So Muschamp is in. Realistic expectations?

Highway59

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I mean, not going to loose any sleep over this hire. They have had can't miss hires
and the final missing piece hires aplenty over the years since Saban arrived on the
scene. But I don't expect the level of consistency at either school to change in
foreseeable future. This was their, awbums, year with everybody back for another
year and gusters system in place for a second year. And awbum did what awbum does.
They had a normal awbum season..... They will have the lighting in a bottle type of
season from time to time, but I would not expect to see any high level of consistency like
the University Of Alabama has established over this era that we are in. Only time
will tell if Muschamp can be a improvement over any of the last several defensive
geniuses the boogs have hired... :rolleyes:


Alabama records since Coach Saban arrived....

Year W L
2014 12 1
2013 11 2
2012 13 1
2011 12 1
2010 10 3
2009 14 0
2008 12 2
2007 7 6





Auburn records since Saban arrived....

Year W L
2014 8 4
2013 12 2
2012 3 9
2011 8 5
2010 14 0
2009 8 5
2008 5 7
2007 9 4
 

BigEasyTider

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Nov 27, 2007
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Muschamp will do well at Auburn. His defenses have always been good, and there is no real reason to expect any different now. He has some decent talent at his disposal for 2015, even if little depth, and I anticipate that he'll put together a pretty good unit next season if he can get a bit of injury luck.

Now, that said, he's got two things going against him at Auburn: (1) He won't be able to get the talent that he had at Texas and Florida because it's not as attractive of a destination for recruits, and (2) he will be hamstrung a bit, at the least, by being in a program that places such a heavy emphasis on offense. That will limit his success to a degree. Of course, though, with Malzahn's offense, Muschamp doesn't need to field a great defense year in and year out to compete. As long as he can produce solid results, that will be sufficient more often than not.

In general, I think it's a very good hire and Auburn is in a much better position with him at DC as opposed to Ellis Johnson (and some other candidates they were considering). I expected them to be a contender, moving forward, on a frequent basis before the hire, and this only further cements that notion in my mind.

Will ask this: Wonder what the end game here is for Muschamp? Don't believe for a second that he views being a DC -- either at Auburn or otherwise -- as being his end destination. I don't see him wanting to become a DC guru lifer, ala Bill Oliver or Micky Andrews. I would assume he wants to have some success at DC, re-establish his brand, learn a bit about how to actually score points and put together a viable offensive attack from Gus, and then get back in somewhere as a head coach. If he's at Auburn more than two years, I'll be surprised.
 
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JamieSPC

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Let's see.....Muschamp beat Saban in 2007, barely, when Saban was basically playing with Shula's recruits (and right after a bunch got tossed in Textbookgate).

We torched his run defense - his nation-leading run defense - in the 2009 title game against Texas.

We put 31 points on his defense in 2011 when we blew out Florida.

We put 42 on his defense this past year.



Yeah, we really oughta be shaking in our boots right now. In the last three games against us, he's given up 30, 31, and 42. At the current rate, we'll score 48 points on Auburn's defense next November, which is not much of an improvement over the 55 this year.

I guess I just don't really care.


And who uses the phrase "realistic expectations" when talking about Auburn?
So, so right. So right.

Why would WE worry?

So right.
 

JustNeedMe81

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keep that in mind, his first year at any job, His defense struggled somewhat, and He'll be gone anyway. He just need a job for one year to show he still got it, and he'll be gone. I dont' see him saying two years.. His system usually take two years to be successful. Look at his numbers and it'll show. I just don't know what his motive is.
 

bamaslammer

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I'm sure Muschamp will do a good job at Auburn, but Ellis Johnson was a god send last season according to them and they threw him out with the trash after losing the Iron Bowl. The team always takes on the personality of the head coach, not the assistants. Auburn will always be a score first defense second team as long as Gus in the head coach. Muschamp won't change that. It follows in recruiting as well. Nobody really dreams of playing for Auburn's defense under Malzhan. Materially Auburn is a perinnial contender as it is but this hire won't change them much. It's not like he can turn crap into gold. If he could do that he would still be the head coach at Florida. And just to review, we rang his bell for 42 points with a QB making his fourth start this season.
 

G8RNGA

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It's not like he can turn crap into gold. If he could do that he would still be the head coach at Florida. And just to review, we rang his bell for 42 points with a QB making his fourth start this season.
Well, I wouldn't say we have crap at Florida, but I get your point! His problem was not being able to see beyond his area of focus - defense. Since this will be his sole job now, there could be an effort to make that work to prove the naysayers wrong. I think he is a good (not great) DC and if he's able to recruit the right players and not have a conflict with the offense he'll do fine. I just don't see them being a big threat and his defense got credit at UF at a time when the East was down and when the opposing team was up on us, they tended to modify their game strategy which may allow for his defense to look better. There have definitely been better defenses at UF before him.
 

rgw

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Muschamp is a clear upgrade at the coordinator position. Similar to our hire of Kiffin last season. The question is whether a year one like Kiffin's 2014 is possible for Muschamp. It takes time to get people comfortable in the scheme. Tweaks in personnel needs may take a recruiting haul to fill.

One notable thing is that Muschamp has a long track record of creating stars at defensive end. I expect Lawson will excel under Muschamp and likely be enough to at least make them a tough defense with a lead.
 

JustNeedMe81

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but The thing I've been saying over and over in this thread and the other thread is that, while he is very good at developing players, but the question I'm trying to ask is can he really do that with the players Auburn currently have plus the new recuits coming in to make impact felt next fall? Will he be able to field a team next fall that can consistently stop up tempo teams week in and week out throughout the season? Does he have bodies on the team that can hold it owns against, Miss state, Alabama, and LSU? He will make the team much better, but is it enough to field a team who's in top 10 in almost all categories? History shows that in his first year, they typically struggle as a team figuring out stuff.

Muschamp is a clear upgrade at the coordinator position. Similar to our hire of Kiffin last season. The question is whether a year one like Kiffin's 2014 is possible for Muschamp. It takes time to get people comfortable in the scheme. Tweaks in personnel needs may take a recruiting haul to fill.

One notable thing is that Muschamp has a long track record of creating stars at defensive end. I expect Lawson will excel under Muschamp and likely be enough to at least make them a tough defense with a lead.
 

rolltide7854

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I'm not real sure of Muschamp's history so correct me if I am wrong. He was DC under CNS at LSU. CNS always has a good defense no matter who the DC is. I don't think the LSU defenses are LSU were better than what we have here at Alabama since CNS has been here. he went to Aubie where he was under Tubby and once again he was under a defensive minded head coach and once again the head coach depended more on the defense to get the W than the offense. Then he goes to Texas where before bama took their manhood always had a good defense before he got there. So has he went anywhere they had a bad defense before he got there? He is going to work now for a coach who defense is an afterthought. Like someone said earlier in this thread Ellis Johnson didn't get stupid overnight. He had some very good defenses under Spurrier because there was several years the defense had to bail out Spurrier's offense.
 

RTR91

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We shall see. I imagine they're gonna be better than this season's unit.
I don't think there's any question that's going to be the case, and this year's bad defense still went 8-4. With Gus' offense, the defense doesn't have to be stellar. It just needs to get a few stops.


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Mke4Bama

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I don't think there's any question that's going to be the case, and this year's bad defense still went 8-4. With Gus' offense, the defense doesn't have to be stellar. It just needs to get a few stops.


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And I hate to point out, especially with the aftermath, they were a broken leg away from going 7-5.
 

GreatDanish

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That's a pretty tall order from a defense that finished this season ranked 50th in scoring defense this year.
Texas' scoring defense was ranked 45th (25.3 ppg) in 2007. Muschamp came in 2008 and they finished ranked 18th (18.77 ppg) in his first year.
 

Matt0424

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He'll give an automatic boost to the defense, but how much to really help? The defense is set up to fail when your offense is predicated on scoring quickly, or in cases where it isn't clicking, putting the defense on the field quickly. Everyone talks about the number of offensive snaps teams like Auburn run, but they always forget to mention the HIGH number of defensive snaps they have to play. Without an extreme amount of depth (something *U does not have) it is tough to bring any kind of consistency. I fully expect CWM to be in and out within two years to "greener pastures" just like last time.
 

BigEasyTider

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I've said it in other places on this forum, but I'll reiterate again here:

Auburn can have a solid defensive turnaround next season, provided they get the injury luck needed. There is some real talent on that defensive roster, namely about three or four legitimate star types (including one on each level), and several solid role players who can nestle in around them.

That said, there is just no real depth to be found, and it will take a yeoman's effort to have that unit playing at an above-average level if a couple of key injuries hit.
 

JustNeedMe81

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exactly and on top of that, they won't learn the system in one year...
I've said it in other places on this forum, but I'll reiterate again here:

Auburn can have a solid defensive turnaround next season, provided they get the injury luck needed. There is some real talent on that defensive roster, namely about three or four legitimate star types (including one on each level), and several solid role players who can nestle in around them.

That said, there is just no real depth to be found, and it will take a yeoman's effort to have that unit playing at an above-average level if a couple of key injuries hit.
 

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