Andrew GribbleAuburn University beat reporter
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Just got back to the ‘Burn with 10 minutes to spare for Ted Roof’s teleconference with the liberal media. We sacrificed a shower and a quality meal of food to make that happen.
Here are some notable quotes from your new Auburn defensive coordinator. In a shocking development, he believes in stopping the run, sure tacklin’ and fundamental football.
Also, some foreshadowing to keep you reading. Playing Auburn = a rubber hose beating.
What position(s) will you be in charge of?
Coach (Gene) Chizik and I have had discussions about that and we’re going to continue to work through that and coach has not made a decision regarding that that I’m aware of.
What’s your philosophy, Ted?
I think still coaching defensive football, even with the evolution of the throwing game, I think you’ve still got to be able to stop the run to win football games. I know that’s the truth in the SEC. What you got to do is try to get people off kilter with going after folks and being aggressive and try to make teams one-dimensional so you can get creative on defense. It’s not the schemes that win and lose for you, it’s the players that you recruit and that you develop.
At the same time, you’re only going to be as good as your base defense and youyr fundamentals allow you to be. Because when you get in that thunderstorm, you’ve got to have a place you call home. Your base defense and playing fundamental football, just throwing blocks and getting off blocks and tacklin’ and pursuit angles, all the things that seem so elementary to some people but are really the differences between winning and losing.
When did you hear from Coach Gene?
When we got back form our bowl game (The Insight Bowl), I was out to lunch with our head coach up here in Minnesota, Tim Brewster, and he got a call from coach Chizik asking for permission to speak with me. And then the next day I talked to coach and we arranged for me to come down and visit with him. Flew into Atlanta (They’ve caught onto our airport stalking ways) on Sunday night, drove over on Monday night and finalized the situation yesterday.
What do you remember about Auburn football?
Dating back to my days as a player, my memories aren’t very good of playing against Auburn. Back when they were running the bone, they were the most physical football team that we played year in and year out.
I made this comment to Coach Dye, when you got done playing Auburn it felt like somebody had taken a rubber hose and just beat you with. Back when they ran the bone and kept pounding you. As a football player you always respect the physical teams, the teams that hit you in the mouth.
Over the years, there’s been a lot of coaches and a lot of great players there that have been very successful. The element that always sticks out in my mind is when I think of Auburn, I think of physical football, tough and hard-nosed.
How much control will you have over the defense you are paid to coordinate?
Coach Chizik is the head coach and he has the right to involve himself and be involved in every aspect of the program, which most head coaches do and I’m sure he will as well. I look at it as a real plus to have a guy with a defensive background that Gene has and all his expertise that he brings to his staff and to the table. I’m looking forward to working with him.
Andrew GribbleAuburn University beat reporter
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Nearly four hours after Minnesota officially said good bye to Ted Roof, Auburn has finally given the new defensive coordinator his official “Welcome back to the South.“
Here are some quotes from Roof and the man who hired him, your new head football coach, Gene Chizik.
“I’m very excited to be a part of the Auburn football family and work for an individual in Coach Chizik that has had a tremendous amount of success,” Roof said. “There have been a lot of great players and coaches come through Auburn and I’m excited to become a part of the rich and storied tradition of Auburn University and its football program.”
“Ted has a wealth of experience and success as a defensive coach, and philosophically, we think alike,” Chizik said. “He is a high-energy individual who is involved in every aspect of the defense. Ted took a Minnesota defense and made dramatic improvements in his one year as defensive coordinator. It was a defense that was very physical and aggressive, and created a lot of turnovers. Being from Georgia, Ted has spent a great deal of his career coaching in the South and is very familiar with this league.”
I’m currently in Mob City (Mobile) checking out Auburn’s new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and the fancy, fast-paced—but still smashmouth—offense that earned him his new job and a likely significant pay boost. He certainly made a good first impression in his final game with Tulsa, as quarterback David Johnson connected with Damaris Johnson (not related) for a 30-yard touchdown pass on the Golden Hurricane’s fourth play from scrimmage.
I will (hopefully) be chatting with Malzahn after the game. Look for a brief synopsis of tonight’s action in tomorrow’s OA-News, as a tight deadline will prevent me from getting too in-depth, or even any quotes, into Wednesday’s edition. Look for much more detail, and some Malzahn-speak, in Thursday’s paper.
Tim CottrellSports Writer/Designer
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1. here’s today’s column. it is terrible.
2. Here’s my GMAC Bowl pick: Tulsa 48, Ball State 31
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