you are saying.

[Mikey 16,654]

Anderson stated: "I'll only come to Auburn to interview if I've been guaranteed the job."

What the devil kind of interview is that? That wouldn't be an interview, that would simply be a discussion about details, or a public introduction of a new coach.

I hope we let him keep his pompous self in Missouri.

[Tiger Growlin 0]

Anderson stated: "I'll only come to Auburn to interview if I've been guaranteed the job."

What the devil kind of interview is that? That wouldn't be an interview, that would simply be a discussion about details, or a public introduction of a new coach.

I hope we let him keep his pompous self in Missouri.

That was not him being pompous or a shot at Auburn. That statement was made along the lines of interviewing minority just because you have to. He wanted the job. He just didn't want to be used to say hey we interviewed a minority candidate to slide by the rule. If you're not truly interested in me being the coach don't call me. We've seen this year after year in the NFL with Defensive Cordinator Leslie Frazier of the Vikings. He's always one of the first names to come up and get interviewed but has yet to land the top job. A lot of minority coached have taken this stance, Anderson is one of the few with the guts to say it publicly. Thats a man standing up for what he believes in and I don't fault him for that.

[Mikey 16,654]

If I'm hiring someone for a job, I'm interested in five candidates and one of them refuses to interview, guess which one will be the first to be eliminated?

If you've never personally met somebody, how can you tell if that candidate is a fit for your position if you don't sit down and talk?

Anderson and Frazier can decline to interview all they want to, for whatever reasons, but if they truly want the job in question they should be willing to interview.

[Tiger Growlin 0]

Basically he wasn't gonna get a fair shot. He had gotten word that the decision was already made on who the coach would be. That's why he took that stance. All he wanted was a fair shot. He believed he got that fair shot elsewhere that's why he interviewed at Miami and later Missouri where he landed. It also was the reason he interviewed at Georgia last year.

[Mikey 16,654]

It also was the reason he interviewed at Georgia last year.

It was widely reported that UGA offered him a multi-year contract at 2.1 mill per. Why did he turn that down?

As for him "getting the word" that he wouldn't get a fair shot at Auburn, it would have been good for him to say so and reveal his sources six years ago. As it is, this is the first time I've heard that bizarre statement. They talked to him in Birmingham and wanted him to come to Auburn for a second, more complete interview. Sounds like a strange sort of ploy for Auburn to pull. 

[Tiger Growlin 0]

It also was the reason he interviewed at Georgia last year.

It was widely reported that UGA offered him a multi-year contract at 2.1 mill per. Why did he turn that down?

As for him "getting the word" that he wouldn't get a fair shot at Auburn, it would have been good for him to say so and reveal his sources six years ago. As it is, this is the first time I've heard that bizarre statement. They talked to him in Birmingham and wanted him to come to Auburn for a second, more complete interview. Sounds like a strange sort of ploy for Auburn to pull. 

How about we agree to disagree on this subject and drop it from here on out because it's obvious we won't agree in any way on this. War Eagle Brother!

[Mikey 16,654]

How about we agree to disagree on this subject and drop it from here on out because it's obvious we won't agree in any way on this. War Eagle Brother!

We aren't really disagreeing, are we? I'd simply like to know where the info that Anderson wasn't getting a fair shot came from.

In post #12, you wrote this: "That statement was made along the lines of interviewing minority just because you have to. He wanted the job. He just didn't want to be used to say hey we interviewed a minority candidate to slide by the rule."

As far as I know, there is no rule that says a minority must be interviewed. Tennessee, for example, didn't interview a minority before they hired Kiffin or Dooley.

If something doesn't make sense, I like to know where it's coming from and why it's being said. Anderson's claim that he was being interviewed merely to satisfy some rule doesn't make sense because there is no such rule.

[Tiger Growlin 0]

How about we agree to disagree on this subject and drop it from here on out because it's obvious we won't agree in any way on this. War Eagle Brother!

We aren't really disagreeing, are we? I'd simply like to know where the info that Anderson wasn't getting a fair shot came from.

In post #12, you wrote this: "That statement was made along the lines of interviewing minority just because you have to. He wanted the job. He just didn't want to be used to say hey we interviewed a minority candidate to slide by the rule."

As far as I know, there is no rule that says a minority must be interviewed. Tennessee, for example, didn't interview a minority before they hired Kiffin or Dooley.

If something doesn't make sense, I like to know where it's coming from and why it's being said. Anderson's claim that he was being interviewed merely to satisfy some rule doesn't make sense because there is no such rule.

There is no set rule by the NCAA but the Black Coaches Association often refers to the Rooney Rule thats used by the NFL and in todays times it is the politically correct thing to do. I am very close to someone who is very connected to all things Auburn when it comes to athletics and i'm close to some people who know Anderson very well and i've met him myself and been around him a number of times. He's a very nice guy. I've heard the story told from both sides and both basically told the same story. I wish I could tell you excatly who said what but I can't. But I will say I believe what both sides are saying because both sides are very respectable people.

[Mikey 16,654]

That was a well written response, and certainly a new and unique slant on the events of six years ago.

If anybody likes basketball, there is a great game going on right now on ESPN2. The North Carolina and Gonzaga women are going up and down the court runnin' and gunnin'. Fun to watch!