College Football

[Mike]

[quote name='H von T' post='1616880' date='Dec 11 2008, 21.42']I'm glad it was Mullen and not our DC, Charlie Strong. Mullen's been a good coordinator, but he's definitely not irreplaceable. Why Mullen would want to go the bizarro Bulldogs is beyond me. Miss St is easily the the poorest team in the SEC and it's going to tough going up against Saban, Miles, Petrino, Nutt, and whoever they hire at Auburn. I wish him luck, but success at MSU is 7-5.[/quote]


Not much competition from the Auburn side of things. Word is that we just hired Gene Chizik to be our HC. Un. Fucking. Believable.

We could have had an up and coming coach like Turner Gill come in and give us instant PR cred, better recruiting (reputedly), and an infusion of energy. Instead, we go with a guy that took a .500 Iowa State program and made them worse. I am angry beyond words right now. I'm holding out some slim hope that this is a dream, or that this is a smokescreen for a bigger name (Davis, Spurrier, Brian Kelly?), or that our AD has pulled a coup and got Chizik to be TG's defensive coordinator.

Man, college football season is going to be agonizing for the next few years.

[dornish prince]

maybe not, mike. i was very pleased with his performance as our DC and he did a fine job at texas. IIRC, his defenses were 28-0 at some point. now, don't get me wrong, he isn't amongst my dream choices (gill would've been at the top) but i'm just happy that it's over. hopefully he brings in some good help.

and yeah, his record at ISU was atrocious, 5-19 the last two years, but the cyclones are garbage; pure and simple. .500 in the big 12 north is .167 near about anywhere else in college football...they weren't .500 with him at the helm, though, so that's probably not a good point...:lol:

[S John]

Yea he did DC Auburn during thier undefeated season, and to be fair Iowa State is a damn tough place to win. Its gotta be tough to recruit there, to say the least.

[Mike]

[quote name='S John' post='1618490' date='Dec 13 2008, 18.36']Yea he did DC Auburn during thier undefeated season, and to be fair Iowa State is a damn tough place to win. Its gotta be tough to recruit there, to say the least.[/quote]

I appreciate you guys trying to soften the blow, but no matter how tough it is at Iowa State, he made them worse. 7-5, 7-5, 4-8 to 3-9, 2-10. That isn't good coaching, good recruiting, good anything. He almost beat Kansas and Colorado, and and got blown out of the water against anyone else of note. I watched them this year b/c my roommate is from Iowa and a huge fan, and they didn't tackle, block, or execute worth a shit. A well coached team would at least display proper fundamentals. They lost ten straight playing in the big 12 North, and they didn't even play Texas, Oklahoma, or Texas Tech. Chizik is a great DC, but has proven to be a mediocre (at best) head coach.

Tommy Tuberville got canned (resigned my ass) for going 5-7. Then we turn around and hire a guy that went 5-19. And Turner Gill is sitting there for the taking, a guy that took the absolute worst job in college football and molded a champion by doing it the right way. A motivator, a recruiter, a good offensive mind, and someone who would break a barrier at Auburn. Do we get offer this guy the position, this guy that has all the upside in the world? Nope. We get Gene Fucking Chizik. Not Will Muschamp or Brian Kelly or Mike Leach or anyone with a better record and resume. Gene Fucking Chizik. Such fucking bullshit.

I am probably overreacting, but I need a place to bitch and moan and be a disgruntled fan.

[TheHoundRules]

Just when I thought that Tennessee had the worse hire, Auburn goes and tops them. This is the best you could get for a place like Auburn. Ha. Ha.

Mike - I am with you on this.

[dornish prince]

i can't argue with your logic no matter how optimistic i am. i will say this, though; we have a good, no, great group of athletes at auburn. in addition to that, next year we'll have that same group, mostly, only they'll be a year smarter, stronger and faster than they were this year. last i heard, yoxall isn't going anywhere.

chizik is a brilliant defensive mind, i don't think that point can be argued. with the quality of players we have, there is no reason not to think that we'll go right back to what we've been for several years; a top 10 defense. my only concern is who fills that OC spot. we have a season and a very, very decent group of recuits to worry about.

also, they'll have the bitter taste of this year in their mouths. auburn has been many things since i started watching in 1982 but the've never been quitters. not through dye leaving, not through the bowden debacle and certainly not through the tuberville era. we may not be in contention next year but i guarantee you this. we'll hover .500 at the very fucking least. if we catch a couple of breaks then we'll be bowling again. you heard it here first.

war eagle.

[H von T]

Auburn fires a successful coach, pays him $5.1 million, and ends up with Gene Chizik? WTF? What was the point? Auburn is traditionally a strong defensive team and needs help on offense. Tuberville screwed up with his OC, but Auburn's administration has screwed up this hiring. I get the feeling Auburn's going to be lost in the woods for a few years.

[Fez]

I feel Auburn's pain, I do, I was ready to become a semi-fan of them. But I'm crazy happy that we've still got Gill for now. I wonder though if he's being passed over or politely declining. 'Cause if he's getting snubbed than I can't believe how short-sighted these ADs are being. But as I mentioned in a post a while back I could see a few reasons why he wouldn't want to leave just yet. Disregarding the obvious connections he feels to the players, he might want to extend his resume a bit so he has better job security when he moves on.

Also our record under him is 15-22 (13-12 if we don't count his first season) which to someone who doesn't fully understand the history of our program looks terrible and might cause them to shy away from hiring him and want him fired if there isn't immediate enormous success.

As for me though, I am going to savor in the continuation of the Gill era, and can't wait for Jan. 3rd, already got my tickets for the game.

[Mike]

[quote name='dornish prince' post='1618550' date='Dec 13 2008, 20.22']i can't argue with your logic no matter how optimistic i am. i will say this, though; we have a good, no, great group of athletes at auburn. in addition to that, next year we'll have that same group, mostly, only they'll be a year smarter, stronger and faster than they were this year. last i heard, yoxall isn't going anywhere.

chizik is a brilliant defensive mind, i don't think that point can be argued. with the quality of players we have, there is no reason not to think that we'll go right back to what we've been for several years; a top 10 defense. my only concern is who fills that OC spot. we have a season and a very, very decent group of recuits to worry about.

also, they'll have the bitter taste of this year in their mouths. auburn has been many things since i started watching in 1982 but the've never been quitters. not through dye leaving, not through the bowden debacle and certainly not through the tuberville era. we may not be in contention next year but i guarantee you this. we'll hover .500 at the very fucking least. if we catch a couple of breaks then we'll be bowling again. you heard it here first.

war eagle.[/quote]

I hope so, DP.

Like you said, it all depends on his staff. If he can hire a staff full of coaches who are lights out at teaching and recruiting, we should be okay. If not, if he brings his buddies to work like he did at ISU, we are going to be sitting pretty at the bottom of the SEC West, looking up and only seeing Mississippi State's and Arkansas' ass as they climb the rungs above us.

[Mike]

[quote name='FezRock' post='1618794' date='Dec 14 2008, 07.36']I feel Auburn's pain, I do, I was ready to become a semi-fan of them. But I'm crazy happy that we've still got Gill for now. I wonder though if he's being passed over or politely declining. 'Cause if he's getting snubbed than I can't believe how short-sighted these ADs are being. But as I mentioned in a post a while back I could see a few reasons why he wouldn't want to leave just yet. Disregarding the obvious connections he feels to the players, he might want to extend his resume a bit so he has better job security when he moves on.

Also our record under him is 15-22 (13-12 if we don't count his first season) which to someone who doesn't fully understand the history of our program looks terrible and might cause them to shy away from hiring him and want him fired if there isn't immediate enormous success.

As for me though, I am going to savor in the continuation of the Gill era, and can't wait for Jan. 3rd, already got my tickets for the game.[/quote]

You guys have a great coach, there.

I wish he had turned us down because at least the Chizik hire would begin to take on some sort of semblance of rational thought. We didn't, though, and it is our loss.

[lokisnow]

Wow. usually you see teams like Buffalo hiring someone like Chizik.

sorry to hear about your future three-four years of horrific pain, Auburn, but at least he's a white dude. :)

[S John]

Well, as a fan of a team that also botched a hiring I feel qualified to comment. :lol: Where Auburn went wrong, imo, is when they forced Tubberville out. That was an unbelievably impatient move. Auburn would have been fine, they had all the pieces just a young team. They needed a jolt on offense, but lemme tell you it takes a lot of time to get a new system going.

Look at WVU, all they tried to do was tweak the offense a little bit and it was incredibly hard even with a lot of key pieces still in place. Youve got lineman that need to re-learn blocking schemes, a qb that is being told play in a way that goes against his instincts, etc. In Rodriguez's first year, when he first installed the spread at WVU, we went 3-8. The next year we were 9-3, and following that we put together a string of 11 win seasons that was only matched by USC during the same time period. So, to go back even further, firing the OC after only 5 or 6 games wasnt really fair either. Five or 6 games in, these guys are trying to learn this guys system, then he's canned and theyre told, 'hey we're scrapping everything that guy said.' I know these guys are good, talented athletes, but we're still talking about 18-22 year old kids here. It takes time and patience to get them all on the same page and to where they need to be fundamentally and I think Aubun has been a little bit short sighted in managing thier program this entire season.

[Mike]

[quote name='S John' post='1619211' date='Dec 14 2008, 14.29']Well, as a fan of a team that also botched a hiring I feel qualified to comment. :lol: Where Auburn went wrong, imo, is when they forced Tubberville out. That was an unbelievably impatient move. Auburn would have been fine, they had all the pieces just a young team. They needed a jolt on offense, but lemme tell you it takes a lot of time to get a new system going.

Look at WVU, all they tried to do was tweak the offense a little bit and it was incredibly hard even with a lot of key pieces still in place. Youve got lineman that need to re-learn blocking schemes, a qb that is being told play in a way that goes against his instincts, etc. In Rodriguez's first year, when he first installed the spread at WVU, we went 3-8. The next year we were 9-3, and following that we put together a string of 11 win seasons that was only matched by USC during the same time period. So, to go back even further, firing the OC after only 5 or 6 games wasnt really fair either. Five or 6 games in, these guys are trying to learn this guys system, then he's canned and theyre told, 'hey we're scrapping everything that guy said.' I know these guys are good, talented athletes, but we're still talking about 18-22 year old kids here. It takes time and patience to get them all on the same page and to where they need to be fundamentally and I think Aubun has been a little bit short sighted in managing thier program this entire season.[/quote]

I hear you, S. John. I never wanted CTT fired. He just had to clean house on the offensive side of the ball, bring in an offensive coordinator and assistants that he approves and can work with. No problem. Tubs has gone through worse times. But no, we get blown out by Bama, freak out, and fire one of our most succesful coaches of all time. Then we hire Chizik.

It was a clusterfuck from day 1.

I'm still an Auburn fan, and I'll still be hooting and hollering and tailgating, but I know that the yahoos in charge are not what is best for my Tigers, and if I ever see any of them walking around town, I'm going to kick them square in the taint.

[WarGalley]

I really don't understand the Chizik hire. He must have a lot of pull within the football administration. I was one of those people thinking (on this board I believe) that Chizik would be a good hire when he was the DC at Texas. His Iowa State record completely destroys that theory. Also, Auburn's problems are on the offensive side of the ball, so why fire a defensive coach and then hire another defensive coach? None of this makes any sense to me. Alabama is entering a state dynasty if you ask me...

[TheHoundRules]

Anyone see the 60 Minutes story on Pete Carroll tonight. I have a new respect for the guy. Wow.

[Celtigo]

[quote name='TheHoundRules' post='1619590' date='Dec 14 2008, 20.55']Anyone see the 60 Minutes story on Pete Carroll tonight. I have a new respect for the guy. Wow.[/quote]

I didn't see it, what did they say about him?

[Mike]

[quote name='TheHoundRules' post='1619590' date='Dec 14 2008, 19.55']Anyone see the 60 Minutes story on Pete Carroll tonight. I have a new respect for the guy. Wow.[/quote]

Me too. I always thought he was kind of an ass, but now he is a favorite.


For those that didn't see:

Carroll goes into the gang neighborhoods late at night/early in the morning to talk to gang members. He goes in unescorted, and he befriends them, and urges them to put down their guns. He's also the spearhead of an organization of police officers, former gang members, politicians, etc. that seek to reduce gang violence in Los Angeles. Pretty amazing stuff. I have a whole new appreciation for him.

[Rhom]

Iowa State wasn't terrible at the beginning of this decade. They're terrible now. I do not envy Auburn fans.

[quote name='Mike' post='1619838' date='Dec 15 2008, 12.19']Me too. I always thought he was kind of an ass, but now he is a favorite.


For those that didn't see:

Carroll goes into the gang neighborhoods late at night/early in the morning to talk to gang members. He goes in unescorted, and he befriends them, and urges them to put down their guns. He's also the spearhead of an organization of police officers, former gang members, politicians, etc. that seek to reduce gang violence in Los Angeles. Pretty amazing stuff. I have a whole new appreciation for him.[/quote]

So basically, he's Batman... if Batman could coach football. Awesome.

[TheHoundRules]

[quote name='Mike' post='1619838' date='Dec 15 2008, 12.19']Me too. I always thought he was kind of an ass, but now he is a favorite.


For those that didn't see:

Carroll goes into the gang neighborhoods late at night/early in the morning to talk to gang members. He goes in unescorted, and he befriends them, and urges them to put down their guns. He's also the spearhead of an organization of police officers, former gang members, politicians, etc. that seek to reduce gang violence in Los Angeles. Pretty amazing stuff. I have a whole new appreciation for him.[/quote]

If you want to watch it, here is the link to the [url="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4667942n"]60 minute story.[/url] It is about 12 minutes long.

[S John]

[quote name='Mike' post='1619838' date='Dec 15 2008, 12.19']Carroll goes into the gang neighborhoods late at night/early in the morning to talk to gang members. He goes in unescorted, and he befriends them, and urges them to put down their guns. He's also the spearhead of an organization of police officers, former gang members, politicians, etc. that seek to reduce gang violence in Los Angeles. Pretty amazing stuff. I have a whole new appreciation for him.[/quote]

Are you sure he's not down there recruiting?


I kid! Thats pretty solid, I watched the video earlier.