High expectations are Auburn's way

Thanks Philip. Great summation of the job at hand. We definitely have one of the best facilities any coach could ever want for most every sport in the country. We seem to have fairly deep pockets to cover any need within the program. We have PASSIONATE fans who really care. So, why is it that we are so average to poor across the board right now? How long will we milk the national championship of 2010? I claim to have no answers, if I did I would be applying for a job there, but surely someone does. All I know is that when a job demands high productivity and results, then the patience with sub-par results is very thin -- just ask our former football coach. A successful organization is successful not only because of facilities and money, but because of top-tier leadership. Oh well, off the soap box ... and War Eagle all day long.

Someone needs to insist that the "obstacles" to winning be removed; that is, the ones that Auburn can remove. If that takes a new AD, so be it. There is absolutely no reason for any of that coming from within Auburn University.

I get so tired of people saying that the AD doesn't make the tackles or baskets or hit a baseball. It's all small parts of a whole. The AD needs to be held accountable when all of our major sports programs are severly struggling. I'm tired of people making excuses for JJ. The athletic department lacks leadership.

Well, maybe they should fire the Governor. He's chairman of the board. Seriously, if JJ had resigned last year, do you think Auburn would have beaten Vandy last night? If you are right, and all Auburn's problems lie at the feet of Jacobs, then who do you hire, and what would you expect the new AD to do differently? Do you favor hiring a new AD who would fire all the coaches and start over? We are all frustrated because we don't really know why Auburn is losing. It could be so simple as in the case of basketball, Vandy's players are a little better and made the shots. In football, it could be that Auburn had no one who could play QB or linebacker at SEC level and that was just enough to lose close games. At this point, I am saddened to say, championships are no longer our goal. We just want a winning season. That makes us more like Vandy, KY, Miss ST, Ole Miss, TN, than LSU, Alabama, Florida, etc. Maybe we would all feel better if the AD quit, but I don't know that things would change. War Eagle.

Spot on. Old Tiger's perspective comes from the bleachers, not from the perspective that the athletic department is a business, needs to be run like a business, and the leader needs to be held accountable for the business. Jacobs should have been shown the door a long time ago.

the process has quietly begun and a new day is coming

I you had read any of my previous posts, you would have seen that I never blamed JJ for an individual loss. I blame JJ for the overall state of the program. There are plenty of quality leaders that would love to be Auburn's AD. I do not think that Auburn would have any trouble finding a good AD. I want a AD that is a visionary, a dynamic leader and somebody that will do whatever it takes to win and I'm not referring to breaking any rules. JJ does not seem fully committed to winning. He hired a 5-19 coach because he was his buddy, not because he was qualified for the job. He has been known to run off great coaches that are worldly renowned, such as David Marsh. I thought that PD was a great AD because he had the guts to move the Iron Bowl to Auburn, which was a bold move. He also knew that playing at Legion Field was to bama's advantage and he put Auburn on a level playing field with bama. He hired Hal Baird, which turned out to be a great hire for the baseball program. Our basketball program was always competive during the 80's and always made postseason play. JJ has hired 5 major coaches since he's been at Auburn, 1 was just fired, 2 are on the hot seat, and 2 are in their first season. Auburn people shoud NEVER want just a winning season, Auburn people should always have championship expectations. You can bury your head in the sand all that want (if that makes you feel better), but JJ has proven that he is an inadequate leader and that Auburn would be a lot better off without him.