Link to Pat Dye Interview on Finebaum Radio Network

http://www.finebaum.com/media/archives/show/20081217_PFRN_Hour1.mp3 Listen to 1st
http://www.finebaum.com/media/archives/show/20081217_PFRN_Hour2.mp3 Listen to 2nd

This is a very good interview on the Paul Finebaum radio network. If you have doubts about Coach Gene Chizik, this may make you feel a little better. It doesn't take long to load at all. Very good quality! Check it out and then comment on it. This will clear some things up a little.

WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coach Chizik and Auburn Get Their First Signee

Coach Gene Chizik got his first signed letter of intent from Juco defensive lineman Nick Fairley. Quick job from CGC. He has only been the coach for a couple of days and is already showing us something. This is only one signee, but let's hope he can go out and shore up all of the other commitments that CTT had, and add some more. Fairley is 6 foot 4, 295 lbs, and runs a 4.89 40 yard dash. He seems to be a good signee that can add some more depth to Auburn's experienced defensive line next year.

On another note, Auburn President Jay Gouge claims that he was "surprised" at the initial negative reaction to the hiring of CGC. I don't know why he is so surprised! Not many people in the Auburn family saw this one coming. In fact, not many people at all even wanted this hire to come.

Charles Barkley came public this week on the hire of CGC. He claims that Auburn hired CGC for the main issue of race. He says that if Chizik was black, he wouldn't have even gotten an interview. My opinion: Barkley, get a grip. I'm tired of no matter what happens you pull the race card. I understand that you think it is unfair, but you are making not only Auburn, but the whole STATE of Alabama look bad with your smart little comments. These comments have been all over ESPN, and the whole country is aware of the comments. The main reason, in my opinion, Chizik has been hired is his connections with Auburn and his familiarity with the area around Auburn. I don't think race played a roll at all.

Charles Barkley-Go play in some traffic
Coach Gene Chizik-Happy Recruiting

That's all I have for today...............................................WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

War Chizik?

Gene Chizik? Really? After 10 days of waiting, 10 days of speculation, and 10 days of Jay Jacobs interviewing any person that has a heart beat and breaths, the search is over. Gene Chizik is Auburn's new Head Coach. I know, I know, 5-19 in two years as a head coach. I know, 2-10 this season with a 10 game losing streak, I have heard it all. Calm down, calm down, it's not going to be that bad. It is kind of hard to get excited when he has that kind of record, but look at what he did at Auburn. In 2004, his defense allowed only 11 points per game, and the team was 13-0. The next year, he was the defensive coordinator at Texas where they were 13-0 with a national title. His streak ended the next year at 29 games. The man knows how to win. Before we start putting him down and throwing him under the bus, lets give him a chance.

What I have heard about him so far, and what I have seen so far has been positive. I have read a couple of things about him from people who have coached around him that have said he is a very good coach that is fiery and knows how to win. This could be just what Auburn needs. Sunday night, he met with all of the assistants. He told them all to look for other jobs. A lot of Auburn fans (not I) wanted a major change, and this is what we are getting. Lets hope he gets out there and hires some big time coordinators to help with recruiting, we're going to need it. He also met with HIS team Sunday. He said "Don't be worried. This isn't a rebuilding thing. I'm not going to start from the ground up. We're coming out next year and we're going to be a lot better football team." I like the way that sounds. He sounds very determined and ready to get to work. Watching the video of his arrival he seemed very excited. He gave everyone a WAR EAGLE and said he was happy to be back at Auburn.

I don't know about everyone else, but so far so good. HC Chizik has done nothing wrong at Auburn, and until he does he has my support. All of you Auburn fans that are ready to jump ship can go ahead. We don't want you! Everyone else, lets support him and give him a warm welcome! That's all I have for today...........................................WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Search For a New Coach

When will the madness stop? How much longer will we have to wait before a new coach is named? Personally, I don't care how long they take as long as they get the right guy in there. Whoever he is, he must be able to continue and improve on what Tuberville has done for the past 10 years. That means: produce players of character and professionals. Players that not only get the chance to go pro in football, but also get a degree in the process. He did it the right way like few people do these days in this league.

On with the SFNC (Search For a New Coach):
Rumors are going around that South Carolina HC Steve Spurrier is one of the candidates for the job. Very interesting............Among all time SEC coaches, especially in the last 10-15 years, Spurrier is one of the biggest names. He could possibly consider this job. He may be frustrated at South Carolina. I don't know if he still has it in him to win in this league. He definitely knows what it takes, but can he do what it takes? I don't know. He has had a couple of years going 7-5 or somewhere around there and just isn't winning at USC. Hiring him would be HUGE for the school and is one of the few names that could come in and compete with Satan. I personally wouldn't like the hire because the man is 62 years old and more than likely wouldn't stay long.

That's all I have for today.............................WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEC Championship Game Predictions

What a match-up we are going to see. The power running game of Alabama vs. the high scoring fast paced spread offense of Florida. This is possibly the biggest SEC Championship game of all time. This game is much like that of a playoff's semi-final game. The winner cements its place in the national championship game and the loser goes to the Sugar Bowl. This is going to be good. Let's look at the match-ups on both sides of the ball:

Offense:
Two completely different philosophies. Florida likes to spread the ball out and get down the field quick. Alabama likes to line up and hit you in the mouth and eat up the clock. Running game: Florida is ranked 10th in the league in rushing offense, Alabama is ranked 22nd. Both teams are equally good in this department, but I give Florida the advantage because of the speed they have on offense. Passing offense: Florida is ranked 61st here, Alabama is ranked 97th. I give the advantage to Florida here because of Tim Tebow and his amazing ability to find a way to spread out the ball to everyone on the team. Scoring offense: Florida is ranked 3rd, Alabama is ranked 28th. I don't see any advantage here. Florida gets the advantage as far as quickness, Alabama gets the advantage when it comes to time of possession. Overall advantage: I give the Offensive advantage to Florida.

Defense:
The two best defensive teams in the SEC. Both teams are very good on this side of the ball. Rushing Defense: Alabama is ranked 3rd, Florida is ranked 12th. I give Alabama the advantage here. Mt. Cody is a beast. Passing Defense: Florida is ranked 17th, Alabama is ranked 20th. Florida has the numbers but I give the advantage to Alabama. Their cornerbacks and safties know how to make a play on the ball and knock it down. Scoring Defense: Alabama is ranked 3rd, Florida is ranked 4th. I don't really see an advantag here, but I saw first hand last week, it is hard to score on Alabama. Advantage goes to Alabama. Overall: I give the Defensive advantage to Alabama.

Special Teams:
Florida is very good on Special Teams. Punt Returns: Florida is ranked 7th, Alabama is ranked 13th. I give an equal advantage here. Both teams are very good at returning punts. Florida is ranked 58th, Alabama is ranked 106th. I give the advantage to Florida. Turnover Margin: Florida is ranked 1st, Alabama is ranked 21st. I give the advantage to Florida. Watching them, they are very good at forcing turnovers and do not commit very many. Alabama is very good also, Florida just does it more often.

Overall:
This is going to be a very good game that is going to come down to the 4th quarter. I believe it is going to be a pretty high scoring game which plays to Florida's advantage. Both teams can score points, but Florida can score a ton of points. I think Florida's speed will be a huge part of this game. My prediction: Florida-31 Alabama-23

I am excited about this game! Any football fan should be excited! I would not be surprised to see either team win this game. I would not be surprised to see either team break the game open and win big. Whoever wins this game, it is going to be a good game. That's all I have for now...................WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Favorite Candidate For the Head Coaching Job

• I have to say that at this point, there is no way to know who really is a candidate and who isn't. Looking at all the names out there to this point, I have decided who my favorite candidate is. That candidate would be Paul Johnson out of Georgia Tech. He would be a perfect fit at Auburn. It took him only one year to turn the program at GT around. I love watching his option attack run all over defenses. This is who I want to be the new head coach at Auburn! However, there is one problem. He has only been at Georgia Tech for one year, and it would probably be pretty hard to pry him away.

Another of my favorite coaches among those being mentioned is Chris Peterson out of Boise State. He is only a HC in the WAC, but his team is constantly undefeated. Seems to be a very good coach and man to my knowledge. I like the way his team plays, they are very consistant and win games. He could be a very good head coach.

On the other hand, I have thought about it overnight and have come to the conclusion that the next Auburn HC will probably be Mike Leach. After finding out that Washington is apparantly going to name USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian head coach, I got to thinking and it seems as though all signs are pointing to Leach as the next HC. I am still trying to decide if I really want him to be the coach. If Leach could retain Paul Rhodes as DC, I would like it a lot better. Imagine Texas Tech's offense with a Paul Rhodes defense! That team would be very hard to beat.

Among some of the other possibilites for the job are:

• Will Muschamp (Texas): Don't see him coming. I think he likes it at Texas, and he is Head Coach in waiting.
• Bobby Petrino (Arkansas): Has only been at Arkansas for one year and has a clause in his contract that says he can not go to another SEC West school. That means no!
• Steve Spurrier (South Carolina): Seriously? I don't know about this one. Would be a huge hire that would likely bring many recruits with him. I think his last coaching gig is South Carolina. I just don't see where there is any chance he leaves.

No matter who Auburn chooses to be the next coach, I will support them. Jay Jacobs said today in the press conference over and over again that they would "choose the coach that best fits in with the Auburn family." I hope he lives up to his word and does just that. That is all I have for you today............................WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuberville OUT as Auburn Head Coach

10 years, 80-45, one SEC championship, 13-0 in 2004 in the toughest conference in college football, 6 wins in a row vs. our biggest rival, the best record in the SEC since 2000........................What a run it has been with ex-coach (that sounds weird) Tommy Tuberville. I don't know what I am going to do next year when I go to an Auburn game and slap a different coaches had at the Tiger walk. I am going to miss those days. I really am! Auburn could not have had a better coach at the school the last 10 years. The way he conducted himself, kept his players out of trouble, and communicated with the media very well. With all that said, I accept the decision made by athletics director Jay Jacobs and university president Jay Gouge. I don't like it at all, but I do however accept it. The main thing I do not understand is who they plan on coming in. Surely they have talked to someone and it should not take long to name the new head coach. I say this because when you fire a coach like Tuberville, you must have someone in mind. There have been two coaches that have been rumored to have been contacted:

Mike Leach, Texas Tech: Good coach, nut head, could be a good hire. This is one of the few big names out there. I personally don't like him all that much because I like to see good defense and with Leach, you are not going to have that good of a defense. He is 4-12 against his big rivals in the Big 12. Do we really want that at Auburn? I don't! I want a proven winner.

Bobby Petrino, Arkansas: This is the man that was contacted in jet gate before the iron bowl in 2003. I think he is a very good coach, but he has only been at Arkansas for 1 year. It is going to be hard to get him away from there, but who knows.

Sad day for me. All we can do from here is wait and see what goes on. That's all I have for today................................................WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!