Auburn alumni and fans are tired of the same people running and ruining the football program over and over again.
For years, Auburn has been branded to the world as a family, but really it’s more of an avaricious autocracy where only big money talks.
When it comes to decisions regarding football, only a select group of individuals seem to be heard and whatever they say goes.
These individuals are notorious for sticking their dirty little hands where they don’t belong, and now they have single-handedly converted Auburn’s head coaching search into a clown show. They’re doing it all for the sake of control and access to exclusive perks that neither you nor I will ever see. Not because they love Auburn. Ego fragility at its finest.
We’re witnessing a coup of epic proportions on The Plains. Before Gus Malzahn was fired on Sunday, these guys knew who they wanted and they wouldn’t need to go far to find him. They had their eyes set on Kevin Steele because, according to them, Steele has the characteristics Auburn needs to revert back to the old glory days of the 1980s.
It’s not like football has advanced or anything in the last 40 years. Auburn facilities sure haven’t. As I said before, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why Auburn continues to fall behind other SEC schools in recruiting battles. Since 1989, Auburn football practice facilities have been located at the Auburn Athletics Complex, which is shared by numerous sports. Auburn football is ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in terms of facilities, and its new football-only complex, which should have been a brainchild a long time ago, is set for completion in 2022.
On Tuesday, athletic director Allen Greene and President Jay Gogue announced the university had established an advisory committee who would cooperate with the Parker Executive Search Firm out of Atlanta to assist in finding Auburn’s next head coach. It was also around this time the public found out Greene would have virtually zero say in selecting Auburn’s next head coach, and the decision would fall to the hands of the big money boosters and ultimately Gogue himself.
This charade between these three boosters and Auburn University is so predictable it’s worse than a Hallmark Christmas movie. By Wednesday, the apathetic fan grew enraged when it was revealed the boosters planned to shove the hiring of Steele down their throats. The news ignited a revolution. By midnight on Thursday, #StopSteele was trending on Twitter, and Auburn players past and present began making it clear who they wanted to see as Auburn’s next head coach.
Here we are six days removed from the firing of Gus Malzahn. It’s been revealed current Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is lined up to interview on Sunday. Louisiana head coach Billy Napier and Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliot are also scheduled to meet with Auburn in the coming days. But it’s also been reinforced that the “good ol’ boy” boosters are 110% committed to hiring Steele.
Hiring Steele reaffirms the message Auburn isn’t a family, but an institution run by the good ol’ boy system. The ramifications of this will be immediate. Greene will probably run for the hills. I mean, could you blame him? Two players have entered the transfer portal this week while recruiting is in shambles. Oh, and an already lethargic fan base will plunge even further into the depths of disinterest.
We were tired in 2003 after Bobby Lowder’s “JetGate.” We were tired in 2008 after Jay Jacobs escorted a head coach with a 5-19 record into Auburn to the chorus of, “We want a leader not a loser!”
We’re outright exhausted now.
