|
|
|
|
Terry Bowden Resigns... |
Bill Oliver Fills-in... |
Tommy Tuberville Arrives... |
PAST EVENTS
Most everyone now agrees that a key reason that Terry B went 11-0 in 1993 was the fact that he played with Pat Dye's recruits. Now he had to coach well to get them to play 11-0, certainly. He did almost as well the next year escept for a fluke tie to Georgia and a typical Birmingham loss to Alabama. Thrown in were a couple of incredible and unpredictable underdog wins over Florida.
The first two years, Auburn ran a similar offense to that of Pat Dye's - the run was emphasized and the passing game was also very effetcive under White and Nix. Terry and the Tigers gambled that a switch to the Spurrier-type of wide open passing football was the answer to championships. Remember that pass-happy Florida also had a solid running game.
In 1995, Stephen Davis was a Senior, and his role was unfortunately minimized in an effort to copy Spurrier's Gators. The result - an 8-4 record. A repeat occurred in 1996 under the same circumstances, this time with Beasley rushing instead of Davis. Each year (one under Nix and one under Craig) the running game was de-emphasized in favor of a more wide-open attack. The losses these two years usually occurred when the other team's defense pressured the QB and played strong pass coverage.
During this time, Terry's recruiting classes seemed to slide each year - possibly becasue probation damaged Ole Miss and Alabama could not sign as many recruits in the area, or possibly any number of other reasons. The recruits that Terry signed were increasingly coming from tough areas in South Florida and from kids whose academic capabilities were suspect. A few top recruits chose pro baseball and others just did not live up to expectations.
Also over time, Terry seemed to realize his error in de-emphasizing the run, last year he started the season saying you do what you do best, but by the end he was committed to bringing back the run. The problem is that the players at Auburn were not selected for a run-oriented offense, but a passing-oriented one. The conversnio this year was far from successful and the Tigers had to depend on a passing game from a true freshman QB.
BOWDEN LEAVES
October 23, 1998 will be remembered as the day thatTerry Bowden abandoned the sinking ship, one month before being kicked off. I have mixed emotions about this one. I do believe that he was told he would be fired at the end of the year - regardless. Despite what I've written, I think logic says you give Bowden another recruiting class and the 1999 season to bring the team back from this disasterous season - knowing that mistakes have been made and the correction needed was at least known. On the other hand, I don't think he did his players any favors by quitting the day before a game. That is practically unheard of. He also possibly damaged his career and certainly obtained a reputation as a quitter. Despite his circumstances, he probably should have finished the season. The other coaches who got fired this year probably knew they were gone, but they finished their obligation.
OLIVER FILLS-IN
I liked Oliver's approach when he took over the team for the La Tech game. He seems to have the respect of the players and was in fact their choice for head coach. At the time, it seemed that a win over Arkansas or Georgia and against Alabama would have given him the full-time job. His age, now 60 years, probably hurt him the most. A survey of the recent coaching changes proves that a good age to be is 45 when becoming a head coach. However, I think his presence in the Pressbox rather than on the field during game was not looked upon favorable as well. I began to lose some confidence when he said he'd have to learn the words to "War Eagle Fly Down the Field!" I thought that he did a decent job, but Bowden would have probably gone an equal 2-3 over the same span. Almost losing to Central Florida was possibly the most unrecoverable thing he did, actually. I would have liked him to stay at Auburn to coach the defense a while longer, but that's his decision he made to retire. As for the Guest article in the Orlando Sentinel, I fear that some of that stuff is true, but I hope it's not. The close association between Guest and the Bowdens makes the article suspect, but at the same time, Oliver was suspected of undermining Stallings at Alabama. I am also not all that thrilled in the critical comments Pat Dye has made over the last few years, although much of what he's said has some merit.
TUBERVILLE ARRIVES
I was happy overall with the selection of Tuberville. He has been courted by just about every major college with a coaching need over the last couple of years. He has in impeccable reputation as a coach. I think he took a team in dire straits at Ole Miss and made them competative. His teams seem to have a "fire in the belly", a trait that levels the playing field if the talent is in deficit. I think that Auburn wanted a younger coach who had a solid reputation, who was committed to run-first/pass-second, could recruit well and of course produce championships. I think that Tuberville has as good a chance as anyone in meeting this criteria. I am glad that Auburn did not pass the torch to the next in line (Oliver) or to the favorite son (Sullivan) unless they were the best available for the job. Apparently, they weren't and Tuberville is. I wish him the best.