you dont look at the top 5 coaches. There are many coaches who can go 8-5 and lose all the big games without that huge contract,

You have to look at good up and coming coaches now. Only way

Gus can't stop meddling in the offense, which is a huge problem. Like others said, he has yet to develop a top tier QB out of high school, even though he has had some of the highest rated prospects. He offense works ONLY if he uses the QB as a run option, which he has been unwilling to do. We saw a little of it last night, but unless it is always a threat, the opposing defense doesn't respect it.

Gus IS the problem, as an offensive coordinator and as the executive in charge of managing the coaches under him. The best head coaches develop the coaches who work under them, just look to the west to see this.

That's true and a big part of the problem. It's one thing that's allowing Orgeron to perform above his normal level.

The great Coaches can do that. Dabo with his defense at Clemson is another example. He leaves the guy alone and the guy does a great job.

If Gus could bring in a sure enough talented OC and leave the guy alone to perform his craft, he would be better off....but Gus always sticks his sticky greedy little hands into the offensive cookie jar....because in his mind he is the best option to run an offense. He's arrogant and stubborn.

I could go back in the thread history and see but it will just be quicker to ask, what did yall auburn fans think about gus the year yall won the ring. He was o coordinator. That was one of the best offenses ive ever seen. I had a hard time keeping up with where the ball was watching them on tv with dvr.

On top of that, Bo Nix is not the type of QB that needs to be throwing it 50 times a game....he may eventually get to that point, but not right now. He was a great Athlete in high school and I feel like he could carry the ball 20 times a game on zone read/qb designed runs and be much more effective.

maybe he has been used that way, though, I haven't watched as much AU ball as some of you.

Exactly, but Gus refuses to use Nix as a RPO QB. Nix can run, but Gus seems afraid to use him in this manner out of fear of injury or arrogance in thinking he can develop a drop back type QB. You can't run an offense out of fear or by not putting your players in the best position to use their abilities. Look at what Kentucky has done with a receiver at QB the last few games by simply putting their players in the best position to win.

Gus just has no clue what to do. Has no game plan. And when it gets tough he panics like a lil bitch

this^^^^^^^ and 10X on the panic.

I would think that Kevin Steele is tired of seeing that shitshow too....I'm thinking if Aubie doesn't do something about Gus after this year he will be entertaining some offers....

The job that Kevin Steele has done is absolutely amazing. From turning the defense around to keeping this football program afloat because of the defense.

He's done a great job. Next year doesn't look as promising. His stock is high right now. Well???

I know what I’d do.

For sure.

It would be so frustrating to me and I'm sure a lot of you too, to put the kind of blood sweat and tears that Steele obviously puts in to those guys on the defensive side of the ball, not counting their work, effort, drive and just plain true grit those young men display every week against arguably the best teams in the nation, to put their offense in the best possible positions to win EACH and EVERY game, For those guys to come off the field battered and worn out for just a small break and maybe a sip or two of water and to look up... and see a hurry up, sugar huddle, triple reverse option halfback statue of liberty loser play that he calls, go three and out, and do it all over again...It's got to be a miserable feeling for all those players, coaches, and everyone involved with Auburn football....Personally, I don't think I could take it for as long as he has, and wont be surprised after this season, if he doesn't start looking for greener pastures....I'll get off my soapbox now about Aubie's D and Kevin Steele...carry on...

We went down yesterday to visit our son. Watched the first half of the game from a friend's Tent City setup before walking around campus for a bit, since I knew how it was going to end. And it ended just as I knew it would.

My gripe never has been with the players, their effort or even Nix as a freshman QB learning about college. I don't give two figs if he started five years in high school for Former AUQB Daddy, the college game is entirely different. Player size and speed, much smaller windows of passing opportunity, much smaller windows of "do I leave it in RB's gut or pull it?" opportunities, definitely more pressure, more stress, all the sh*t raining down from social media, and all the Yay Team! Sunshine Pumpers who stupidly thinks anyone who cares enough to constructively criticize is being mean, not a "true fan" or other idiotic non-realistic bullchit.

My gripe is that after seven years and 10 games, Gus has the teremity to stand publicly and say the offense is "a work in progress." After 90 games his record against LSU, Alabama and Georgia is 9-24 and of those, the Riccardo Louis catch against UGA -- which was great skill-eyes and a big dose of luck -- and the Kick 6 win over Bama -- which IMO was a good coaching hunch by Gus that paid off - means he'd be 7-26 otherwise.

The rest are against sub-standard, mediocre teams Auburn SHOULD beat every time and twice on Sunday. The games you HAVE to win - against LSU, Bama, Georgia, and the oddballs like Florida, Tennessee, TAMU - he has not consistenly done it with players on offense he has developed to run his basic, high school offense that every defensive coordinator has figured out.

Newton - tremendous athlete
Nick Marshall - damned good athlete

Jeremy Johnson, Sean White, Jarrett Stidham, whoever else - maybe good kids, good athletes, and never could produce enough

Bo Nix - darn good athlete, smart, has put up some numbers that if you just hear the numbers -- 21 of 34 for 298 yards! -- sounds good, until you also hear that the offense was 3-and-out on 11 of its 14 possessions, kicked or missed a field goal, and scored just twice. Or not at all.

-- Offensive line this year? IMO too inconsistent, something seems off, and Gus doesn't seem to attract nasty mean asskicking offensive linemen
-- WRs and RBs - Speedy receivers, supposedly 5-6 RBs but Boobie's been out for some mysterious reason and no one else makes opposing teams think "Damn, we gotta stop the RB" like IMO they do with Bama and Najee, LSU with Helaire and Georgia with Swift.
-- Kicking game - Carlson misses a field goal? WTF? Auburn's gone from "A Kicking School!" to missing field goals
-- Defense - What more can it and Kevin Steele do? Can't say too much about them other than giving up a big play now and then, and IMO that's going to happen. No defense can be perfect 12 games out of the year. Even Alabama's best in the last 10 years gave up a few now and then.
-- Special teams - Meh. Nothing special, no threats

To me the buck stops with the head coach. I discount all the fanboy silliness of "He got paid, don't need motivation" and other idiotic talk. Coaches want to win and be successful. If he wanted just to get paid he could've taken the buyout last December. And I don't think it's "they don't have athletes" because there's a good group of players there, but not top-flight SEC players. They're 8-4 and 9-3 players with an 8-4 coach guiding them.

My issue is I don't believe Gus has adequately developed QBs, has stubbornly stuck with an offense that opposing coaches have figured out, and has his heels dug in against anyone suggesting things need to change. And when in this business you have that going on EVERY YEAR with 8-4 or 9-3 records and "it's a work in progress" excuses after 10 games and another shitty bowl game coming that no one cares about, that means it's time for a change.

IMO here's going to be the test:

Next Saturday Auburn hosts Samford after a huge game, a letdown and being the weekend before Thanksgiving. Will fans show up? Will students boo and then leave at halftime if the score is 17-7 or 14-10? Will they stay if it's 28-7 and have a fun second half being students with a blowout?

Even more critical - For the Alabama game two days after Thanksgiving, even with Mac Jones at QB1, will Auburn fans overwhelm the number of visiting Bama fans or will you be able to say, "Dammmmnnn, that's A LOT of Bama fans who got tickets from frustrated-pissed off-upset-mad Auburn people."

When your students and fans don't show up, or leave after halftime, you're running the risk of falling into the rabbit hole we've discussed before about bad coaches and things spiraling out of control if the Board doesn't fire him.

Who would they hire? Dunno. They'd have to go after Urban and Stoops, even if both said no. After that, no clue. But IMO it's close to that "spiraling out of control" hairy edge.



ALSO:

I was sickened to see-read-hear about Tua's hip injury. I don't care who it is or what team they play for, I hate to hear about guys being injured. I hope he makes a full, healthy and strong recovery, and whether he returns to football at Bama or NFL or moves on to pursue his career and life, I hope he's healthy, successful and happy.

I don't know about now, but his (Steele) mom was living in Prattville when he took the Auburn job. So, it may not be strictly a business decision to stay or go.

If Auburn offered your son a offense based scholarship would you want Gus to be his coach?

It may be a business decision, depending on whether he has enough years to be vested in the state retirement system. Otherwise, I would get the hell outta Auburn before next season if I were Kevin.

All those comments are spot on Clem.

Student section will be at best 75% full at the start of the Samford game and be 90% empty in the 3rd quarter.

If Auburn people truly want a change, they should vote as empty seats in two weeks. It would bring a smile to my face to think of Raymond Harbert and Jimmy Rane having to stroke a big fat check to dump this bum.

If he was good enough to have an offer from AU, I'd suspect he'd have offers from other programs. My first reaction in that scenario would be to say, "Let's see who else would be coaching him." If it was the only offer at all, sure. Free education.


Other thing going on: Malzahn signed this idiotic contract with a former university president, Leeth, who was fired this summer for an as-yet-undisclosed reason (or reasons) and scuttled away without a peep. Leeth also was there when Pearl's gigantic contract was redone despite all the NCAA issues that still have not been resolved.

Now Malzahn's working with a giant contract and buyout thanks to that former president and the Board member who's supposedly responsible for pushing-urging-OKing the $49M deal - Ray Harbert - along with an interim president (Gogue) and Athletic Director who was supposed to be a fundraising superman but probably is thinking "WTF kind of storm did I get myself into here?"

Auburn = Champions of Turmoil