Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

JustNeedMe81

Hall of Fame
Sep 30, 2011
14,906
6,190
187
42
Huntsville, Al
They're in a no-win situation.

Stick with Gus, and well, you're stuck with Gus.

Fire him and it not only costs you ridiculous money, but those ponying up the cash will not let the clowns who made the Gusstake in the first place do it again - now you have big money guys wading knee deep through your AD decisions. On top of that, who do you hire? Any established coach knows that this school is literally willing to fire him if things don't go the way they want - even a ridiculous buyout won't stop them. And an up-and-coing coach knows he'll get paid less but expectations will remain sky-high - does he really want to commit to that dysfunction?

They can't win and it's spectacular.

SNASS
They can promote Steele to HC and keep current staff.
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
6
0
Prattville
They're in a no-win situation.

Stick with Gus, and well, you're stuck with Gus.

Fire him and it not only costs you ridiculous money, but those ponying up the cash will not let the clowns who made the Gusstake in the first place do it again - now you have big money guys wading knee deep through your AD decisions. On top of that, who do you hire? Any established coach knows that this school is literally willing to fire him if things don't go the way they want - even a ridiculous buyout won't stop them. And an up-and-coing coach knows he'll get paid less but expectations will remain sky-high - does he really want to commit to that dysfunction?

They can't win and it's spectacular.

SNASS
The story goes President Leath did the negotiating since Jay Jacobs was on his way out. Starting to wonder if this will be the beginning of his way out the door. Make the big money boosters pony up that much money that quick after a contract extension? Easy way to make them mad and rub them the wrong way, which as we all know can easily lead to them getting you out.
 

Bodhisattva

Hall of Fame
Aug 22, 2001
21,596
2,241
287
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
They're in a no-win situation.

Stick with Gus, and well, you're stuck with Gus.

Fire him and it not only costs you ridiculous money, but those ponying up the cash will not let the clowns who made the Gusstake in the first place do it again - now you have big money guys wading knee deep through your AD decisions. On top of that, who do you hire? Any established coach knows that this school is literally willing to fire him if things don't go the way they want - even a ridiculous buyout won't stop them. And an up-and-coing coach knows he'll get paid less but expectations will remain sky-high - does he really want to commit to that dysfunction?

They can't win and it's spectacular.

SNASS
After witnessing the cluster that is the barn in action, the Germans created the term schadenfreude.
 

mlh

All-American
Apr 28, 2004
3,073
1,246
182
Larry Culpepper got replaced with the new Dr. Pepper ad campaign "Fanville."

IMO, this was a terrible downgrade. I'd predict they bring Larry back next year, but what do I know???
They need to bring Larry back for the playoff.
 

BamaInBham

All-American
Feb 14, 2007
4,465
2,110
187
His history doesn’t point to him being some defensive genius - recent history as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thank you. I've been waiting for the defense to drop off since he was hired. IMO, the D under CWM had improved dramatically by the end of his year at AU and Steele benefitted. That along with some great DL personnel has given the wrong impression that it is Steele. He is not bad but IMO he is not much more than average. Some seem to miss that the D is not playing much better than the O with much better personnel on the LOS. Steele is a good recruiter and administrator though.
 
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81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
35,306
31,375
187
South Alabama
They're in a no-win situation.

Stick with Gus, and well, you're stuck with Gus.

Fire him and it not only costs you ridiculous money, but those ponying up the cash will not let the clowns who made the Gusstake in the first place do it again - now you have big money guys wading knee deep through your AD decisions. On top of that, who do you hire? Any established coach knows that this school is literally willing to fire him if things don't go the way they want - even a ridiculous buyout won't stop them. And an up-and-coing coach knows he'll get paid less but expectations will remain sky-high - does he really want to commit to that dysfunction?

They can't win and it's spectacular.

SNASS
Whats most likely going to happen is they are going to stink up the field in 18,19, and the first part of 20. Then when everyone is ready to fire him after a less than stellar start in 2020 Gus summons his inner Tom Couglin and puts them in the same position they were in last year.

But talking to more knowledgeable Auburn fans who do have some insight, they do seem to believe that promoting Steele and keeping that staff for about 3 years is a real possibility. Most Auburn fans are more sick of his Butch Jones like comments after lesser wins and bad losses than his total wins and losses.
 

tidehawk

HS Moderator
Staff member
Feb 9, 2001
1,925
94
217
59
Wetumpka, AL
I'm no barn fan, but if I was I would be livid about 2 things: Why in the world would they give Gussie that contract, and why in the world would we be talking about spending over $32M to have someone NOT coach? The barners have shown throughout the years an incredible lack of leadership from an AD and President perspective. This is a circular route they do every 7-10 years: hire a decent coach and put unrealistic expectations on him. One year he will slip up and have a great year, beating Bama and/or Georgia and then the powers that be think, we can't let this guy go and pay out the nose for an extension. Then he slips back down to mediocrity (which is really the norm for the barn). Gotta get rid of him, pay a buyout, then the whole party starts all over again. Meanwhile they are hemmoraging millions of dollars. If any barn fan doubts that winning against Bama is not the ultimate, they are either stupid or lying to themselves. They are in a mess, and I don't see a good way out for them.

And I could not be more tickled...
 

NoNC4Tubs

Hall of Fame
Nov 13, 2010
8,143
3,854
187
The story goes President Leath did the negotiating since Jay Jacobs was on his way out. Starting to wonder if this will be the beginning of his way out the door. Make the big money boosters pony up that much money that quick after a contract extension? Easy way to make them mad and rub them the wrong way, which as we all know can easily lead to them getting you out.
He did as he was instructed by the PTB...
 

Elefantman

Hall of Fame
Sep 18, 2007
5,935
3,855
187
R Can Saw
I'm no barn fan, but if I was I would be livid about 2 things: Why in the world would they give Gussie that contract, and why in the world would we be talking about spending over $32M to have someone NOT coach? The barners have shown throughout the years an incredible lack of leadership from an AD and President perspective. This is a circular route they do every 7-10 years: hire a decent coach and put unrealistic expectations on him. One year he will slip up and have a great year, beating Bama and/or Georgia and then the powers that be think, we can't let this guy go and pay out the nose for an extension. Then he slips back down to mediocrity (which is really the norm for the barn). Gotta get rid of him, pay a buyout, then the whole party starts all over again. Meanwhile they are hemmoraging millions of dollars. If any barn fan doubts that winning against Bama is not the ultimate, they are either stupid or lying to themselves. They are in a mess, and I don't see a good way out for them.

And I could not be more tickled...
Jimmy Sexton approves this plan.
 

TitleWave

All-American
Dec 3, 2012
3,171
828
132
Needing a cow Latin interpretation: Does De Gustibus mean All Bran no longer has any taste for Gus and his folly bus, or is it that they can't "De-Gustibus" themselves from the bad taste of being stuck with him and his up-on-cinder-blocks vehicle?
 

DrollTide

All-SEC
Oct 18, 2008
1,609
846
137
Hunts Patch
For what it's worth, on the Ump, Gus has been the topic of about 75% of all the radio shows. I would say Gus has lost his fanbase, and also most commentators, including Cole.

They are in deep yoghurt. Their best option is for the (lame-duck!!) president or AD to give him an unconditional endorsement. This might limit the damage to their recruiting class, which by now is more important than the rest of the season.

And we are about to see one consequence of the early signing period - half the class is done in December, while your coach is waiting to be fired and before a new coach can be found.
 

Snuffy Smith

All-American
Sep 12, 2012
3,539
641
162
Huntsville, AL
Thank you. I've been waiting for the defense to drop off since he was hired. IMO, the D under CWM had improved dramatically by the end of his year at AU and Steele benefitted. That along with some great DL personnel has given the wrong impression that it is Steele. He is not bad but IMO he is not much more than average. Some seem to miss that the D is not playing much better than the O with much better personnel on the LOS. Steele is a good recruiter and administrator though.
People seem to forget this is the same Kevin Steele who’s defense gave up 70 to West Virginia in an Orange Bowl game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

rtcjny

All-SEC
Jan 27, 2011
1,477
0
60
Hartselle ,AL
The more I have thought about this situation I have reached the conclusion the problem is not Gus. He is a pretty good coach. The problem is with the expectations at AU. They feel like they are one of the top elite programs in the country not the second tier program they are. The think they are on the level with Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC and great programs like those. The reality is they are a mid-pack power 5 school like Kansas State, Arizona, Northwestern, North Carolina to name a few. The truth is Gus is a great coach for a program at AU's level.
 

RammerJammer15

All-American
Sep 9, 2012
3,380
1,936
187
The more I have thought about this situation I have reached the conclusion the problem is not Gus. He is a pretty good coach. The problem is with the expectations at AU. They feel like they are one of the top elite programs in the country not the second tier program they are. The think they are on the level with Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC and great programs like those. The reality is they are a mid-pack power 5 school like Kansas State, Arizona, Northwestern, North Carolina to name a few. The truth is Gus is a great coach for a program at AU's level.
I agree, Auburn will not attract an Urban Meyer, Tom Herman, Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher, Jim Harbaugh etc. They're just not an attractive program compared to the big dogs in CFB.
Tradition? Ehh, other than the whole Eagle thing, not much.

History? Not a consistent winning program, 1 national title since the 60s, took a super human at QB to win that one, otherwise they've been up and down.

Competition? They share the state with the best football program in the country.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
9,569
12,865
237
Tuscaloosa
The more I have thought about this situation I have reached the conclusion the problem is not Gus. He is a pretty good coach. The problem is with the expectations at AU. They feel like they are one of the top elite programs in the country not the second tier program they are. The think they are on the level with Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC and great programs like those. The reality is they are a mid-pack power 5 school like Kansas State, Arizona, Northwestern, North Carolina to name a few. The truth is Gus is a great coach for a program at AU's level.
I think you’re right in that they think they’re a more accomplished program than they really are. But I also think putting them on par with Arizona, UNC, and K-State overstates the point.

Over history (defined as the last 50 years) vs. the SEC, I’d put the barn on par with LSU, UTe, and Georgia. In the PAC-12, they’d be Washington, but not USCw. In the BIG, they wouldn’t be tOSU or Michigan, but rather Iowa.

It’s actually a tough spot to be in. Close enough to smell titles, occasional close calls and just enough rings to keep hope alive. But too inconsistent to be anything other than a historical also-ran, and it just drives them nuts.
 

BamaMan09

All-SEC
Feb 26, 2009
1,852
0
0
The more I have thought about this situation I have reached the conclusion the problem is not Gus. He is a pretty good coach. The problem is with the expectations at AU. They feel like they are one of the top elite programs in the country not the second tier program they are. The think they are on the level with Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC and great programs like those. The reality is they are a mid-pack power 5 school like Kansas State, Arizona, Northwestern, North Carolina to name a few. The truth is Gus is a great coach for a program at AU's level.
Auburn is Virginia Tech in the deep south but with way more booster meddling. No top coach will go into an environment like that. The great ones (Saban, Harbaugh, Meyer, Chris Petersen) like autonomy. The barners have an inner circle of fat cat boosters who treat the program like their own personal NFL franchise. They operate under a different set of rules than the rest of the conference.
 

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