After reading the "Fire Gus" thread it reminds me of how short memories can be.....

Just a little over a year ago Gus was on top of the world...Most (not all) Auburn fans were singing his praises and were enjoying bragging rights over the Dawgs and the Tide.....

Just a few weeks ago Kirby Smart was hailed as the second coming of Nick Saban because he was building a dynasty at GA.....now after one loss many have jumped off the bandwagon and questioning if he will ever deliver a championship.....Remember a guy named Mark Richt???

I thought Tuberville was going to run out of fingers counting consecutive wins over Bama but he was shown the door.......

Not to be outdone across the state in Tuscaloosa before Saban arrived Bama football was a train wreck.....many Bama fans have forgotten about being a middle of the pack SEC program (at best) while losing to Central FL, LA Monroe, Northern Illinois....While we brag about our program being able to attract great coaches we are quick to forget: (1) Bama hired Bill Curry over Bobby Bowden (2) Bama hired Dubose and Price (2) Bama was turned down by Mike Riley and Rich Rod (4) or who said there was no way in heck they would come to Tuscaloosa.......

Just imagine the circus when Saban hangs it up........

We'll never know the facts or the full story but Finebaum sure didn't help things with Rich Rod by talking about his bleach blonde wife on his radio show. This Bama fan recalls thinking at the time how it sucked that Rich turned the job down..

We can only hope that other great coaches will see what he has done and will want to do the same thing. Will be almost impossible for the person following him to replicate. He has trained many coaches and they saw what was done.

i distinctly remember the Gene Stallings hire being heavily criticized (had a losing record in the NFL w/the Cardinals & lost the first 3 games of his first season) ...

We owe Paul thanks for discussing Rita Rodriguez.

Yeah i remember when it sucked to be a Bama fan, I also remember Saban being the coach (first year) when they lost to Monroe

Good post

Bama fans are just plain spoiled, its down right pitiful students dont show for games. They are living in the greatest era of Alabama football and they dont appreciate it. The day is not too far off bama will suck again and they’ll look back and wish. Saban’s accomplishments will not be duplicated for a long time to come if ever.

Alot of Auburn fans are not delusional.Sure,we enjoy the small amount of success during Gus' tenure.But it doesn't have anything to do with Gus for us.The enjoyment is centered on our allegiance to our team,and school.Plenty of us never liked the hiring of Gus Malzahn.But we don't have a say in the hiring and firing of coaches in our sports programs.All we can do is hope the administration makes wise decisions,and support our team.You Bammers make fun of Gus and his contract at our expense,while we have nothing to do,or can do,about it.We think it was just as bad of a decision as anyone else,but we still support our team.We'll eventually get rid of him,and some of us are counting the days...

So, all those fans who say they are not going to go to any more games or watch the games are enjoying the allegiance to the team and school. Gotcha, I forgot Auburn fans love the school, not the team. Fambily.

I'm confused at what your point is? Are you saying that the bammers shouldn't be giving the barners a hard time of their coaching situation due to having lived it in the past? If so.... good luck with that. I remember almost everything, every game, every stupid decision, pretty much everything..... it's a curse. I also remember what a nightmare it was on this board for Alabama fans back in those days.

I try not to kick someone when they are down and in turn I don't engage much in the Alabama, Auburn fussing and prefer to talk more about the actual football, but I can see where some would give just like they got back in the day when this football forum had just started.

A couple of adages come to mind:

The worm always turns

Pride cometh before the fall.

These are true and I try to remember them in the good and bad times. Never get too low or too high.

Paul claims he never said it in his last book. He said that was all a made up fairy tale on message boards.

The actual truth is West Virginia mega boosters, including Arizona Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick, asked Rodriguez what it'd take to get him to stay. The following day West Virginia and its boosters were offering Rodriguez a huge raise and major facility improvements.


but.......


The real hero of the story was Ian Rappaport. He broke the story days in advance due to some close contacts in Morgantown which gave West Virginia boosters time to put together a salary package to keep him. Rappaport broke the story about three days before Rodriguez's lawyers and handlers wanted it out there.

Why are you worried about things that won't happen for another 20 years?

Just an observation about the fickle nature of fans.....Bammers and Barners will always poke each other because that's what rivals do.....as far as remembering the bad times at Bama I acted like a fool several times because of the state of Bama football and endured much grieve from the Aubies especially during the Tuberville years.....In turn I have dished out grieve to my friends of various fan bases (Dawgs, Tigers, Gators and Vols specifically).....as long as everyone knows your turn in the barrel is coming and take it like a man its all good......as I have gotten older I don't get into the back and forth as much but really enjoy discussing the different facets of the game and what makes teams successful......

I am not worried but don't share your optimism that his departure is that far in the future....

I was kidding about the 20 years. But I know folks that having been calling for him to leave Bama, every year, from day 1. Here we are in year 11...

I took your comment as tongue in cheek.......I do believe he has 5+ years before he moves to Lake Burton.......Some folks I work with will consider it a national holiday when he quits......

You and I sound a lot alike.