Official Visit...

This past weekend, I was invited to Auburn as a part of the weekend activities. We arrived Friday afternoon around 5pm. We ate a really nice dinner with the coaches, recruits, tiger hosts, and hostesses. I immediately recognized a difference in the atmosphere. This staff is very talkative and outgoing. Some of them are plain "nuts". I can see why a high school recruit would love these guys. Each walked up to me, introduced themselves, and began to talk. We talked about football, recruiting, and life in general. I enjoyed sitting down at dinner with a particular coach and his wife. He was extremely humble, even stated he'd love to "pick my brain" for ideas about defense "if I didn't mind". I thought to myself "are you kidding"? A few of the wives are already in town, and they were great as well. Coach Chizik is building a real family atmosphere around Auburn. And the word "family" was stressed the entire weekend. Saturday consisted of academic meetings, position meetings (including a meeting with Coach Chizik), and the evening festivities. More on that later. Coach Chizik and his wife were great, speaking with us for about 30 minutes. My guy received the offer during this meeting, and he lit up!! It was a great moment. These are the reasons we coach. As a coach, when you feel a kid has worked to become a great player and person, nothing makes you happier than to see the kid given an incredible opportunity. Classic moment! That evening, we went to dinner at the stadium. Another coach came and sat down with us. He and I talked for 30 minutes about Auburn and the Big 12. I picked his brain about Big 12 teams. He picked mine about Auburn. He even asked me what I thought of the returning players at Auburn. These guys are established college coaches, and they are picking my brain about football. It was a great feeling. Saturday night was wonderful for the kids. They went into the locker room, put on jerseys (with their numbers), and went onto the field. It was great. The players were having a blast. Pictures were plentiful. A really big deal was made of this for the players. They were all smiles. Sunday morning was pretty much a "wrapping up" of the visit. However, remember the coach from Friday night at dinner (with his wife), he again asked to sit with us for breakfast. We talked for while before leaving Auburn. Let me say this. It was a great experience. It was first class. We were treated special. You can't ask for more than that. I can honestly say I would want my son to play for those guys. They are energetic, personable, and generally interested in you as a person. That is what it takes to get things done at this level. I firmly believe Auburn is headed in the right direction. I think the pieces are coming together for a great run. If last weekend is any indication, this should be the start of something special. God Bless and War Eagle!!

Coaching Staff

The next few weeks are very important to the future of Auburn football. Not only for the upcoming recruiting class, but for the coaching staff hires made by Gene Chizik. As you have seen over the last year or so, the ability to "get along" is a critical part of building a harmonious staff. Chiz must go after not only the best coaches and recruiters, but the best people as well. Egos can be a big problem in coaching. Most good coaches have one to some extent. The ability to mesh egos into one coaching staff is a vital part of buying into a system. And as we have seen, if the coaches don't "buy in", the players won't. When this happens, teams expecting to contend for titles finish 5-7. So those Auburn fans who simply want the best recruiters on staff? Sit back and allow Coach Chizik to interview, get feedback from those in the business he trust, and hire the best STAFF he can put together. Will some be disappointed he didn't hire "so and so"? Of course. However, if current staff hires are any indication, I think Coach Chiz is moving in the right direction.

Introduction...

The last few months have been interesting for Auburn football to say the least. As we have seen, the coaching profession can often be cut-throat and unpredictable. Tommy Tuberville had a successful ten year run on the plains. However, after a sub-par season in which Auburn was expected to contend for the overall SEC title, Auburn and Coach Tuberville (depending on how you see it) decided it was time to move on. What went wrong this season? What does the future hold for Auburn football under Gene Chizik? Which position(s) must step up in the off-season? What are the most critical aspects of building a coaching staff? These are just a few of the questions that will be answered in the coming months. We would like to provide some of the answers from our point of view. Contributing writers will give you a look at Auburn (and other SEC teams) from a coaching standpoint. Will we always be right? Of course not. However, we will attempt to provide analysis based on our years of coaching experience. We hope this will be an interesting and frequent read for you. War Eagle!