Sunday, December 14, 2008

Hey, Westerdawg. Why all the Auburn Coverage?

I've gotten some comments and emails asking, "Why so much Auburn coverage related to their coaching search." My answer is simple. History shows that coaching changes are the one thing that most shifts the power structure in the SEC. Football is a zero sum game. For one team to advance up the conference ladder, another team has to lose.

We play Auburn every year, and they recruit into our state as hard or harder than any rival. The decisions they make matter to Georgia. That's why I'm covering it. That...and...hell...it's December. There really isn't that much happening in Athens right now. Yes, I was at the Gala. There was little to report that would surprise you. Otherwise, I would've given some nuggets. It was very vanilla. Fun. But vanilla.

Back to Auburn. Auburn was dumb to fire Tuberville. That was my position before hiring Chizik, and it's my position now. They tried to cure the wrong disease. The disease wasn't Al Borges or Tony Franklin or Tommy Tuberville. Auburn's core ailments are the lack of a big time quarterback, penis envy related to Alabama, and a lack of self control. Everything else is simply a symptom.

If Tuberville had been left alone to fix the Franklin symptom and recruit a QB, most things would've settled back down to their normal dysfunctional levels on The Plains.

Their best hope for fixing the QB problem was Raymond Cotton, a four star QB prospect from Maryland. This is what Cotton's father thinks about the Chizik hire (source: Rivals.com):
"As a parent, my comment is Auburn did nothing to prove to me they want to be a winner."
...
"I know about Chizik's good background with Auburn, but I look at Auburn as being on the same level with the Floridas and Georgias, a top 10 school in the country. It's a big-time program," said Cotton, Sr. "And then we go out and hire a guy that has five wins over the last couple of years. That definitely brings some concern. I don't know if there is a lot of confidence there from me as a father."
Auburn is on the cusp of blowing themselves up. It's hard to really screw yourself up as badly or as quickly as they seem intent on doing without sanctions. We benefit from this. And until Chizik names his staff, it will still be a source of interest to me. I hope it will continue to be a source of interest to you as well.

PWD

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