The Bodda Getta

The one who wears AU on his chest, visor and most importantly....in his heart!

War Eagle!

I can tell you that none of them truly have Auburn in their heart.. you have to remember that this is a job to them.. they get paid to produce for AU... if a better opportunity comes along they will be gone... that is how it should be.. not to say that some will be always hold a place like AU dear to their heart but none of them including CGC are in love with Auburn.. they are in love with them paychecks.. LOL.. like i said this is not a bash it is simply how it is everywhere.. and it should be this way... now to the question..

My favorite has to be CGM.. what this guy came in and done with the AU offense in just 2 short seasons is incredible.. he just simply dominates defenses.. leaves DC's scratching their heads.. will be missed when he is gone.. never will be another Gus...

Malzahn. Because he learns what each player does best and then develops a role for that player to concentrate on. He develops an offensive strategy that only plays to his players strengths.

Not to mention his in game playcalling and pre-snap play changes. He is the most innovative OC that I have ever seen.

Coach Gustav Malzahn is simply the BEST COACH in the country! Rocker would be a close 2nd.

Would you care to tell Coach Tracy Rocker he doesn't truly have Auburn in his heart? Regardless of if he left Auburn to advance his career, I feel you must exclude him from this statement.

I will always love Pat Dye. I grew to love the game of football with him lurking the sidelines in his navy sportcoat, orange and blue striped tie, and those Nikes. His last coaching season was my last as a student on the Plains. In my mind, he represents a turning point in Auburn football after the dark decade of the 70's. Who can forget where they were when we finally beat bama after too many years or how they felt when we were victorious Jordan Hare Stadium for the the first time ever? Those memories have the distinct flavor of Pat Dye every time I recall them. Perhaps it can be argued that coaches today are more cutting edge, more ingenius and I wouldn't disagree. But I truly can't imagine an Auburn legacy that doesn't loom in the long shadow of coach Pat Dye. War Eagle!

I have been an Auburn fan since I was elementary school. Listening to stories from my grandfather, who graduated in 1905 and my much older brother, who attended for 2 years in the 50's, had me hooked for life. Shug Jordan was coach when I was in school. While he was a great man, by that time the excitement of the 1957 NC had worn off, Bear Bryant was at Alabama, and we were truly that little sister school.

Doug Barfield, while a nice man, was just a filler of space and time till we could find Coach Dye.

While I applaud Coach Dye for bringing us back to respectability and mostly FOR BRINGING THE AUBURN-ALABAMA GAME TO JORDAN HARE STADIUM, he was never a favorite of mine on a personal level. Maybe that is because I spent much of the 80's living on the other side of the country (pre internet), so I missed out on a lot of it.

I was over the moon during Terry Bowden's first season, even though "we couldn't be seen, but we were heard". I thought he was a very exciting coach for Auburn. I was very disappointed when things turned sour for him.

Tommy Tuberville obviously did really good things for Auburn. He is a truly nice guy. However, in addition to his personality being a little on the dull side, his game day coaching style drove me crazy. I hated the getting a lead and then sitting on it. In some cases, we barely won games we should have won easily, or actually lost them. I think this was part of the reason for our losing out on playing for a championship in 2004. While I think he was good for Auburn at that juncture, I don't think he had that killer instinct to make things happen that were necessary to win championships.

I guess that leads up to my obvious head coach favorite--Gene Chizik. One writer above said it almost as I would, so I will use his:

"Gene Chizik. We all know about the airport heckler. We know about where the program was when he took it over ... 5-7 and a team torn in half; little returning talent and not a lot coming in on the recruiting front. Nick Saban had declared Alabama would own Auburn for years to come and national pondits declared Alabama was on top of the football world. Two years later, Auburn's the BCS National Champions. He became the first Auburn coach to take the team to a bowl in his first season, and won a NYD bowl at that to finish 9-5. Chizik ended a 4 year losing streak to UGA, 3 years to LSU, and back-to-back losses to Alabama and Arkansas in 2010. He's done what for years folks (including his predecessor) seemed to believe Auburn couldn't do ... land nationally dominant recruiting classes. He seems to have laid the foundation on the field for success for years to come.

Chizik's greatest accomplishment is probably off the field, having obviously had an on-the-field impact. He's instilled Auburn values in his players and emphasized family as the primary focus of the program. He's reached out to alumni, former players, and fans more than I think anyone thought possible. As a result, the program feels more united than ever with the support of the administration, former players, and the Auburn Family."

NOTE: I did delete his part about Chizik finishing higher later, because he is my number one now.

BACK TO MY PERSONAL OPINION OF COACH CHIZIK: I think this man does truly love Auburn. I think he loved it when he was here as DC, but that he too could see that CTT didn't have the belief in his heart that Auburn could be an elite program. I know that coaches don't stay at one program for decades, as they used to. However, I can see CGC being here for a while, for he truly has the makings of an "Auburn man". If he continues to make this program 2nd to none, there should be no "better job" for him to move on to. In addition to all these things he has done and probably will do, he is an individual who truly represents Auburn with distinction. While I feel sure he is proud of the personal awards he earned this year, those are not the reason he does what he does. He is a selfless, caring individual, who wants to shape the lives of great young men and win some championships along the way. He has used his belief that Auburn is great and can be greater to build an elite program in just two seasons. What a great guy! What a great coach! What a great mentor to our young men! WAR DAMN CHIZIK!!

Gene Chizik. Hands down. Shug was before my time and even Pat Dye a little before my perceptive time as an adult. It's kind of funny because even though Dye was one of the greatest, and the greatest in terms of SEC titles, as a kid my first impression of him was Pat "Tie" Dye, because of the Clemson bowl game. All these years later, that impression is still burned into my psyche, but I know conciously that it is misleading. However, Coach Chiz is my fav because of his character, competitive nature, great management under severe stress and distractions, hiring an A+ staff, and recruiting capability. Not to mention a National Title. Let's face it, the guy has been a coach on 3 undefeated teams in the past 7 seasons, two national champions and a de facto nat. champ. He is clearly doing a lot that is highly effective.

The "Tie" nickname was given to Coach Dye by Syracuse following our 16-16 tie of them in the 1987 Sugar Bowl. We also tied Villanova 7-7 in the 1936 Bacardi Bowl in Havana, Cuba. I imagine the cigars were great, but that one was a bit before Pat's day....

ps..... link has 2007 Chik-fil-A listed as the Outback & 2009 Outback listed as the Cotton. Also 2010 BCSNCG needs a final: Auburn 22, Oregon 19.