Yeah, I think that'll do.
Fit to print. Coolest link of the past couple of days: the Wiz compiles a gallery of the front pages of Alabama newspapers in the wake of Tubby's departure. It's as prominent as you think--we are a people who know what the important stories are--but it's honestly not as egregious as it could be. Nothing, in any case, on par with the Advertiser's WAR!-sized headline following Fran's resignation at Alabama, which was so over-the-top even the Advertiser's readers thought it tacky. Ah, memories.
The Further Adventures of Jay Jacobs and his Magical Marvelous Spin Machine. I defended Jacobs yesterday, and will continue to support him as Auburn's AD--pending the resolution of this coaching search, unquestionably the biggest decision yet of Jacobs's tenure and the one that will define his career at Auburn--but sheesh, that doesn't mean even I'm buying this story from last night about he and Tubby got their signals mixed on what they were even talking about. And in regards to the wives-on-the-radio brouhaha, there's no question that the assistants should not have been allowed to leave Auburn until there was a deal firmly in place and the information leaks in the good ship Auburn Athletic Department need to be plugged much more securely.
Consider this a clarification: I may not agree with many of my fellow Auburn fans that Jacobs and the rest of the administration need to have their heads on a pike, but I wouldn't exactly give them an A for their efforts, either. As I said yesterday: everything about this situation sucks. It's just matters of degree.
Chatter, so much chatter. Would you like names? Blutarsky has two for you, the first being Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, architect of the offense that scored touchdowns on, like, 27 consecutive possessions against Okie St. last week. OK, so the Senator actually suggests Wilson as a candidate for Miss. St., but it begs the question: if Jimbo Fisher can become a bona fide candidate leading Florida St.'s mostly nonexplosive outfit, shouldn't someone like Wilson at least get a look? (And hey, speaking of Fisher, Saurian Sagacity says he's already interviewed, which ... maybe he has. But he must have had his cloaking device activated during his entire visit to slip away unnoticed in the current atmosphere.)
The Senator also suggests--tongue firmly in cheek, I believe--that if Patrick Fain Dye has so many suggestions on what Auburn's coaches should be doing, maybe he should give it a go himself? I'll give the idea this--it would make for just about the best copy ever, no question.
Blutarsky also links to this article on Rodney Garner, which tries to suggest that the Dawg d-linemen coach ought to be under consideration. I would suggest Garner rise to the level of DC first somewhere, then call back (to his credit, Garner doesn't exactly aggrieved he hasn't been contacted). It's worth mentioning, though, because it's a reminder that when New Auburn Head Coach arrives, there's multiple former Tigers on Richt's staff--Stacy Searels, yes please--that he'll owe the courtesy of a phone call.
Quicklink on Leach: The Houston Chronicle says Leach is talking to Auburn while Tech prepares the requisite giant raise.
Quicklink on Muschamp: Brown sez he's not going anywhere. It's hard for me to imagine him being wrong.
Food for thought. To those of you pining for a mid-major coach without any experience coaching at at the BCS level ... well, sometimes you land Urban Meyer. But sometimes you land Steve Kragthorpe, who basically everybody assumed would be a great hire for Louisville after he'd resurrected Tulsa. Instead, the Agro-Krag has managed to completely disassemble Petrino's well-oiled machine at Louisville in only two seasons, capped by last night's 49-0 halftime deficit to a Rutgers team that started the year 1-5. It's buyer beware regardless, but when it comes to mid-major guys with only a few seasons under their belt, potential emptors had really better do their homework on the potential caveats.
FWIW. Lutzenkirchen is suddenly the prettiest girl at the cotillion, but he's sticking with the one who brung him for now. Or, will bring him. Or something. (Actually, this whole item is a metaphorical disaster. Let's move on.)
Blah blah blah. If you're trying to argue that Miss. St. shouldn't have jettisoned Croom--an offensively-oriented coach who had five years to construct a competent offense and never even came close--or that Tennessee should have retained Phil Fulmer--because the atmosphere surrounding the program this year was so positive and life-affirming and not hopelessly toxic at all--I shouldn't care what you have to say at all. Nonetheless, Mr. Fiutak, when you say this--
Tuberville will soon get a decent job again, and he'll quickly find that life is sweeter when the expectations aren't unattainable.--I am obligated to point out that if by "unattainable" you mean the expectation that our head coach wouldn't allow the program to slip into a crippling long-term decline that leaves it right back where it started when said coach was hired 10 years ago, well, yes, I guess we expect the unattainable.
Lastly: K-Scar rises to the occasion; TWER brings the goods.
3 comments:
My problem with the administration isn’t the tepid support which likely caused Tuberville to decide he was better off leaving this year than getting canned next year. I think you and some others have made the case that decline was present and the, shall we say, inconsistency Tuberville’s teams displayed over a ten year period was the norm. So the cases for and against Tuberville were equally strong.
Where I think the adminstration is in the wrong is not having the cojones to fire the man and then stand up and say what he did was great, but they felt that the next step could be achieved by someone else. Instead, the administration offered little support to him and hoped he would come back so they could spend the next year looking for a coach and fire Tuberville when he lost two out of the first four games in 2009 and when they had a coach lined up and ready to go.
Somewhat similar to the situation with Terry Bowden. Both men had given the university reasons for keeping them and reasons for jettisoning them off to other pastures. Granted the argument against Bowden was much stronger, but that is for another time.
And by the way, I'm not saying this isn't the norm pretty much everywhere. I just wish it wasn't.
"To those of you pining for a mid-major coach without any experience coaching at at the BCS level ... "
Was that aimed at one of my comments from a previous post? Hehe. I'd just like someone fresh and new is all.
Side not here, wonder why no one has mentioned Borges...
Haha, no Joe, I think Gill is absolutely worth a look and I'll get around to addressing him at some point. What he's done at Buffalo is kind of unheard of. It just means Auburn would have to exercise caution.
Sean, I'll address your excellent points as well at some point. I'm way overdue for a "feedback" post.
Post a Comment