Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Two searches in one? (Now with an UPDATE!)

Well, Auburn’s search for an offensive coordinator could be short and sweet, if the rumors of Tony Franklin’s hiring are true. And they almost certainly are true.

But in the instant-gratification world of the Internet, the offensive coordinator stuff is old news, and will remain so until Franklin is officially hired. After all, the news that Al Borges had resigned came out last night; the rumors about Franklin started almost immediately. And 18 hours is a long time on the Internet.

Which is why we turn to the latest rumors emanating from Arkansas. An Internet site that covers the Hogs reported that Will Muschamp will be Arkansas’ head coach by this time Wednesday, citing “strong sources.”

Forgive me if I’m skeptical. The Arkansas coaching search is the drama that won’t end. But unlike Michigan’s relatively quiet search—gosh, they’ve only been turned down by two or three coaches—Arkansas’ hunt has been plagued by incorrect reports, rampant rumors and a distinct odor of screw-ups. As far as I’m concerned, whoever Arkansas does eventually hire isn’t really the Hogs’ head coach until he’s actually coached a game in September.

Could it be Muschamp? Absolutely. But it’s far from a done deal, and hopefully we’ve all learned better than to swallow every “strongly sourced” report emanating from the Natural State.

UPDATE: ESPN is now reporting that Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino (who used to be at Louisville and apparently has some connection to Auburn, though you hardly ever hear about that, right?) will resign his NFL job and head to Arkansas to become the Razorbacks head coach. The scoop, which comes courtesy of the always-impressive John Clayton, would mark yet another crazy turn in the Arkansas coach search.

Again, I won’t believe it until the Hogs’ season opener in September. But in my book, a report from ESPN is a whole heck of a lot more legitimate than “strong sources” from HawgSports.com.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Much ado, but so far, nothing

Thursday started off as an uneventful day.

Tommy Tuberville left for his Arkansas duck-hunting trip without speaking to Auburn officials or commenting to the press. Auburn officials privately indicated they expected talks to resume later, but by all accounts, Thursday was set to be a slow day.

Then a few Arkansas media outlets jumped the gun.

Their ”scoop”—namely, that Tuberville was on the verge of an agreement with Arkansas to become the Razorbacks’ new head coach. Arkansas news station KNWA-TV was among the first with the story, breaking into programming in its haste to get the story on the air.

In its entirety, the version of the “report” posted on the station’s Web site contained no real facts...just vague statements along these lines:

KNWA firmly believes the Auburn coach is close to an agreement.

If that’s the case, it’s news to Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs. As I wrote in my story in tomorrow’s Opelika-Auburn News, Jacobs hasn’t been contacted by Arkansas officials, who are required by Tuberville’s contract to seek Jacobs’ permission before beginning negotiations.

(Below is a picture of one person who is “shocked, shocked” at the thought that Arkansas and Tuberville might have communicated without clearing it with Jacobs first.)

Now, of course, there are no shortage of questions, and a real drought of answers:

What’s next? After what appears to have been a false alarm, will Arkansas and Tuberville reach a deal? With the Razorbacks pay Auburn the full $6 million buyout specified in Tuberville’s contract? Will Auburn settle for less? With all this in the recent past, can Auburn and Tuberville ever have a workable relationship again?

That, of course, is why we have daily newspapers, not to mention the Internet. Stay tuned.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Coach-Watch 2007

Hurry up and wait.

That’s the motto of all coaching searches and contract negotiations. What’s happening at Auburn’s athletic complex this week doesn’t quite fit either description...the Tigers aren’t looking for a new head coach, and their current one still has four seasons left on his seven-year, $18-million deal.

But there’s plenty of activity here at AU today, with more scheduled for tomorrow.

Tommy Tuberville met with athletic director Jay Jacobs and AU President Jay Gogue early this morning, but the meeting wasn’t exactly an event of earth-shattering significance. The three men mostly discussed the past season and Tuberville’s vision for the future of the program—or so we’re to believe.

The real discussion will take place in the coming days—possibly as soon as Tuesday. The meeting that counts will be one-on-one between Jacobs and Tuberville. Expect Jacobs to offer the coach a raise and presumably a contract extension...the current deal expires in 2011. As I’ve written ad nauseam in the last month, assistant coaches’ contracts and facilities improvements will also be on the table.

Still, I expect Tuberville to stay at AU, as I’ve predicted throughout the ongoing hoopla regarding his future.

There’s no firm information about Tuberville’s plans or possible suitors, but anyone with an Internet connection and a basic knowledge of college football knows Arkansas could be interested in Tuberville if the Hogs part ways with Houston Nutt. Georgia Tech hasn’t displayed any interest in Tuberville, but anything’s possible after the Yellow Jackets cut Chan Gailey loose today. No one has formally contacted Jacobs for permission to speak to Tuberville, a step Tuberville’s contract requires. Nor has anyone expressed interest in paying his $6-million buyout, which may have scared away Texas A&M.

(In case you’ve been under a rock lately, A&M hired Mike Sherman as its head coach, three days after Dennis Franchione stepped down and a month after reports from Texas proclaimed Tuberville was A&M’s “only candidate.” As always, coach-search rumors should be taken with very large grains of salt.)

Monday, November 05, 2007

Tempests, teapots, et cetera

It’s been a big day in the little corner of cyberspace reserved for Auburn news, with lots of talk about Tommy Tuberville’s job status.

But what else is new, right?

The biggest “news” today seems to be the report that Texas A&M is considering a buyout of Dennis Franchione’s contract. My colleague Ross Dellenger (to whom I can’t link for competition-based reasons, but who is very much worth reading everyday) also reported today that Tuberville will be A&M’s first choice.

As “news” goes, these two reports are fresher than “Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo” and “Pearl Harbor attacked.” But not by a whole lot.

Let’s review what we know about this story:

1. It’s been clear for a month that Texas A&M wants to fire Franchione, whose already rocky job status became downright embarrassing when his farcical secret newsletter became public.
2. It’s been clear for at least as long that A&M will want to talk to Tuberville, who spent a year in College Station as a defensive coordinator, about becoming Franchione’s replacement.
3. Tuberville’s AU contract extends through 2011 and has a $6 million buyout.
4. There’s no indication A&M has formally asked for permission to talk to Tuberville.
5. Auburn President Jay Gogue and AD Jay Jacobs plan to discuss Tuberville’s contract at the end of the season, as usual.

As far as I can tell, there haven’t been any new developments in the story. As always when reading about a non-story in the news, the informed reader should wonder who benefits from such speculation. And the answer is the person in demand...in this case, Tuberville, whose price tag rises with every rumor about his chances of departing. The coach isn’t floating these trial balloons himself, of course, and would probably prefer not to be bothered with this “controversy” before the critical final two games of the season. But every story written about Tuberville’s job prospects elsewhere improves his leverage in negotiations with Auburn.

That’s why Tuberville is making wishy-washy noncommittal statements about not wanting to talk about A&M right now, rather than just saying he isn’t interested:

We’re not going to get into that the next two weeks. That would be a headache if we started doing all of those `ifs’ and `ands.’

Of course, the denial from Texas A&M media relations director Alan Cannon is a little silly...does anyone really believe that Texas A&M hasn’t already made its decision?

“There are several false rumors circulating regarding the Texas A&M football program. Bill Byrne has repeatedly said he evaluates his programs at the end of each season and I have received no indication that he has changed his stance.

Dennis Franchione is the head football coach at Texas A&M and is currently working on a game plan to face a Top 10 football team in the Missouri Tigers.”

Good times.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Much ado about nothing

And Cox jogs onto the field for Auburn’s first snap of the third quarter. So much for all that excitement. I wonder if the scare will force Auburn’s coaches to be even more conservative in an effort to protect Cox?

We’ll see.

Moments after I typed that, Cox found Rod Smith open down the sideline for a nice gain on the catch-and-run. Two plays aren’t enough to judge, but it seems as if Al Borges is opening things up a bit to start the third quarter.

Cox underthrows Tommy Trott, who makes a credible effort for the ball but can’t come up with it. What has happened to Auburn’s much-discussed, much-vaunted tight ends?

On third-and-5 from the Ole Miss 25, Cox tried to fire a pass to a covered Cole Bennett, who couldn’t quite make the play. Kutch’s 42-yard field goal wasn’t pretty: A knuckleball that missed wide left. Auburn has to hope Wes Byrum’s quad injury—which wasn’t a topic of discussion during the week—isn’t too serious. Kutch isn’t a long-term solution at place-kicker, which is an extremely important position because of the way Auburn plays.