Agreed on the daddy coach part. The reasons for asking are more directed towards just coaching and also being an "Auburn man". I will say this, Pat Nix would not be just a puppet or a "yes man". Perhaps knowing this would motivate Gus to change some of his methods in a positive way. Perhaps also knowing Pat Nix is beloved by most Auburn folks, especially those with big money, would put Gus in a position to have to listen and actually be willing to let others help him do his job. Yes, Gus knowing all this would keep such a hire from happening but ........perhaps Gus isn't given then option. In fact, someone may make that decision for Gus, and Gus becomes the yes man in hopes to keep his job. All fun thoughts.
I for one, so its said, think Pat Nix is a great offensive mind and will be seen as a highly successful coaching in the college ranks before too long. Also, he would be a strong force to recruit talent from the state of Alabama down to Auburn.
Any other time I might be inclined to hear out the "Nix for OC" argument.
But no. Daddy coaching just never works. It creates dissension and mistrust.
Beyond that? If you're being 100% straight with yourself, he doesn't have a stellar track record. In his first year as Miami's OC, the Canes broke 30 points only three times. His team was held to under 20 six times. Five of those were 14 points or less. Miami went 5-7.
His second season was slightly improved. Still, five games were 20 points or less. Oddly enough, Miami won three of those, the real difference between 5-7 and the 7-5 finish they had.
Nix was fired after that season and replaced with some dude named Mark Whipple. Miami broke 20 in every game but two the season following Nix's firing. They topped 30 points in seven games and finished with nine wins.
He hasn't been truly anything close to successful anywhere but as a high school coach. Show me why I'd want him to leap from high school to the OC booth? I don't see it.
Do I like Nix and respect what he did for and means to Auburn? You're damn right I do. Do I want him anywhere near the offensive coordinator's chair? No. Hell no.
You ask me what I want? I want Gus to raid the NFL and find a receiver's coach or a QB coach. I don't care if they're only there for a year or two in order to build a resume to be a HC. We have (had) a decent group of receivers but we rarely put them or their QBs in a position to be successful. Kodi Burns, bless him, has no clue whatsoever how to attack the defenses AU faces with routes that are designed to find the gaps in coverage. I love Kodi Burns, but as a quarterback he could not read defenses. What the hell makes you think he can do it as a "coordinator?"
We also need a QB coach. I've been watching Joe Burrow. Watching Tom Brady for years. Almost every quarterback in an Auburn uniform over the last decade or so has more physical ability than either of those two. So why is Brady the greatest of all time and Burrow the presumptive Heisman winner? It's pretty simple. They are coached well. When Joe/Tom drops back to pass they know where they're going with the ball 90% of the time. The receivers run precise routes. They come to the line read the immediate weakness (because there's almost always one) and attack it. Those guys also know that in the event the play breaks down, there's a safety valve. With even moderate coaching at either WR or QB, I honestly believe we add two wins a year or more to our past totals.
That's Gus' biggest failing. Our entire offensive staff -- and maybe nobody wants to work under his meddling, blundering ass so he can't fix it -- is bush league.
Kodi Burns, bless him, simply isn't ready. He would be a graduate assistant on any other staff in the country. Kerry Dillerbam or whatever his name is, just isn't ready for this level. He needs time at smaller programs to earn his stripes. Grimes just sucks. It's not that we don't have talent on the OL, it's that they've gotten softer and softer over the years. They're damned marshmallows most of the time now. And Carnell. I wish he could suit up and play again, but like Dillysham and Kodi, he just doesn't have the resume to be anything other than a GA at this point in his career.
I also think we could benefit from bringing in some former head coaches as "consultants" like Bama does. They've got 28 former head coaches wandering around over there skirting the rules about what they are and aren't allowed to do.
If Gus truly wants to take it to the next level, he's going to have to rein in his ego, forget that he wrote a damned book 20 years ago and be open to finding an offensive coaching staff that isn't beholden to him in some way. He's surrounded himself with kiss asses and that destroys his ability to be objective. He can't see the forest or the trees sometimes. When you've got guys bowing and scraping in front of you, unable to tell the difference between a painted turd and a lump of gold? Well, sometimes you end up like that stupid naked emperor strutting around with your balls hanging out.
49 Replies
6217 Views