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Pat Dye question : What led to the gradual decline of Auburn after 1989?
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:26 am
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:26 am
Dye was an excellent football coach and had things humming at max capacity by the late 80's.
1986 : 10-2
1987 : 9-1-2 (SEC Champs)
1988 : 10-2 (SEC Co-Champs)
1989 : 10-2 (SEC Co-Champs)
4 straight Top 10 finishes, 3 straight SEC Championships, 21-4-1 in the SEC over 4 years.
Then, from 1990 to 1992 Auburn went 18-14-2, 8-12-2 in the SEC and Dye was relieved.
Obviously, the NCAA issues were there, but what was the biggest issue in the play on the field dropping off so drastically those last 2 seasons? Was it talent, assistants, Dye losing his tough, some of those + NCAA distractions?
I was a young, young pup back then so I don't remember specifics of these types of things and never really knew what the general sentiment was for the end of the Dye era football wise (only the NCAA stuff).
1986 : 10-2
1987 : 9-1-2 (SEC Champs)
1988 : 10-2 (SEC Co-Champs)
1989 : 10-2 (SEC Co-Champs)
4 straight Top 10 finishes, 3 straight SEC Championships, 21-4-1 in the SEC over 4 years.
Then, from 1990 to 1992 Auburn went 18-14-2, 8-12-2 in the SEC and Dye was relieved.
Obviously, the NCAA issues were there, but what was the biggest issue in the play on the field dropping off so drastically those last 2 seasons? Was it talent, assistants, Dye losing his tough, some of those + NCAA distractions?
I was a young, young pup back then so I don't remember specifics of these types of things and never really knew what the general sentiment was for the end of the Dye era football wise (only the NCAA stuff).
This post was edited on 7/31/17 at 11:37 am
17
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:28 am to SummerOfGeorge
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:29 am to SummerOfGeorge
1992 was my first year at Auburn and really my first as a fan, so I really couldn't tell you 
I will say it had an effect on the athletic department and affected my racing career personally. They were very careful the next couple years with every sport.
quote:
hat the general sentiment was for the end of the Dye era football wise (only the NCAA stuff).
I will say it had an effect on the athletic department and affected my racing career personally. They were very careful the next couple years with every sport.
This post was edited on 7/31/17 at 11:31 am
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:30 am to DuncanIdaho
quote:
1992 was my first year at Auburn and really my first as a fan, so I really couldn't tell you
We need to get the wise old ones in here to edumacate us Duncan.
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:38 am to SummerOfGeorge
i like how the "gradual decline" of two years stopped right before the undefeated season 
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:40 am to HailToTheChiz
quote:
i like how the "gradual decline" of two years stopped right before the undefeated season
Well that's another interesting layer - was it just a bad 2 year string?
This wasn't a flame thread it was a serious question - Dye was consistent in his brand of football and his success. Then 1991 and 1992 were ugly seasons, and combined with the NCAA issues he was gone. However, like you pointed out, his roster went undefeated for Tiny in 1993.
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:41 am to SummerOfGeorge
quote:
Then 1991 and 1992 were ugly seasons, and combined with the NCAA issues he was gone. However, like you pointed out, his roster went undefeated for Tiny in 1993.
Maybe that was the start of Auburn being Auburn?
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:44 am to SummerOfGeorge
Posted on 7/31/17 at 11:48 am to Riseupfromtherubble
Honestly I think a lot was the distractions with the NCAA stuff which included interviews on 60 minutes and all the other crap that came with it. I still remember even after all that Ramsey still wanted to come walk at graduation and I believe he did.
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:01 pm to SummerOfGeorge
quote:
Well that's another interesting layer - was it just a bad 2 year string?
This wasn't a flame thread it was a serious question - Dye was consistent in his brand of football and his success. Then 1991 and 1992 were ugly seasons, and combined with the NCAA issues he was gone. However, like you pointed out, his roster went undefeated for Tiny in 1993.
Most likely just a bump in the road, caused by the distraction of all of the stuff swirling around.
Now only did the team go 11-0 in '93, they followed it up with a 9-1-1 (6-1-1) season in '94, including knocking off a #1 Florida team in the Swamp. The next two years were 8-4 when adding in bowl games, and then '97 won the west.
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:02 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Just like the rest of the league, Spurrier happened. The SEC was a defensive league prior to that. AU had some success with Bowden because of his Offense, he just couldn't recruit.
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:02 pm to SummerOfGeorge
He and his staff got busted for paying players.
edit: and lack of institutional control
edit: and lack of institutional control
This post was edited on 7/31/17 at 12:03 pm
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:05 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Not trolling just speculating, but like the Bear maybe alcohol abuse starting catching up?
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:05 pm to Irons Puppet
quote:
AU had some success with Bowden because of his Offense, he just couldn't recruit.
He just didn't want to recruit "the Auburn way"
"Everything changed within his first week. An assistant coach from the previous staff, whom Bowden was told he had to retain, walked into his office and placed a black ledger on his desk. It was a list of players who were being paid.
This is how we do it around here, Bowden was told."
LINK
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:06 pm to SummerOfGeorge
I think you are looking at a transition period. Dye was a Bear clone, and the old guard of coaching. Early 90s saw the initial start to O coaches (Spurrier, Bowden at FSU, Nebraska with that powerful ground game, etc). Dye, Stallings, etc were D first, and three runs and punt O.
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:11 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Problem actually started in 1981, when Dye insisted they name him AD so he could be just like Bryant at Bama. He was able to handle it early on, but the pressure began to get to him and he really wasn't capable of handling running the entire department and being HC at the same time.
His drinking exacerbated his liver ailment (hematochromatosis) beginning around '89 or 90, and severe health issues coupled with the Ramsey stuff at the same time (not to mention his failing marriage) took away his competitive edge. That, and the arrival of Spurrier and his new brand of offense, and the collapse on the field was inevitable (obviously the talent was still there, as Bowden's early success proved).
His drinking exacerbated his liver ailment (hematochromatosis) beginning around '89 or 90, and severe health issues coupled with the Ramsey stuff at the same time (not to mention his failing marriage) took away his competitive edge. That, and the arrival of Spurrier and his new brand of offense, and the collapse on the field was inevitable (obviously the talent was still there, as Bowden's early success proved).
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:16 pm to FearlessFreep
Good stuff - thanks.
This post was edited on 7/31/17 at 12:17 pm
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:25 pm to Huddie Leadbetter
quote:
quote:
AU had some success with Bowden because of his Offense, he just couldn't recruit.
He just didn't want to recruit "the Auburn way"
"Everything changed within his first week. An assistant coach from the previous staff, whom Bowden was told he had to retain, walked into his office and placed a black ledger on his desk. It was a list of players who were being paid.
This is how we do it around here, Bowden was told."
Which was bullshite by Bowden. The coach in question was Wayne Hall (ex-Bryant player and Bama alum), he had nothing to do with the system. He might have known about it , but the on the field coaches kept their hands out of it. It was going on at Alabama at the same time, the difference is the fact Bama paid recruits (see Logan Young). Bowden thought his system trumped talent, which it did the first two years.
This post was edited on 7/31/17 at 12:27 pm
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:34 pm to Irons Puppet
quote:
Just like the rest of the league, Spurrier happened.
Dang, I hate to agree with Irons Puppet, but he makes a good point.
In 1989, Florida was coached by Galen Hall/Gary Darnell and Alabama was coached by Bill Curry. One year later those guys were replaced by Steve Spurrier and Gene Stallings.
Overnight, the schedule got a WHOLE lot tougher.
Posted on 7/31/17 at 12:36 pm to Irons Puppet
quote:
the difference is the fact Bama paid recruits
Link to Bama paying a recruit.
Difficulty: Albert Means never got a dime from Logan Young or anyone else associated with Alabama.
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