re: Rumor Steele gone if Gus stays

quote:

---

Same. I did hear he comes with some baggage. Any idea what that might be? I think Justin Hokanson mentioned it.

---

quote:

---

Luke warm on Campbell

---

quote:

---

3 things I think

Malzahn’s future

Will Gus Malzahn be Auburn’s coach in 2020? I don’t know and neither do you. The only person with complete control over that decision is the man himself. If Malzahn beats Alabama, why should Auburn fire him? Why should the athletics department pay him $27 million to leave a program the he has led to multiple wins against Alabama and has a chance to reach 10 wins against Jeff Sagarin’s toughest schedule in the country?

The only way Malzahn is not the coach next season with a win against Alabama is if he high-tails it for Arkansas and, well, I wouldn’t blame him he headed “home.” The writing seems to be on the wall at Auburn, where power brokers are constantly looking for a way to get rid of the man. I’m not here to argue whether that’s the right or wrong decision. Here’s what I do know: high emotions lead to fiscally irresponsible decisions. Look no further than the seven-year, $49 million deal then-president Steven Leath rewarded Gus Malzahn in 2017. Victories against then-No. 1 Alabama and Georgia seemed fantastic at the time. Then Auburn lost to Georgia in the rematch in the SEC title game, and Alabama and Georgia still got what it wanted and met in the national championship game. By the time January rolled on the calendar and Auburn lost to UCF in the Peach Bowl, Auburn fans were already upset with the new contract.

Argue all you want about the salary, which will rise above $7 million per year The issue for Auburn — and at most programs in college football — is the buyout. Why on Earth is a school guaranteeing 75 percent of a seven-year contract? Why schools do not believe they have leveraging power in negotiations — particularly top-15 programs like Auburn — is beyond my understanding. Maybe it’s time athletics directors and presidents hire negotiators to handle these deals instead of bending to the will of coaches for fear they’ll leave for another program.

Wanna leave for Arkansas? Go for it. You’re not gonna win a championship there. Auburn will win that staring contest every time, no matter the buyout.

What I’m saying is this: if a coach wants to leave, they’ll leave. But if a school wants to fire a coach, it’s like pulling teeth. And that’s the schools’ fault for doing whatever agents want in negotiations. Say all you want about the market, but I don’t believe the market is the same for top-15 programs capable of contending for national championships. They should hold the power, not the agents.

So, where does that leave Auburn, which will owe Malzahn $27 million if administrators fire him? No one knows, even the rich folks who want him gone last year, yesterday and today.

Who’s in charge? I’m not so sure. I don’t believe athletics director Allen Greene has the final say. Should this thing reach a fever pitch like it almost did last year, my feeling is interim president Jay Gogue, who likes to stay out of the way of athletics, may have to intervene and be a calming presence in the rough waters. Leadership is needed in times like this and, well, I’m not seeing it. All I hear is complaining, rumblings in rooms filled with cigar smoke, dreams written on napkins and a fan base obsessed with more Jimmy Sexton ghost stories.

What happens? I believe Malzahn will ultimately decide his own fate. I don’t believe he wants to leave Auburn, and if he’s fired after beating Alabama, the school would look awfully silly — and would pay quite the price with its image. Firing him after an eight-win season and rewarding him $27 million without an elite replacement in your back pocket would be ridiculed, too.

It’s all a gamble, sure, but the decisions are pretty simple when less people are involved.


There will come a time when the two sides grow tired of this internal battle. Malzahn might be smart to jet today if he can, but he’s so obsessed with winning a championship, it would take a soul-searching moment and sudden re-adjustment of his career goals for him to leave Auburn for another program, even if the pressure is on and no one at Auburn likes him. After all, why voluntarily leave a place you’ve proven you can win a title, especially when the school owes you $27 million?

Also, I'm not so sure Arkansas wants him as badly as some believe.

Malzahn has the power. Not the athletics department.

You can thank Steven Leath and Jimmy Sexton for that — for better or worse.

So, talk all you want. Until someone devises the perfect plan (raise money for the buyout and find the perfect replacement), Novembers at Auburn will continue to sound like emotional friends trash-talking at a fantasy football draft.

---

quote:

---

quote:
Same. I did hear he comes with some baggage. Any idea what that might be? I think Justin Hokanson mentioned it.


I couldn't give less of a frick.

---