The Bodda Getta

We have had, and currently have, some great coaches but my all time favorite coach will always be Coach Shug Jordan. A close second is Coach Joel Eaves. They were both true gentleman. and I had the pleasue of knowing both. Auburn has duly recognized them both with their names on Auburn athletic facilities.

In my lifetime (born in 1978):

1) Dye, hands down. Brought respect to the school, the city, etc. I watched it happen (evolve) as I grew up in Auburn. His coaching staffs will forever be the tightest knit and hard nosed I will ever see (in my opinion).
2) Tubby, got shafted and drops a 13-0 the following season. Smiles about it and gave me my longest winning streak vs. The Tide.
3) Chizik, only because it's Year Two, probably; despite the National Championship, etc.; it took me a while to get used to his use of the phrase, "Auburn Family" when he got outta dodge on a lateral move. I do believe he loves the place now but I can't help but think (and don't know that this gets brought up too often), if he's 0-2 or even 1-1 vs Clemson and/or South Carolina (0-2 was not unthinkable), I truly believe "most" Auburn folks would've been pretty upset. Let's be honest. Year One: 8-5, more than we expected. Year Two: "if" he had started 2-2 (losses to Clemson and South Carolina) head hunting wouldn't have been too far fetched; NO ONE thought we would run the table this year; it happened, I'm grateful, but "what if" (he's 0-2 vs the State of South Carolina...?) .
4) Bowden, another "what if". Hard to argue his winning percentage and winning some REALLY big games. Auburn-LSU (1994) will FOREVER be the loudest and wildest Jordan-Hare has ever been. HUGE wins vs Florida; had UGA and UAT's number for the most part. Hard to argue. Probably in over his head from the start but he sure pissed a lot of folks off and surprised more than were really ever "behind" him.
5) Barfield, he coached 1978 (when I was born) through 1980; I have no recollection of him, aside him beating the hell out of Auburn High (Alma mater) year after year after year when he coached at Opelika. From what I understand he was a stand up dude and didn't have a prayer from "Go" (from what I've heard).

Excellent, couldn't agree more. I was there during the Jordan years and always considered him a top class person and coach. It didn't seem to concern him that Bear got all the media glamor and glory, he just quietly went about his business of building great teams.