Hate to Say It

[Snaggletiger]

Back to Saban for a minute.

When he first got there, he didn't endear himself to anybody either. He pissed off a LOT of people with his bullshit, honestly.  I know for a fact there was a group of former players and boosters who were plotting to have him removed middle of the first season. 

The ONLY reasons that didn't get traction are 1) Saban's force of personality was so strong that it scared some of the administrators and 2) the school was so desperate to regain some hint of relevancy after Tuberville fingering them year after year that they had to give it a shot. 

The guy told Bama quasi-legends to get the fuck out of the practice facility and weight room and don't come back. This ain't Gold's Gym. He told boosters to do their booster shit and shut the fuck up. He'd tell them when he needed their help or opinion.  He had an AD - one of the dumbest people I've ever had the misfortune of talking to, Mal Moore - who had fucked up the coaching search so badly that they almost had the Rich and Rita show -- who was going to ride or die on this hill and he backed Saban every step of the way even as people wanted him tossed out on his grizzled ass, too. Saban told the media to kiss his fucking ass and for some reason they fell all over themselves to suck up to that abuse. 

While the "doing shit my way" Saban comparisons have a small amount of merit, Horton doesn't have the AD backing and media fealty that he did.  Herbert also won't have the media support. Our "beat writers" are hacks who enjoy stirring up controversy and strife.  For some reason we always seem to draw Woodward and Bernstein wannabes who look for angles from which to lob grenades. 

Hennypenny also doesn't have the 100% loyalty of the fans.  There was no adoring throng to greet him at the airport like a savior. 

He can act like a Saban, be no nonsense like a Saban but the hill he has to climb is much steeper.  He has to win like one too and that doesn't look likely at the moment.

Fucking Rack Him.  Epic!!!

[wesfau2]

Feels like a pivotal time in Auburn athletics.   The AD is an outsider riding the stratospheric success of the basketball program.   If he can shelter his outsider football coach long enough for the culture to take hold,  we might see an Auburn athletic department untethered from that ego- driven micro management.

If they try to parlay a fabricated scandal and some disgruntled ex player comments into firing a new coach,  then they'll just be shooting off their noses to spite their stupid faces.

[GH2001]

Dye, for those of you who remember, did both.  He was one of the hardest, meanest people on campus but he'd also love you to death

This is where I think Harsin CAN BE if hes willing. All im saying. He doesn't have to change from the hard ass persona that he is to do it either. Ive seen him shown glimpses of it after wins. Ive seen Bruce do it. He will chew you out and make you think he wants to eat your first born for simply missing a screen....Then he will hug your ass and cry with you when Okeke goes down...on national tv.

The "I watched ya become men" speech with Slack standing behind him.... THAT...right there.

[GH2001]

Feels like a pivotal time in Auburn athletics.   The AD is an outsider riding the stratospheric success of the basketball program.   If he can shelter his outsider football coach long enough for the culture to take hold,  we might see an Auburn athletic department untethered from that ego- driven micro management.

If they try to parlay a fabricated scandal and some disgruntled ex player comments into firing a new coach,  then they'll just be shooting off their noses to spite their stupid faces.

I agree with you that its a dumb power driven move dude.

My whole argument on his persona and soft skills is an argument to keep the guy and wanting him to succeed. We agree here more than you think. I think doing that gives him a better chance. As K said, his hill is much steeper than most. He needs to do everything he can at this point.

[Snaggletiger]

Feels like a pivotal time in Auburn athletics.   The AD is an outsider riding the stratospheric success of the basketball program.   If he can shelter his outsider football coach long enough for the culture to take hold,  we might see an Auburn athletic department untethered from that ego- driven micro management.

If they try to parlay a fabricated scandal and some disgruntled ex player comments into firing a new coach,  then they'll just be shooting off their noses to spite their stupid faces.

I need serious face time with you, big boy.

[GH2001]

I need serious face time with you, big boy.

hollup wait just a damn minute, you call other people that too? I thought we had something special. That one night - on the beach. When we said it would last forever. You didn't mean it, did you?

[Kaos]

Feels like a pivotal time in Auburn athletics. 

Back to Saban again....

Alabama was at that precipice when he got there.  Somewhere in this board's history buried in one of these decade old threads you'll find Kaos telling you then it was an all or nothing situation.  Either Saban was the savior they hoped for, or it was over for them. The slide to irrelevancy and a status on par with Ole Miss would continue unabated. Obviously he was that for them. But we all forget just how close we were to knocking them off the map permanently. 

If fucking Paul Finebaum just hadn't had a field day with Rich Rodriguez's wife's hair... he would have signed that contract, Saban would have flopped miserably in the NFL and most likely ended up at Michigan or Notre Dame. Everything ... everything would be different. 

What we didn't realize at that same time, though, was how pivotal that time was for us as well. When they brought Saban in and basically said 'build the empire' our fucktarded, moronic, shitbird, dicko power-that-be mommy parts SHOULD have made a similar play and stepped up for our coaching staff.  We HAD the leverage.  We had six straight over Bama. We were two years removed from what should have been a national championship and the most successful senior class in history.  But what had we been doing for those two years?  Shoving our thumbs up our asses, undermining Tuberville (granted, some was his fault), jerking off to pictures of Houston fucking Nutt... essentially tearing down everything we'd built.   We had the leverage. We had the momentum. We had the hearts and minds of the sidewalkers.  Pardon the pun, but the tide had almost turned.  We could have stopped Saban. We could have denied his recruiting momentum. We could have changed the trajectory. And we shit in our own bed.  Recruiting against a wounded, disorganized animal busy biting its own ass was easy for him.  And it steamrolled from there.  The motherfucker has NEVER been a good coach, but he and his moneybag mafia are outstanding recruiters.

We're at a major crossroads now.  Saban's powers will soon wane.  Kirby is a bowl-cut copycat and the dogs will flame out.  Kiffin's Ole Miss allure will quickly wear off. Kelly isn't going to do what LSU thinks he will.  A power vacuum is coming in this league.  If we can get all the donkeys pulling in the same direction we could do in the next decade what we did in the 80s or more.  Right now, we've got donkeys running in a dozen different directions, half of them with their tails on fire. 

Hairpin is the ONLY person who can fix this.  He needs to get back from vacation, shove that ugly ass wife of his in the closet (because nobody has ever fit Auburn worse than her) and take fucking charge of the narrative. If he doesn't?  He's done.  But whatever happens, we better get it together quickly or it's going to be a long dark winter of death.  And I'm too fucking old for that shit.

[GH2001]

Back to Saban again....

Alabama was at that precipice when he got there.  Somewhere in this board's history buried in one of these decade old threads you'll find Kaos telling you then it was an all or nothing situation.  Either Saban was the savior they hoped for, or it was over for them. The slide to irrelevancy and a status on par with Ole Miss would continue unabated. Obviously he was that for them. But we all forget just how close we were to knocking them off the map permanently. 

If fucking Paul Finebaum just hadn't had a field day with Rich Rodriguez's wife's hair... he would have signed that contract, Saban would have flopped miserably in the NFL and most likely ended up at Michigan or Notre Dame. Everything ... everything would be different. 

What we didn't realize at that same time, though, was how pivotal that time was for us as well. When they brought Saban in and basically said 'build the empire' our fucktarded, moronic, shitbird, dicko power-that-be mommy parts SHOULD have made a similar play and stepped up for our coaching staff.  We HAD the leverage.  We had six straight over Bama. We were two years removed from what should have been a national championship and the most successful senior class in history.  But what had we been doing for those two years?  Shoving our thumbs up our asses, undermining Tuberville (granted, some was his fault), jerking off to pictures of Houston fucking Nutt... essentially tearing down everything we'd built.   We had the leverage. We had the momentum. We had the hearts and minds of the sidewalkers.  Pardon the pun, but the tide had almost turned.  We could have stopped Saban. We could have denied his recruiting momentum. We could have changed the trajectory. And we shit in our own bed.  Recruiting against a wounded, disorganized animal busy biting its own ass was easy for him.  And it steamrolled from there.  The motherfucker has NEVER been a good coach, but he and his moneybag mafia are outstanding recruiters.

We're at a major crossroads now.  Saban's powers will soon wane.  Kirby is a bowl-cut copycat and the dogs will flame out.  Kiffin's Ole Miss allure will quickly wear off. Kelly isn't going to do what LSU thinks he will.  A power vacuum is coming in this league.  If we can get all the donkeys pulling in the same direction we could do in the next decade what we did in the 80s or more.  Right now, we've got donkeys running in a dozen different directions, half of them with their tails on fire. 

Hairpin is the ONLY person who can fix this.  He needs to get back from vacation, shove that ugly ass wife of his in the closet (because nobody has ever fit Auburn worse than her) and take fucking charge of the narrative. If he doesn't?  He's done.  But whatever happens, we better get it together quickly or it's going to be a long dark winter of death.  And I'm too fucking old for that shit.

Atta boy. I’ve missed these long rants. But you ain’t wrong homie.

[Kaos]

I've been thinking on this a long time.  And it's quite possibly the stupidest take I've ever had, but deep down I believe it's probably true.

This will NEVER fit Auburn.



He's okay (sort of). But.......She isn't right. Anybody who would hitch his wagon to that kind of plasticity leaves questions about his judgment in general.  She isn't Auburn. Nothing about that surgically butchered, bicycle pump lipped face reflects what Auburn considers itself to be.  That's more at home on one of those epically shitty Tyler Perry OWN shows. 

Harsin might be a good coach and a good leader.  But you can't just vet the man, you've got to vet the baggage.  And this leathery carryon should have been an enormous red flag. 

[CCTAU]

This is where I think Harsin CAN BE if hes willing. All im saying. He doesn't have to change from the hard ass persona that he is to do it either. Ive seen him shown glimpses of it after wins. Ive seen Bruce do it. He will chew you out and make you think he wants to eat your first born for simply missing a screen....Then he will hug your ass and cry with you when Okeke goes down...on national tv.

The "I watched ya become men" speech with Slack standing behind him.... THAT...right there.

Dye was not the “love you to death” coach that first couple of seasons. AFTER he set his culture in stone, he backed off a bit. He had to hit them hard and then back off. He made many guys quit. But the ones who stayed, he loved them.

[WiregrassTiger]

Due was not the “love you to death” coach that first couple of seasons. AFTER he set his culture in stone, he backed off a bit. He had to hit them hard and then back off. He made many guys quit. But the ones who stayed, he loved them.

It says a lot about Due that you still maintain a high level of respect for him, yet he never had a clue who you were.