Been chewing on this for a while now (even though it don't mean a damn thing due to my lack of millions donated to the AD). The ugay game made me doubt it but last nights game just reaffirmed it. What I've come to is that I'm fine with what ever decision Gus makes this offseason. Want to can Rhett's ass and make him a fall guy? Fine. Want to bring him back and try again next year? Fine. Want JJ's ass to hit the road and be a back up to the JSU's QB that torched our ass? Fine. Wanna bring him back and see if he can screw his head on straight, develop better footwork, and put in the time it takes to learn to read coverage? Fine. Though I do highly recommend letting Craig coach QB's and Garner coaching TE's (Note: There is not even a TE on the fucking roster besides our back up LT), I'll be fine with what ever is decided.
The reason for my decision is I'm tired of the fucking meddling that goes on. That's right. I'm gonna heed Tommy Tuberville's advice he gave in a 2013 interview, "If they would've left me alone I'd probably still be coaching there, If they'll just leave Gus alone he will win big." (Note 2: That's not the exact quote but its pretty damn close). I'm tired of forcing our HC to cut off his right hand and expecting him to be better than he was before. I've watched Bowden, Tuberville, and Chizik all put up with this shit and I say no more.
The answer is simple folks either Gus Malzahn is capable of winning titles here or he isn't. If he is then he knows what needs to be done and will do it himself. If he isn't Auburn will be looking for a new coach in the near future. Either way I'm not on the band wagon of forcing his hand as I was earlier in the season. What changed my mind was a simple and honest look at how the season played out. Lets be real. We were fucked from game 1. When JJ developed the case of the yips it was over. Not sure when it happened. Maybe in the UL game? Maybe in the week of practice leading up to it? I'm not sure. I do know he looked like fucking world beater in A-day and every single performance he had leading up to this season. However, once he lost it between his ears we were done. I believe it affected the whole team. Players, coaches, offense, and defense were thrown for a loop. Just speculation but I imagine that if JJ had been carving our defense up in practice and once he came out and looked like he did, our guys couldn't help but question everything they were doing. Thats why it took our defense so long to finally come around. Well that and obviously having Carl Lawson come back. It obviously also made our coaches scrap almost everything they had been doing offensively during spring and fall camp. Thats pretty hard to fucking do and still be successful. Yet, JJ is not the first QB to melt under the lights nor will he be the last. Some have proven they can even recover and go out with a bang. Look no further than 2003 Jason Campbell vs 2004 Jason Campbell as proof. In 2003 JC's numbers were 61.8% completions 134 QBR 10 TDs 8 INTs. JJ this year 60.3% 126 QBR 9 TDs 7 INTs. Another and probably better example as far as comparing JJ's season is Ben Leard. His '98 season rivaled that of Clint Mosley and Jeff Klein in terms of shitty performances. However he turned it around and played pretty damn good ball for us. Yes both those guys had new HCs/OCs brought in and it helped. However The guy that turned Leard around was canned less than 2 years later after '01 IB. Point is football is a funny game. You never know how a guy is gonna respond. JJ could be gone tomorrow or he could come back and prove everyone wrong. I've seen it happen both ways.
What I do know is that improved QB play is a must (talk about stating the obvious). Lets be real, If Sean White, playing as a RSF, been healthy all year would have gotten the same defensive performance when he was playing, or had Jovon carrying the ball we are an 8-4 team minimum. Far cry from preseason expectations for sure. Yet, given all that went on with JJ, Duke, and Carl being gone most of the year that would've been a pretty damn good coaching job.
I also know that Malzahn has proven he can win in this league. Teams he has coached on have won the west 3 out of 7 years in the SEC and the main reason is largely due to his offense. Those offenses have also smashed every record Auburn had. Hes now on the verge of having the best defenses hes ever had to complement his offense. As a matter of fact I'm going to go out on a limb and say that our offense looks a hell of alot better next year and is closer to the type of production a Gus Malzahn is known for. Thats because despite all the utter bullshit that went down this season with injuries, yips, bad apples, and the rest, last night I saw something that spoke volumes to me. Gus Malzahn gives those fuckers fits. Not saying that is what should define our success but lets be real. No one has been more successful than those fuckers since he showed up. And no one has been more successful against them than Gus. Yes we only scored 13 last night but I also saw our O-line making holes in that front 7. I also saw receivers running free in that secondary. What ever it may be Gus' schemes give those fuckers fits like no one else. For a majority of his career his schemes have done a damn good job of lighting up the rest of the league as well. Coming in to the season Auburn has broke 30 pts 45 of the 78 games Gus has coached. Only 9 times out those 78 was his O held to under 20. Add that in with the direction the defense is now trending and all signs point to Auburn winning championships under Gus. Emphasis on the plural part of championships. That said I do think Gus is young and learning but thats the point he is learning. For all the people that say he is stubborn, so far I've seen him kick his star WR off the team, fire his DC 1 year after a NCG appearance, and bench his QB who he took to media days 3 games into the season. That to me screams he is more than willing to do what it takes to help his team win and he won't put up with players running the program ala Chizik. It's another reason why I'm trusting his judgement. Either he will cut it or he won't. No point in straining relationships and burning bridges like we are known to do.
TLDR: Leave Gus alone and see what happens.
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