Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Franklin fired

The O-A News is reporting that Franklin is toast. "A source close to the program told the Opelika-Auburn News on Wednesday afternoon" that he was gone.

I guess that last layer of paint was even thinner than Tubby could live with. More on this soon.

UPDATE: The gut reaction on the JCCW's end is that, well, there wasn't any realistic scenario in which Franklin survived into the 2009 season. Franklin made a point of his promised autonomy far, far too many times in the offseason to just shrug it off when Tubby revoked that autonomy four games into the season; that rift was never going to heal on either side.

So if it's going to happen regardless, the only question is timing. I'm surprised it happened now rather than as a send-off into the bye week, but that's splitting hairs; it's midseason vs. postseason. And as utterly miserable as the offense was last Saturday--I used the term "Apocalypse" a couple of times in this space for a reason--I don't see that it's so bad to go ahead and try throwing a coaching Hail Mary rather than just waiting for the clock to run out on the season.

So, no, the firing itself doesn't bother me. The hiring, though ... oh goodness yes it does. I said earlier this week Franklin should shoulder the bulk of the blame for what I propose we begin calling the "Wad of Paint Offense," and I stand by that.

But this is twice in his last three attempts that Tubby's offensive coordinator hire hasn't just turned out to be a bust, but a colossal, unforgivable, season-destroying disaster. I'm not going to endorse Will's housecleaning plan-of-action just yet, but it's obvious that whatever process Tubby's using to bring aboard his OC's is going to require some serious, serious adjustments when it begins again at season's end.

UPDATE UPDATE: Jay G. Tate confirms.

UPDATE the third: I just think this is funny. The Anniston Star's Luke Brietzke last night on the new/old Tony Franklin:
Franklin apparently brought a completely different energy level to practice on Tuesday. He was showing receivers how to run routes. He was showing tailbacks what to do. He was working with linemen and quarterbacks. Franklin was also orchestrating a high-paced, high-intensity practice. That will be my story for Thursday's paper.
Luke, buddy, I'm afraid it won't be.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't necessarily blame Franklin entirely for the current mess; alot goes on Tuberville. Franklin never had a chance.

http://smartfootball.blogspot.com/2008/10/auburns-offense-might-be-bad-but-dont.html

Anonymous said...

would it seem reasonable to assume that Franklin got fired NOW because he did not command the respect of the players?

Unknown said...

Interesting point, and one that might just be what the players were hinting at earlier this season (Ben Tate, who should run the offense, yada, yada).

Personally, while I thought CTF had potential, and I don't like it when guys are fired mid-season, I trust that CTT weighed the good with the bad, and the bad was downright frightening enough for him to act now.

Think about that for a second.... Damn.

As for 'who will call the plays now?', well, it couldn't get much worse. Arguably the worst has already happened (Vandy, by God! Vandy!). I really don't see it as a detriment to the rest of the season if we change it up some.

Of course, there's a bright side to this: Petrino must have just blown his coffee all over his monitor - what does he set his paper thin defense for now?

The ace in the hole? Eddie Gran. Let him call the plays for a week until we can get someone in. He knows his RBs and can get them the ball where they can do their best work.

The best result? Pat Sullivan comes home because 'Momma called.'

War Eagle!

Anonymous said...

I figure there must have been something going on to precipitate action -- based on Franklin's media comments, probably gross insubordination. Last week, when I heard that Franklin had publicly said that putting in Burns in the Tenn. game was the head coach's decision, I thought of the possibility of a meltdown. (Actually, I won't lie, I hoped for it, at least enough of one to disturb your team for a week.)

@sullivan013:

If you think losing to us is the worst, you probably haven't watched an Arkansas game.

That said, I don't think there's any way you all lose to them, so it's probably a "safe" week to do this, relatively speaking.