What's Killing Auburn

[Snaggletiger]

Can't we at least wait until halftime of Clemson before we start wanting to go after Patterson? And you are asking where all of the doom and gloom is coming from?

And Kaos has apparently written the season off.

Geez Louise people. All we are missing is evidence of a QB. We don't know much about that but I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet.

Gus kicks a shittay attituder off the team and this place thinks this one guy was going to get us to the playoffs? We win the Clemson game (which is possible, btw) and who knows what could happen. We will know we are for real. We even keep it close, then we'll know that we are for real. That's the good thing about this season. We should find out early about the possibilities.

What happened to the x that I used to know?
 

I trust this was sarcasm.  Otherwise you ain't too bright, son.

Nice..I say, nice boy.  But about as sharp as a sack of wet mice.

[jmar]

Look here we've been over this time and again.

Coach Dye leveled the playing field as HC/AD doing everything he knew from his time with the old man (and then some) to make it happen. The AD part was key because Shug never had that advantage and it was the key component for most successful HC's in that day and time re: money and resources.

The hiring of Malzahn was perfect. His style was ideal as an alternative to that of the Gumps and our other main competition, which provided a recruiting niche in the way of speciality. This system was key to our most recent NC and the other near miss.

What burns me is that he isn't or seems to have abandoned the driven/attention to detail cred he immediately brought with him.
And to make things worse Jughead keeps giving raises. Granted that's what AD's do when they go lock, stock and barrel with a guy but where then is the incentive when you just reward for the sake of rewarding?

So IMO what I see is a HC that started slipping after attaining success and then shit the bed when it came time to consistently reload and delegate responsibilities (namely play calling).
And he's lost his touch and has become predictable.
Doesn't mean he can't find his way again but I don't think he has it in him to make the hard choices when it comes to staff. We always needed more defense which he plugged short term but we never made a "committed" hire, just chose an able experienced coach and recruiter which is what Gus has become since he started sharing the O.C./play calling role.

He gets a pass as a Head Coach having to learn on the fly but NOT as a struggling coordinator.
   


 

[Pell City Tiger]

Jacobs has already created a committee to start the search consisting of Pell City Tiger, Jumbo and the 'ol Buzzer.  We should have the new coach named by halftime of the Clemson game.

Will Jumbo show up for the interviews? I've got 3 people so far waiting to hear back.

[jmar]

Furthermore we are in a climate that tells somebody how "great" they are without having proven it on a consistent basis. We start believing it after hearing it ad nauseam and respond by heaping praise on them ourselves. Jughead probably thinks he is the straw that stirs the drink but he is out of options with the buyout, especially since he keeps upping the ante.
My guess is that the PTB would retain J.J. regardless of the fortunes of our football program which IMO is a mistake and a discussion for another day.
So being an Auburn fan doesn't mean I have to buy-in to bad decision making. Success should be noticed and rewarded accordingly. Failure should be criticized as well.
We have what we have. 

[AUownsU]

Fuck sake, people.  We don't play our first game for a month and already our program is headed straight in the shitter. Where is all this gloom and doom coming from?

Agreed. Fuck that noise. Outside the gumps across the state, who was the last team to win a SECC? Who was  the last SEC team to play for the NC?  Hell, who was the last SEC team to win a NC?  All which happened while riding mother fucking Gus Bus. That War Eagle is like a phoenix. We may crash and burn and even smolder in the ashes for a couple  years. Yet we also rise up and set the cfb world on fire like no other. Bout time for that old bird to rise up again.

All clichés aside, I really believe we are gonna field the best Auburn D since the Tuberville era. If Gus puts points on the board like he can, then I really believe we are gonna shock the hell out of some folks. Given the fact he owns the Auburn record book and has had offenses that were almost unstoppable in his brief tenure as OC and HC, I believe he's gonna get it done

[Kaos]

Fuck sake, people.  We don't play our first game for a month and already our program is headed straight in the shitter. Where is all this gloom and doom coming from?

2015. 2008. 2012.

[CCTAU]

Sitting. Waiting. Watching.

[jmar]

No gloom and doom here. We have the makings for a very good defense. We have Legatron. The offensive line looks to be stronger than ever. Just waiting to see if we can convert when it's our turn.

[WiregrassTiger]

Some of you need to make up your mind. Are we going to suck or not? Is the Miss Robinson's boy departure the end of AU foosball as we know it?

Is Gus going to be calling plays for Sprindale HS next year?

Some of you bitches want to have your cake and eat it too. I won't let this happen. You act like a bunch of Bernie Sanders supporters.

Make the call and stick with it. Either get on the Gus bus or hobo your own way.

[Snaggletiger]

I'm on the bus til it either reaches its destination or breaks down.  Come on September 3rd.

[chinook]

damn folks.  i'm not worried until the softball team starts to tank.

[Kaos]

Why must loyalty be blind? 

I love Auburn. Not a man, but the totality of what we are. I'm loyal to the ideal. Well I love bo Jackson. And cam.  But I digress

Why must that mean I have to willingly accept whatever decisions are made by the AD or the coaches or the players?  I don't want to be a mindless drone worshiping at the altar like those inbred clowns across the state. 

I see no need to get on the bus. Or off it. 

I enjoyed the hell out of 2010.  I saw faults but chose to ignore them because it was fun.  I was not sold on Chizik still.  After I read his book I had grave misgivings about his ability to sustain long term. And I was right. 

I think Jacobs hamstrung Tuberville and crashed his career by being a meddling ass until Tuberville basically just said fuck it. He made a really bad hire in Cbizik and ran screaming from it when the wheels fell off.  Jacobs should have been gone then too.  His hire of Malzahn is mediocre at best.  He would have been a much better choice after five years or so learning the job at a smaller school.  He just isn't ready.  He might learn and become a great coach one dsy but he's struggling right now.  If you don't understand that after watching his press conferences last year and this?  You're not looking hard enough. Yes 2013 was good because all he had to do was run the offense.  No time to do anything else.  Once he had to start running the program? It changed.  Something happened in Starkville in 2014 that fractured the team.  Failing to convert against A&M destroyed it.  I honestly think it was and remained a different standard of treatment for certain players. It's hard not to.  And now he probably overreacted trying to change the narrative. 

Seeing and thinking these things doesn't make me like auburn less or wish failure on anyone or even want to be right. 

I will defend AU against gunps, hogs, dogs, Bengals, gators, cats, racist bears, chickens or any other foe.  But I'm also allowed to wonder about things. 

[WiregrassTiger]

Why must loyalty be blind? 

I love Auburn. Not a man, but the totality of what we are. I'm loyal to the ideal. Well I love bo Jackson. And cam.  But I digress

Why must that mean I have to willingly accept whatever decisions are made by the AD or the coaches or the players?  I don't want to be a mindless drone worshiping at the altar like those inbred clowns across the state. 

I see no need to get on the bus. Or off it. 

I enjoyed the hell out of 2010.  I saw faults but chose to ignore them because it was fun.  I was not sold on Chizik still.  After I read his book I had grave misgivings about his ability to sustain long term. And I was right. 

I think Jacobs hamstrung Tuberville and crashed his career by being a meddling ass until Tuberville basically just said fuck it. He made a really bad hire in Cbizik and ran screaming from it when the wheels fell off.  Jacobs should have been gone then too.  His hire of Malzahn is mediocre at best.  He would have been a much better choice after five years or so learning the job at a smaller school.  He just isn't ready.  He might learn and become a great coach one dsy but he's struggling right now.  If you don't understand that after watching his press conferences last year and this?  You're not looking hard enough. Yes 2013 was good because all he had to do was run the offense.  No time to do anything else.  Once he had to start running the program? It changed.  Something happened in Starkville in 2014 that fractured the team.  Failing to convert against A&M destroyed it.  I honestly think it was and remained a different standard of treatment for certain players. It's hard not to.  And now he probably overreacted trying to change the narrative. 

Seeing and thinking these things doesn't make me like auburn less or wish failure on anyone or even want to be right. 

I will defend AU against gunps, hogs, dogs, Bengals, gators, cats, racist bears, chickens or any other foe.  But I'm also allowed to wonder about things.

^^^^heretic.

[Snaggletiger]

A couple of counter points.  Jacobs didn't have anything to do with Tuberville's demise.  Family and health issues along with him shutting it down with recruiting efforts his last 2-3 years brought his tenure at AU to an end.   

Second, I've heard more times than I can count that Jacobs shoved Malzahn down our throat.  It was his choice.  His hire.  No, it was Jacobs, Bo Jackson, Pat Sullivan and Mac Crawford that made the recommendation to hire Gus Malzahn.  Whether it turns out they were right or wrong, it was a team of Auburn men, two of which are Auburn legends, that made the decision to name Malzahn as our head coach.

Look, I understand the questioning of Malzahn as our future, given what's happened the last season and a half.  There's not an Auburn soul that thinks it's a good thing to end 2014 the way we did and follow that with a 7-6 campaign.  But all this analysis is not exactly breaking new ground or providing any new insight.  Gus Malzahn has been on the proverbial "hot seat" according to every expert, analyst and preseason mag in the country since midway through last season.  Why?  Because you're judged by one thing in this business, wins and losses.

Malzahn tried to step back and give boy wonder a shot last year.  That and personnel issues resulted in epic fail.  He's on the hot seat because of it.  Rightfully so.  He's the man at the top.  He's taking over the offense again 100%.  Like I said above, if it works and we win 9, 10 or 11 games...great.  If not, he'll most likely be looking for work elsewhere.   

[Snaggletiger]

[jmar]

A couple of counter points.  Jacobs didn't have anything to do with Tuberville's demise.  Family and health issues along with him shutting it down with recruiting efforts his last 2-3 years brought his tenure at AU to an end.   

Second, I've heard more times than I can count that Jacobs shoved Malzahn down our throat.  It was his choice.  His hire.  No, it was Jacobs, Bo Jackson, Pat Sullivan and Mac Crawford that made the recommendation to hire Gus Malzahn.  Whether it turns out they were right or wrong, it was a team of Auburn men, two of which are Auburn legends, that made the decision to name Malzahn as our head coach.

Look, I understand the questioning of Malzahn as our future, given what's happened the last season and a half.  There's not an Auburn soul that thinks it's a good thing to end 2014 the way we did and follow that with a 7-6 campaign.  But all this analysis is not exactly breaking new ground or providing any new insight.  Gus Malzahn has been on the proverbial "hot seat" according to every expert, analyst and preseason mag in the country since midway through last season.  Why?  Because you're judged by one thing in this business, wins and losses.

Malzahn tried to step back and give boy wonder a shot last year.  That and personnel issues resulted in epic fail.  He's on the hot seat because of it.  Rightfully so.  He's the man at the top.  He's taking over the offense again 100%.  Like I said above, if it works and we win 9, 10 or 11 games...great.  If not, he'll most likely be looking for work elsewhere.   

I hear ya. But giving boy wonder his shot doesn't mean that it's over just because it's mentioned. Play calling will be at the forefront because we no longer have the comfort of handing it off safely for three or four yards to set up the next play. So IMO we will need to become even more creative, something which has waned in the recent past or since the advent of said b.w.

No panic, just an observation. Interested in the after-contact burst from Pettway as well as the utilization of other positions that could help strike fear into our opponents.

[Kaos]

A couple of counter points.  Jacobs didn't have anything to do with Tuberville's demise.  Family and health issues along with him shutting it down with recruiting efforts his last 2-3 years brought his tenure at AU to an end.   

Could not disagree more.  Jacobs -- whether of his own accord or at the behest of the people pulling his strings -- sabotaged the whole thing.  Think about how he throws raises at coaches who don't deserve them.  Didn't he just toss more a year at Malzahn as a raise than most of you make in a year?  Then try to remember how he treated Tuberville from about 2005 on.  Wouldn't back him, brawled with assistant coaches, on and on.  Just waiting for Tuberville to have an off year so he could bring out the knives. 

For a long time, Tuberville felt like he was on his own, operating without any support from the administration and looking over his shoulder the entire time.  Nobody can function like that. 

Was he the best coach?  Maybe, maybe not.  But his job was made exponentially more difficult by Pontius Jacobs. 

[Kaos]

Allow me to be the curmudgeon.  I didn't like that at all. 

Too much Alabama.  Too much "miracle" 

Just didn't like it. 

[The Six]

^^^^heretic.

I'm too tired to dig up the number of shit pies K has thrown at me for "questioning things" in the past.

[WiregrassTiger]

I'm too tired to dig up the number of shit pies K has thrown at me for "questioning things" in the past.

To be fair, when you've had your heart ripped out as many times as Auburn fans have in the post Shug Jordan era, you tend to get nervous and see what you think are trends. Especially crusty and decrepit , old spice wearing farts like Kaos, jmar and snags. When they walked to school, it was uphill both ways.

I'm not saying any for sures re: this year or Gus' future. It's waaaaaay too soon to tell. And we desperately need a qb.

But I am saying there is no need to yell fire, yet. We have recruited at the highest level in AU football history despite all of the bad stuff.

I do think this is a put up or shut up year. Meaning, we need to be more competitive than last and have more wins.