Malzahn Hire is More of the Same

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 9:48 AM CST Comment 43 comments

We're less than 24 hours from Auburn's "big" hire, and the shine has already worn off for me -- I don't really buy the hype.

Don't get me wrong. This might be the best hire they could've possibly made given the current circumstances, but that doesn't say much. After all, who's the best dart thrower at St. Michael's School for the Blind?

There are a number of problems with Malzahn that seem to get glossed over, but they're pretty big ones.

First and foremost: when our seniors were playing high school ball, Malzahn was coaching high school ball. He has only three years of collegiate coaching experience, and two of those years were at Tulsa.

Yes, he was part of a 10-win season at Arkansas in 2006, but keep in mind that he had Darren McFadden in the backfield -- a much bigger weapon than any running back currently playing in the SEC.

His two-year stint at Tulsa has been impressive statistically . . . until you take into account the competition. The Golden Hurricane put up a gaudy number of points against almost all of their opponents. The exceptions in 2008 being the defensive powerhouses of Arkansas, East Carolina, and Houston. 2007 was more of the same, really.

Simply put: Malzahn's offenses have run wild when they have vastly superior talent, but folded when faced with even the slightest resistance.The question I have: where on earth is Auburn going to get vastly superior talent? Out of the backyards of Richt, Meyer, and Saban? I don't think so.

Further, I'm still not convinced that his offensive style will really survive more than a season or two in the SEC. The same was said about Meyer, and while Florida has enjoyed a great deal of success, it would be a bit misleading to suggest that the Gators are running the same offense today as Meyer ran at Utah. Similar? Yes, but not the same at all. That's the big difference between a guy with a lot of experience and Malzahn: adaptability. Malzahn has never coached anywhere long enough to need to change anything.

By the time his team suits up for its second season (if it even takes that long), his offense will be a known quantity in the SEC, and the better defensive coaches will have an antidote. That is, unless the barn can amass a pool of talent big enough to neutralize the defensive game plans. See, e.g., Florida: they're not out-scheming teams, they're out-talenting them.

Of course, that's all assuming that Malzahn even gets to his second season.

Will Auburn actually let him run his offense the way he wants to run it? We know that didn't happen for Tony Franklin at Auburn, but the fans are still buying into the "Frankly was the problem" shtick: "Tony Franklin [Malzahn] ain't. This guy is the real deal . . ."

I have some bad news for Mr. Coulter: Franklin was the real deal, too. In fact, Auburn has made firing "real deal" offensive coordinators its calling-card.

Again, I don't know that there was a better hire on the board for Auburn, but this alone is not reason for "optimism". After all: when was the last time you saw a team with a mediocre head coach and some hot-shot assistants tear up a major conference?

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I said pretty much the same thing in Nico’s thread….but you said it MUCH….MUCH….better..

When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.

by bammer on Dec 29, 2008 10:13 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

one positive malzahan will likely have that franklin did not is the fact he isn’t entering an established coaching staff. it seemed clear in the reports that followed franklin’s dismissal that the rest of tubberville’s staff never really went along with the new scheme and that retarded any hope it had to succeed.

i’m not saying that malzahan’s approach is guaranteed success, of course, so don’t mistake this observation as of the same ilk as the “real deal” argument referenced above. there are serious questions about his bona fides pointed out here but i simply don’t believe a comparison between the situations of malzahan and franklin is valid.

by kleph on Dec 29, 2008 10:24 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

If you think the problems in the Auburn organization left with Tuberville, I’d like some of what you’re smoking, my friend.

Tuberville did a good bit of damage damage with is cronyism, but I just don’t think that tells the whole story. Tuberville is too good of a coach not to see what was going on, and there’s so much external influence from the boosters to really believe that a fresh start on the coaching staff is going to make it all better.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 10:36 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

no. i think that there is a significant difference between changing an existing system and starting a new one. if malzahan was facing the prospect of changing the culture of the program AND the institution his ‘experiement’ would end like franklin’s. but, given this is an entirely new staff he’ll only have to face the rigidity of the second half of that equation. but i’m not saying it’s a slam dunk either, mind you.

the always-sage Dr. Saturday makes a similar point this morning when he writes: “If Chizik believes Malzahn’s is the mind to revive the Tiger offense, it stands to reason he’ll learn from his predecessor and stay out of the way.”

by kleph on Dec 29, 2008 10:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think you vastly under-estimate the portion of the problems that Auburn has that are caused by Lowder and Company.

This isn’t a “new system.” It’s the same old system with some new parts. All they did was fire the coach, for crying out loud, and it was after Tuberville was gone that we got to see the real circus in the form of a completely botched coaching search.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 11:15 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Do you really believe yourself

Do you really think that the coaching search was botched? Who do you think would have been a better candidate?

I can’t say that I believe that Turner Gill was our answer. You guys are saying that Chizik and Malzahn are both unproven, but Gill had one mediocre season in a crappy conference with a crappy team but all of a sudden he is our answer. I liked Gill, but I liked the fact that he seems to be a stand up guy, I liked the fact that Green Bay hired him as a player development coach and I liked the fact that he being a young black coach would certainly help with recruiting.

As far as the other coaches in our search goes, I think the only other coach, aside from Chizik, that I would have liked would have been Charlie Strong from Florida. He has been under a good coach in Meyer, as much as I don’t like saying that, and he knows the SEC and can recruit in the southeast. He will make someone a fine HC one day. But now we have Chizik and I am behind him, I think he will do a fine job. He has fire, he wants to prove himself and will work hard to do it. He understands that he needs great assistants to be successful in the SEC, I read an article saying that he negotiated his contract without Sexton and said that if he needed to take up to a $400,000 paycut to get the assistants he wanted he would do it. To me that screams class and I think he knows what he has to do.

by Mattco on Dec 29, 2008 11:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

A few things...

1. I think its rather insulting to young black men to insinuate that they would go to a school simply because the head coach is black.

2. Auburn didn’t even interview Charlie Strong, I never heard his name come up in the search one time.

3. Sexton. For obvious reasons, I don’t think Auburn likes Jimmy Sexton too much. I’m just speculating here, but I am willing to bet that Chiz didn’t negotiate his own contract without Sexton as some nice gesture. If he did do this as some are claiming, did he really negotiate his own contract or did he get alternative representation? Coaches aren’t lawyers, nor are they experts in contract law. If Chiz really did do this on his own, I would seriously question his judgement.

Thirty-Six to Nothing

by Bens4vcobra on Dec 29, 2008 11:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Ok.

1. If you claim it is insulting to say that young black men would go to a school simply because the head coach is black, then you aren’t being honest with yourself. That is the world. Would they go there simply because he is black? Probably not but it is one hell of a selling point.

2. Charlie Strong’s name was put out there but he wasn’t interviewed. But he would have been a good candidate and probably a much better candidate than Rodney Garner in terms of unbiased candidacy.

3. I read an article saying that he negotiated the terms of it, it might not have been a formal draft of a contract though. And I also heard that he has cut ties with Sexton, but I don’t know that for a fact, just what I read. The terms were that he is getting around the 2 million mark with a lot of room for production bonuses. So there are several coaches getting more, but I am not sure that Auburn wanted to spend as much on a head coach as they did on the surrounding staff.

by Mattco on Dec 29, 2008 12:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Bigot much?

1. This Black coach = Black players myth has been getting thrown around since Ty Willingham’s first year at Notre Dame. The problem with ranking classes or even individual players compared with all of the 120 Div 1A school’s recruiting is that their ranking can be directly related to what school’s they want to go to and vice-versa. Notre Dame is constantly the biggest recipient of this lazy scouting honor. Now many claims have been laid that he left the cupboard bare for Chuck (at least that was the excuse before this season) and look at what his racially driven recruits have done for him at Washington. Also these same claims were beginning to surface when Croom was hired and really be honest with yourself when judging the talent he brought in. I’m not naive enough to believe that some kids won’t go in a socially benefiting direction when picking a college, but I would argue that the recruits that make future changing choices based on this are probably not of the caliber to really be that picky. Also trying to defend yourself by declaring closet racism as the world doesn’t make yourself look that much better.

2. I agree

3. Man, Lowder and the Yella Fella’s wettest dreams really are coming true if Chizik is willing to cut ties with Sexton. To give up the best agent in college football (i personally don’t view agents as seeds of the devil) and the best personal security that comes with it is a really foolish move.

I know as a Bama fan, I’ve heard talk about the kool-aid consumption, but the Auburn fan base is really coming off a self-castrating bunch on the way to Opelika’s Gate. This era of Auburn football is really smelling of the Dubose situation all over again. I would not support a coach that is clearly willing to crap all over the his and the school’s dignity by accepting this role of puppet. Grind your teeth and hope for a mass meltdown, cause take it from Bama fans, it may hurt like hell but its the only way to get the program on the right path.

by DarthGaydar on Dec 30, 2008 3:01 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

A 5-19 head coach on a 10 game losing streak is probably the best Auburn can do.

…but it still qualifies as “mediocre”, and that’s be awfully generous.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 11:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Come on, Matt

the few posts you have posted here have been very nice and rather intelligent. You are smarter than this post implies. Right now you are looking at the situation through a fan’s optimism, which is noble. If you truly believe that Chizik was the best your team could get, then you are either blindly supporting him as a mediocre, at best, choice or you don’t hold Auburn in much esteem.

there were coaches willing to come to Auburn with much better track records than Chizik. I’m not talking about Gill, take him out of the equation. The problem is Auburn settled. This is not a Shula hire – Auburn wasn’t on probation and needed a stable hand to place-sit the position during rough times. This is a top tier SEC program that just took a major step back because of the “Good Ole Boy” mentality of Jay Jacobs and Bobby Lowder. Gene is buddies and a “yes man” to them, and that is what they wanted. Spin it however you want, but Pete makes some great points. You guys are in for a tough road to hoe, and if you honestly think Chizik and co. can compete day in and day out with Saban, Meyer, Richt, Spurrier, etc., then I am afraid you are missing the boat entirely :(

"With a girl - I-HOP; with the guys - Waffle House; with a girl you are pulling wingman on - Taco Bell." Comer, on his favorite place to eat at 3 a.m.

by BamaReturns07 on Dec 29, 2008 1:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I am afraid I disagree again

I am not sure that Auburn could have brought in anyone else bigger. I don’t think that Chizik is a bad hire, but thinking that someone with a big name would step into the hornet’s nest that is Auburn the last few years is thinking pretty naively. Auburn is in the boat that Alabama was in a few years ago, just a bad situation to come into. Saban was given time and patience due to the fact that Alabama was desperate to find someone and you guys finally let go of the Bear long enough to realize that there are good coaches out there.

Auburn was completely torn into sects during the coaching search and no matter who was hired, Auburn fans were going to be up in arms. If Gill was hired, then the people demanding Paul Johnson would have griped that it was the worst hire. If Spurrier was hired, then everyone would have griped. If Paul Johnson was hired then everyone else would have griped. You get the picture. There wasn’t a coach that everyone wanted and would have been happy with. When Tuberville first came to the plains, he arrived after scandal and still wasn’t well received and he earned the respect of the Auburn fans. Now Chizik will have to do the same. As far as fans outside of Auburn goes, they weren’t going to be understanding with anyone we hired either. This was a no win situation for Auburn.

by Mattco on Dec 29, 2008 1:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think you are wrong...

Most Auburn fans wanted Gill. Now would people have complained? Sure. Thats what fans do but i think he would have been accepted and you would have not had students protesting, the blog war, ESPN and everyone else jumping all over you and you wouldn’t have had the Barkley episode. The fact is there were better coaches out there but Auburn panicked. Plain and simple.

Now just look how many NFL coaches have been let go. So far i think 7. You’re telling me Auburn couldn’t have waited another 2-3 weeks and offered the job to one of those guys? Its not like Chizik was on ANYONES list.

Auburn could have won in all this but yet they decided to fail….sorry man but thats the truth.

When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.

by bammer on Dec 29, 2008 1:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Eh...

Yes and no. I’ve been saying since the fit hit the shan with a bunch of other coaching spots that Auburn needed to act quickly or they were going to get left behind. Turns out that was spot on. I’m not sure the question is whether Auburn fans would unanimously love him but c’mon… Chizik is not a good head football coach. In two years he lead Iowa State to the absolute cellar of the Big 12. One of two things is true: Auburn is either a step down from Iowa State or Auburn “promoted” a guy who hasn’t won a football game in about 3 months. Malzahn as OC and Chizik as DC with a talented HC could be a scary combo… Chizik running things is HILARIOUS.

Also, this? “Saban was given time and patience due to the fact that Alabama was desperate to find someone and you guys finally let go of the Bear long enough to realize that there are good coaches out there.”

Alabama gave up Coach Bryant a long time ago… I just wonder when Auburn fans are going to stop talking about him.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 2:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

not the Alabama fans I know

How do you explain the houndstooth everywhere or the fedora’s? Style? Nope, that is a reminder of the Bear. How about the fact that about 90% of Alabama fans have something with the Bear’s face on it? That is a reminder, and that is fine, but you guys always compared coaches to him and that wasn’t fair. The Bear was a great coach, but in today’s game, I am not sure he could win like that now. Every, and I mean every, team in the nation has a playmaker on it (ok maybe not Auburn this year but that is a different argument) and recruiting is set up different with different restrictions now. Saban is doing a good job for you guys and I hope he keeps it up, but I also hope that in two years the Iron Bowl features #1 vs #2 in the nation.

War eagle.

by Mattco on Dec 29, 2008 2:43 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You’re conflating two different arguments here.

First and foremost, you have to understand that a team’s history becomes a part of its tradition. The Houndstooth started with Bryant, but it doesn’t persist as some homage to the man. It’s worn because fans identify it with Alabama. You might as well be arguing that as long as the stadium has his name on it that we’re all still obsessed with Bryant. Silly.

Second, there hasn’t been a coach “compared to Bryant” in any serious way by any significant number of people since, if I had to guess, Bill Curry. Dubose wasn’t fired because he “wasn’t Bear Bryant”, he was fired because he embarrassed the university and then lost a bunch of football games. Fran quit, Price was run out of town after (allegedly) doing some stripper, Shula lost a bunch of football games. The suggestion that anyone in the past 10 or 15 years has been compared to Bryant just isn’t true.

Also… 90% of fans with something with his face on it? You’re kidding. Unless you’re talking about game cups or something like that. It’s not like we all have little shrines to the man in our garages.

Psst… it’s 2008. The only folks still obsessed with Bryant are our rivals.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 3:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I would say Stallings got his fair share of comparisons….i was young then so i could be wrong.

When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.

by bammer on Dec 29, 2008 3:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Might have...

But Stallings wasn’t even 10 years removed from the man who is still regarded as one of the best football coaches of all time and, further, was an awfully long time ago.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 3:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

and he was a player under him. so that amplified it a bit.

by kleph on Dec 29, 2008 4:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Andwas the only student that every beat him in a bowl game try that buddy

by BAMALW on Dec 30, 2008 5:48 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Here is also something to think about

Malzahan’s future rests soley in Chiziks hands. You can have the best OC in the world but if your head coach is a bafoon then it really doesnt matter. A festivus miracle would have to happen for Chizik to stick around for longer than a few year (1) years (year).

This just came to me…If Malzhan was is so great….why didn’t they hire him as the head coach? Just a thought.

For the spread to work you have to have great athletes. If you can’t get the best in the country, your hope is that you have more talent than your competition. Thats not going to happen at Auburn. They are not going to have those consistent top 10 recruiting classes that they will need. Sure they will have the occasional great class that makes them good for a few years but the consistency will never be there as long as the likes of Urban, Richt, Saban and Miles are around. Sorry barners but thats the cold hard truth.

Face it aubies. Your head coach is a loser…Once you face that reality then you can begin to move on and again accept your rightful place as bottom feeders of the SEC West…Welcome to mediocrity…

When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.

by bammer on Dec 29, 2008 10:34 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Umm...

“Welcome back to mediocrity”

Fixed that for you.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 10:37 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

lol....thanks

When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.

by bammer on Dec 29, 2008 10:41 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree....

WOOF WOOF

by ArieGold on Dec 29, 2008 7:16 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

see 2008 season!!!

by BAMALW on Dec 30, 2008 5:50 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Man win Tulsa came to the SEC they had been putting points up on everybody I think they put 77 points on some little podunk team. But win they met the Hogs the found a diffrent game and thatswhat they are going to find all year in2009. Sure a blind squirrel finds and acorn but come on guys This is the SEC say what you want!!

by BAMALW on Dec 30, 2008 5:58 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

by NiceLittleSaturday on Dec 30, 2008 1:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I just figure...

with AU’s track record for the way they treat OC’s, it Malzahan does well, he’ll become a head coach in a couple of years; if he does poorly, he’ll be fired. This will not be a long stay in the Plains IMO.

"There's a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success" - Coach Bryant

by TopDaddy on Dec 29, 2008 10:35 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Auburn fan checking in

I honestly can’t argue with what you are saying, BUT, Kleph has hit the nail on the head. Malzahn has two major advantages that Franklin didn’t have. 1. He has more of an ability to adjust to his current talent pool, which isn’t huge for Auburn right now, but don’t convince yourselves that we are bare. We do have talent at Auburn on both sides of the ball and in the offensive backfield, the thing we have lacked has been the ability to coach it correctly, and yes, that is a stab at the Tuberville coaching staff and him too. 2. He is going to be able to run his offense and I honestly think Chizik will let him do it. Chizik is taking a huge gamble by hiring a guy who is unproven for a long time, but let’s face it, if he was at Tulsa another 2 years and kept putting up his numbers he would be a head coach anyway. I refuse to throw Chizik under the bus until he proves that he can’t get the job done, and to me that will take a few years. Now I just wrote a post on TrackEm that talked about the fact that while this is a turning point for the team, this also HAS to be a turning point in the way we, as fans, treat our coaches and players. We have to give this staff time to work out the kinks and get rid of bad habits.

So while you say that both coaches are unproven, we now have a guy who has managed to put together a very balanced and extremely explosive offense at Tulsa and a guy who had 4 top 10 defense in a row for two different teams. We have good minds there and they just need to develop together now and let each other do their jobs.

War eagle boys and girls, I am riding this wagon where ever it goes.

by Mattco on Dec 29, 2008 11:23 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The problem is not Chizik.

The man does not have the credentials or experience to force his hand in the offense (hell, he hardly has the credentials to be a head coach at all). I don’t think anyone believes that Chizik will try to run the offense or hamstring Malzahn.

The problem, though, is that influence and control over the football program at Auburn does not start or end with the head coach. It’s a bit of a Banana Republic out there, and they boys with the money have a lot to say about what goes on on the field.

Now, if they AND Chizik can keep their noses out of Malzahn’s business, and the Auburn base is willing to accept a major rebuilding year or two, then I think that takes a huge stumbling block out of the equation. Neither of those are given, though.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 12:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly.

I agree with you that everyone needs to take a deep breath and let things develop. But don’t be naive, every major school, even Alabama, has trustees that the coach has to answer to in the end. If Saban lost 3 or 4 games this year he would have certainly felt a lot of pressure, but he has a ton of support right now due to a great season for you guys. This is the same thing that Tuberville got from Auburn faithful, he got a lot of leniency from the 2004 season and was able to consistently make the team worse for the past 4 years that led to this year.

by Mattco on Dec 29, 2008 12:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If you think for a moment that any school outside of Stillwater, Oklahoma has boosters that meddle like Auburn’s do, I think you need to take off those orange and blue glasses.

Coaches have to answer to the fans because they are the consumers. They’re the ones that pay the bills. That’s why losing games is not nearly as bad for a coach as losing ATTENDANCE. (although one seems to precipitate the other) There’s a difference, though, between reactive fans and boosters (X happened, therefore we’re going to do Y) and proactive boosters (I’m going to do X so that I can make Y happen.)

Lowder and company are squarely in the meddlesome second group (JetGate, anyone?).

So you’re correct to a degree, but to say it’s the same everywhere is patently ridiculous. The Auburn booster situation is a deplorable mess.

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 2:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

let me put it a different way...

… the skuttlebutt was that gill turned down the coaching slot because he couldn’t pick his own staff. the suggestion being anyone who did get the position would be beholden to the selections of the AD and whatever powers-that-be. this hire doesn’t smack of that which is probably the best sign out of the plains from this whole debacle.

but, again, i’m not arguing this is a good hire or that it will work out and suddenly the barn is gonna have a world-beating offense. they simply have a chance at getting a system up and working which, in contrast to what we saw this season, would be a step forward. which is probably what the fanbase is resigning itself to after the letdown of the head coach hire.

if chizik turns in .500+ season with an upset or two over a decent SEC power then makes an appearance in a quasi-respectable bowl – he’ll be able to call ’09 a win. malzahn, even as flawed as his resume might be under decent scrutiny, should have a chance to help accomplish that – which is more than franklin ever had under the tuberville regime.

by kleph on Dec 29, 2008 4:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Smart football has a good write up on the differences in Malzahans spread and everyone elses.

http://smartfootball.blogspot.com/2008/12/rhythm-nation-auburn-hires-gus-malzahn.html

When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.

by bammer on Dec 29, 2008 11:42 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

the streak is dead, little brother is dead

The Sugar Bowl is in 4 days, let’s talk about that.

by BamerinBR on Dec 29, 2008 12:03 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Wait a minute......

Isn’t Malzahn’s MO that he runs a spread offense, but yet did we not just hear Chizik say that they were going to be a smash mouth football kind of offense? Did he just say that to get the gig and make the Pat Dye “family” happy OR is he already breaking ranks and doing what HE wants to do?

Well, are you gonna pull them pistols, or whistle dixie?

by jtCRIMSON on Dec 29, 2008 1:42 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I thought about that too

While I think that Malzahn is a great hire and has the potential to turn Auburn’s future around completely, I do remember that Chizik said that he wanted to go back to a run heavy offense and smash people. Not sure if someone got to him or if he changed his approach.

by Mattco on Dec 29, 2008 2:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

i think he was talking when he plays Xbox

cause from what i know, chizzik’s real football teams strategy is to get their asses kicked up and down the field for 50 minutes, then hope the other team just starts taking a knee.

by tempebamafan on Dec 29, 2008 3:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

HMMM

Hi Bammers!! Yall, have more posts about Auburn on your site than we do on ours! lol Actually, I don’t believe there is a post about Bama more recent than last year. I decided to come over here and have a laugh. Why so worried about Auburn? I am sorry that a win over a bad Auburn team is the only consolation you can take from this season. Not my fault. When Utah is done beatin you guys, yall will still have never won a BCS game and still haven’t won an SEC Championship in 10 years, Not much has changed lol!!! Silly Bammers……

by ArieGold on Dec 29, 2008 7:15 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

“Yall, have more posts about Auburn on your site than we do on ours!”

I attribute that to a larger quantity of literate Alabama fans.

“haven’t won an SEC Championship in 10 years”

Bad at counting? It’s 2008. We won the SEC in 1999. That’s 9 years.

Interestingly enough, in the last ten years, Auburn and Alabama have the same number of conference titles, so I’m not sure quite what your argument is. Taking a longer view, Alabama has more than three times the number that Auburn does. It took y’all almost 20 years to pass Georgia Tech in SEC Championships after they left the conference and your team just finished a dismal season, fired the only guy in decades that’s been able to consistently beat Alabama, and then ran a 3 ring circus instead of a coaching search.

…what is it that you’re here bragging about again?

by PeteHoliday on Dec 29, 2008 8:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

funny...

…i always thought it was wise to examine the level of one’s competition rather than spend all your time patting yourself on your back. but that’s just me. i’m sure you do things different on the plains.

by kleph on Dec 29, 2008 8:58 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

i will say this

malzahn is a better hire than chizik. chizik should probably be answering to malzahn. however, thats not saying much. you say he had the #2 offense in the nation this year? well thats conference USA. this is the SEC. he’s playing in the big leagues now. unless he can recruit alot of backs and recievers that run a 4.5 or better, that spread is going to be torn apart by every solid defensive team they face (not just in the SEC). how far did that no. 2 offense in the nation take them? oh, all the way to the big-time GMAC bowl. this situation is hilarious. things just get worse for auburn.

by rammerjammer7 on Dec 30, 2008 12:18 PM CST reply actions 0 recs