re: Fire roper and special teams coach

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Thank you Sulli ... I lurked every day.

We got on a little win streak there and I held off posting for fear of jinxing the ministreak.

Who are y'all focusing on to replace Bret? I keep hearing Gus bit man oh man ....

Anyways, I kinda hated to see Bret get fired walming off the field. How did you feel about that? He bit off more than he could chew at Arkansas but he was a likeable guy for sure.

David Williams had a decent year along the way too I guess? Or did he? What did you think about him?

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Williams ran very well for us. As bad as this season was it would have been far worse if we didn't have him to get the tough yards. It was a running back by committee this year for us or he probably would have gotten more touches.

From what I understand our interim AD Julie "da hammer" Cromer Peoples pulled him into his office just off the field and fired him there. Evidently they wanted to give him a chance to tell the team in person rather then have to phone everyone since the players were all going home for the weekend to be with family.

As to who we want for our next HC... the only name I haven't heard so far is Steve Spurrier. The big money boosters really want Malzahn but it doesn't look like we are going to get him. Norvell out of Memphis, Leach, and... God help us... Lane Kiffin appear to be at the top of the heap right now.

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No idea why he's there (probably got offered a ton to move) but I would certainly take a look at him.

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Weird situation, with a lot of "looks bad, but that is misleading" parts involved

Narrative as best I know/understand + relatively close to general consensus opinion

Rhett Lashlee has been "under Gus' wing/in Gus' shadow" from playing HS for Gus, playing CFB for Gus and coaching all but 1YR for Gus

Gus' offense, like all offenses, need to innovate/adapt to D responses. Gus' coaching staff (Rhett, Horton, Hand) all have extensive experience with Gus so no one really challenging Gus' ideas or in position to override Gus. When in your parents house, you obey their rules.

AU, with a connection to UConn AD David Benedict, found a soft landing spot for Lashlee to run his own show. It was the right move for both Gus/Rhett, even if perception looks bad. At UConn, Lashlee took a garbage situation and made a significant improvement. The RS SR QB w/ concussion problems had his best year while UConn's offense made improvements with many FR contributors in YR1 of the offense

It was the right move for both Lashlee + Gus, as it gave both the opportunity to innovate the offense and add fresh ideas they weren't getting together at AU.

Pros of hiring Lashlee

-Lashlee/Gus system, the foundation of the system is great. It is extremely difficult to defend except by very talented or well-coached teams

-Lashlee is a good recruiter, but relative to OCs he is great maybe even elite due to his involvement on the trail. By coordinator standards, Lashlee hit the trail hard and had involvement w/ both O + D recruits.

-Lashlee normally elevates the play of his players. You typically see better than expected results from many Lashlee players, especially QB/RB

-Lashlee + Bentley familiarity: Lashlee has a great relationship with the Bentleys already. They should be a great fit together


Cons of hiring Lashlee
-Limited "resume" in terms of running the show
-Still figuring out his interpretation of the Gus offense
-History of very very poor QB evals
-Ability to add complex passing schemes, the limitation at Auburn (maybe Gus' weakness )

Final Thoughts

Lashlee is definitely closer to "high risk, high reward" category than many experienced, known quantity OC candidates. That said, given Jake Bentley + Bentley's familiarity w/ Lashlee, some of the risk is mitigated.

If I was a USCe fan though, I would view Lashlee as a great option and good hire if he is indeed hired.

Thanks man. Appreciate your insight

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If I was a USCe fan though, I would view Lashlee as a great option and good hire if he is indeed hired.

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This is who may favorite was from the start.

And even after he moved to Uconn around that time I had been wanting him for a while.

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Would you say Clemson has passing complexity? I don't.

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Complexity wouldn't be necessarily the right word. Maybe Dynamic? Compared to Gus/Rhett at AU though? Absolutely.

I'm talking basic stuff like very limited route concepts/route trees, no RPOs, 1 receiver read passing. There also are concerns with QB mechanics development, Sean White's footwork

If you could limit Auburn's run game without having to stack the box past few years, force AU to beat you through the air.... well Auburn would just add one to the L column