The Most Hated Man In Auburn
by Jay Coulter on Dec 9, 2008 9:50 PM CST
in Football
35 comments
It was just a matter of time. Now they're marching on Auburn. Tuesday's student demonstration in support of former coach Tommy Tuberville is the latest in a string of embarrassments for Auburn. Sadly, these kinds of public outcries are the only hope for change on the Plains.
This comes during a week where ESPN went public with the statement by Tuberville's mother, Olive, that her son was fired and didn't resign as athletic director Jay Jacobs tearfully described at last week's press conference.
Today, Auburn finds itself in its deepest abyss in school history. Auburn Alumni are disenfranchised in a way never seen before. Amazingly this once proud University continues to be held hostage by a board of trustees that makes Governor Rod Blagojevich look like a chore boy. Where's the outrage by this group? Is there not one member who has the cahunas to stand up for what's right?
Being the most hated person in Auburn cannot be easy for Jacobs. All over town this past weekend there were signs of support for Tommy Tuberville - in store windows, on café chalk boards and on message boards in front of businesses. Messages such as, "Bring back Tubs" and "We Love Tuberville" could be seen across town.
Since Jacobs's infamous press conference last week, I've yet to meet one person who believed anything he said. Not one - honestly. As one fan on a message board said, "You could tell he was lying because his lips were moving." Ouch!
Has there ever been a more hated figure in Auburn's history than Jay Jacobs? I don't believe William Walker ever hit this high point.
In yesterday's column, Paul Finebaum, a man whom Auburn people rarely find good in, hit the nail on the head. "If Jay Jacobs hasn't secured the No. 1 spot among the biggest buffoons in college athletics, it's only because a new poll hasn't been taken since the announcement of Tuberville's firing," wrote Finebaum.
For Auburn fans, Jacobs is the face of all that's wrong with the program. Real or perceived, he's viewed as the puppet for a board of trustees that's rarely seen or heard, but carries a big stick. On more than one occasion last week Jacobs emphatically denied the Board having any part in the Tuberville divorce. Never mind that $5.1 million was changing hands. His act was so convincing that Jimmy Swaggert was said to be envious.
Reality is starting to hit home for the Auburn football program. Simply put, no proven coach wants the job. Let's face it, for all the resources it has, the Auburn gig is perhaps the most unattractive big-time college football job in America. And it's all because of who's controlling the University.
It hurts to write it. But it's absolutely true. If you were a proven coach with no ties to Auburn, would you take it? Of course you wouldn't. Nobody in their right mind would - and that's where the problem lies. The pool of candidates being interviewed by Jacobs are names you'd expect to be linked to Troy or UAB, not a top tier SEC school. While Tuberville may have built Auburn into a top program, the head coaching job is anything but a plum job.
Jacobs would have been smart to hump Turner Gill's leg on the way out of the interview on Monday, begging him to come to Auburn. I know Buffalo can be cold in the winter, but does Gill really want to jump in bed with Jacobs and the board of trustees? If I'm Tom Osborne sitting in Lincoln, Nebraska tonight, I'm telling my former star to stay the hell away from Jacobs and his posse.
Jacobs life will likely get worse before it gets better. He must live in a community where he's hated by most everyone. It's a town where a person's word still means everything. By his on doings, Jacobs has made himself an outcast in the community where he lives. No matter what position you hold in life, being held in that regard by your neighbors is no walk in the park.
We can only hope that help is on the way.
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Nobody in his right mind would want this job...
That’s what they used to say about the Alabama job, and you saw what it took for them to bring in a talented coach. Guess what? We’re going to have to lob a similar financial Hail Mary. All this money for buyouts and new coaches. The better question should be, who in their right mind would donate money to an entity so financially reckless?
Not me, brothers and sisters. Not until I’m dead, now….
by War Eagle Atlanta on Dec 10, 2008 5:26 PM CST reply actions
I don't understand what the common man can do?
You can’t vote him out. You can’t physically throw him out. So what’s left? Have every AU donor retract their money? Then, you are worse off than when you started. As a Bama fan, I never realized that a program could fall so fast.
If I was an Auburn fan, the biggest rage inside of me would be the fact that I could do absolutely nothing but watch while my once-respected program falls to shambles. That’s a lot of football fans at the end of the day with nothing to lose.
no offense but that internet petition...
isn’t worth the anything. You are wasting others’ time with it. Educate yourself: Truth about Internet petitions.
Already been contacted by Athletic Dept
I’ve already been asked by the Athletic Department to take it down.
Can you...
…forward me that email, please? I’d like to see how they worded it.
I’m still waiting for my email verification from that petition, four days later…
by War Eagle Atlanta on Dec 11, 2008 11:33 AM CST up reply actions
Did Gogue respond to your email?
When I sent him one a couple months back voicing support for Tubs he responded almost immediately. I’m just curious if he was that fast when the subject wasn’t quite as cheery.
by GumptownTiger on Dec 11, 2008 12:23 PM CST up reply actions
Negatory...
I didn’t really expect one, though.
Last year, after the dog bite incident in the Iron Bowl, I sent him one, and got back the standard boilerplate response.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Dec 11, 2008 1:54 PM CST up reply actions
Poll
Don’t get me wrong I am not a fan of Jay Jacobs…. BUT what good would his departure really do when we have such a corrupt board that runs things from behind the scenes?
For argument, let us say that Jacobs has a bit of talent. Darth Lowder and his cronies through their actions have limited the coaches we can go after thereby hamstringing Jacobs in the search. If we hire a mutt who should get the blame…. Jacobs or the Board?
Hating Lowder since 1993.
Auburn....
will get the right man for the job. Remember at Ole Miss Tubs never beat Auburn or Alabama. That was a major concern going into the marriage. Think it turned out fairly well…..
I still don’t get it with some of you fellas. The last 4 years have been squandered opportunity after squandered opportunity with Tubs.
2005…we were hands down the best team in the SEC. Loss to bad GA Tech, 5 missed field goals, and an unimpressive showing against Wisconsin left me wandering what happened.
2006….blow out losses to Georgia and Arkansas doomed us…..What might have been……..
2007…Early losses to bad teams-Miss State and South Florida…..
2008…..should have at LEAST been 7-5 losing to Vandy and a bad Arkansas team…
It’s not what he won for us that I’ll remember…..It’s what he lost……..
Sorry, but I’ll take a Todd Graham or a Turner Gill. Gotta start somewhere like Urban Meyer….
I wouldn't say 2005 was "hands down the best team in the SEC"
Lost to LSU, needed a miracle 4th and forever play to beat Georgia. We were a pretty damn good team that year, for sure, but not the best “hands down.”
War Damn Eagle!
by PowerOfDixieland on Dec 10, 2008 8:11 PM CST up reply actions
I don't share.....
Ariegolds optimism about finding the right coach…..and the years that he flaunts as proof of Tubervilles blown opportunities? The only years of Tubervilles reign that I ever had a problem with before this one were his first when he had Heath Evans as a 3rd stringer on defense the first few games and 2003 when we had every tool you need except an offensive coordinator. 2005 you had to know it was a rebuilding year after losing that backfield. 2006 competitive and in the hunt but yes the losses to Arkansas and UGA hurt. 2007 offensive line was really bad early took a few freshman to come in and find the chemistry. 2008 the wheels came off for sure but no one including everyone here saw it coming……
But to the point at hand….Jacobs the man may just be the mouth piece but he needs to be pushed out the door and made to turn in his keys. I don’t know about everyone else but I am sick of the lies and dishonesty…..good for the students and fans that marched on the presidents mansion it shows that they are aware of the BS and it brings more attention to the debaucle which is contrary to Jacobs and the Lowder factions wishes. The Auburn Nation is not split as much as you think Jay I have yet to speak to an Alumni or fan personally that doesn’t think Tuberville was done wrong and that Jacobs should survive this…….and Ariegold what you are saying about a coach is concerning…….I think Turner Gill would make a fine addition at AU and I believe he would be successful but you don’t fire one of the top 10 coaches in the nation to hire a guy that “might” do well….you go out and you hire someone that is (to quote Mal Moore) “a proven winner and championship caliber coach”. That means no coordinators, no second tier coaches, and no coaches from another BCS program that hasn’t gotten it done. Jay Jacobs should be held to the flame for this debaucle and certainly should be held responsible if the next coach is a bust.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
I've been calling it from the start! SUPORT THIS CAUSE!
A petition has been started demanding Jay Jacobs’ resignation. Until the root of the problem is solved our Athletic Department and more importantly our University will continue to suffer. It is obvious that Jay Jacobs does not have the capability to run a big time Athletic Department. Please pass this along to the rest of the Auburn Nation. Its time we act before more damage is inflicted on our University.
You think he's hated now...
just let him hire a coach that the majority of Auburn fans disagree with and/or a coach who over time turns out to be an underperforming coach in comparison to Tuberville’s overall body of work at Auburn,…causing Auburn’s football program to go in reverse………….
War Eagle!
Particularly after coming off last season's 5-7 implosion,...
a 36-0 clubbing at the hands of Alabama,…offense and OC confusion and chaos,…no post-season bowl,…the way Tuberville’s “departure” came off,…and so forth.
Needless to say,…most Auburn fans who get into Auburn football,…are very “sensitive” (i.e., worn raw) souls right about now…
War Eagle!
Thanks Jay...
Reading this was a tough pill to swallow, but deep down, whether we like it or not, we all know that this is true. Jacobs is a puppet… it is just sad.
If you are a War Damn Eagle, you can War Damn anything.
Perception is not always reality
Jay, I generally enjoy reading your columns and usually agree with what you say. However, in this instance, I feel urged to emphatically disagree with you. First, this column is essentially the crux of what is wrong at Auburn. The entire “family” is fractured. You are on this site, trashing the AD, taking sides on issues that you truly know nothing about. Everyone (media/bloggers/etc.) ASSUMES that Jacobs is lying and is simply a puppet. Everyone ASSUMES that the BOT is really running things at Auburn. What recent evidence do you have to support these contentions? NONE! I believe people, such as yourself, further extend this negative perception of Auburn, leading those inside and outside the “family” to begin to believe it as true. I was in your camp a week ago. I did not believe that Jacobs could lead a search for new head coach…that Auburn was doomed to reside a mediocrity for a while. I had been a staunch Tuberville supporter. However, I began to think about a number of things. Our program has steadily declined since 2004. I began to see our program mirroring that of Tennessee. I now give the powers that be much credit for seeing the writing on the wall before we suffer another losing season during the coming years and face a more dire situation. Despite whether you support Tuberville or not, the fact is that it was time for a change. Things had gotten extremely complacent. Now onto Jacobs. Maybe Jacobs isn’t the alleged buffoon that he is believed to be by those such as yourself. Maybe Jacobs really did not want to fire Tuberville. Maybe he respected Tuberville enough to pay him to take a hike, but yet enable Coach Tubs to keep his love and respect among the Auburn family. Maybe Jacobs fell on the sword. But nooooo, not to you. You have jumped to conclusions that the entire administration at Auburn are crooked and Jacobs is an idiot. Why don’t you reserve your judgment until the search is concluded? I believe that’s what all sensible Auburn fans should do. While I am not questioning your love for Auburn, or desire to see the program reach new heights, I am questioning your logic. Maybe, just maybe, if all Auburn fans rallied behind the administration, and came together, then we could begin to see the success that we have not enjoyed in some time, and begin to reach those new heights that we all yearn for. I am not oblivious to the possible behind-the-scenes positioning of the board or the Auburn administration. Neither am I completely convinced that Jacobs is telling the entire truth. But, why should it matter? Tuberville got paid. He will continue to be loved and respected in the Auburn family. We will get new direction in our program, which we desperately need a breath of fresh air. All I’m saying is, let’s just put our swords away for the time being. Let’s give Jacobs a chance. Trust me, probably noone wants Auburn to succeed more than the Board and/or Jacobs. Let’s simply give the guy a chance. Thanks and would love to hear your response.
As an alumni and huge fan....
and someone who follows closely what happens at AU (the entire University not just the Atheletic Department)……I agree entirely with Jay and I know that Jay Jacobs is part of the Machine that Lowder controls. If you don’t understand that wanting the University to succeed is one thing and complete control of it is another……..as they say the “road to hell is paved with good intentions” and regardless of their intentions their method is wrong. You know what you call a dictator with good intentions? A dictator. The AU nation is no where near as divided as it was when Shug was denied the AD position and he stepped down….in fact I would say that the minority is a major minority in this case and the majority wants Jacobs and the BOT (namely Lowder and his Cronies, Colonial Bank Board members Jack Miller and Jimmy Rane as well as Lowder pocket man Earlon McWhorter and Lackey Byron Franklin) to answer for this debaucle…….we are not just mad that Tuberville was let go but universally at how it was done……just one more disservice in a long line of them during Tubervilles tenure. And for Jacobs to lie about it is inexcusable……the BOT has for too long exercised control over areas that it has no business managing and its time they were held accountable and that includes Jay Jacobs as their mouth piece. As far as Jacobs he has had his chance and he will continue to get it as long as Lowder wants him to unless Lowder is exposed or pressured to stop the micro managing. And if Jacobs isn’t the buffoon that everyone thinks he is then maybe he is too spineless to stand up to the powers and do what is right…..like be honest. Jacobs fell on the sword? By what saying Tuberville resigned rather than pushed out or fired? Are you that naive or are you a Lowder fan? WTF. The Auburn family deserves accountability for the action of those in charge. END OF DISCUSSION.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
I agree completely with that....
jsnable,
You asked, “Everyone ASSUMES that the BOT is really running things at Auburn. What recent evidence do you have to support these contentions?” Why do you think that SACS came down on us so hard in 2003-04? Because our BOT’s were too involved with the day to day operations of the university. Namely the athletic dept! Not to mention Jet-Gate. It was Lowder’s Plane! Do you honestly believe that he just stopped getting involved after that?
As far as Tub’s disparture, I’m not really against to say. I would have liked to see him stay but if he’s gotta go then so be it. Its like Todd92 Said, “Its the way that they did it that concerns me the most.”
In my eyes the BOT’s hit us once again with a very large sack of eggs. And left us looking stupid to the rest of the sports world. AGAIN!
You don't get out much, then.
There are many, many AU fans who were not happy with Tubs. The ones that I know are Dye-hard AU fans, alumni and supporters who both appreciate what Tubs did for the program, but who think Tubs had lost his edge. I love Tubs – I have mixed feelings about his departure. But, what’s done is done and now we must move on. I have to say that comparing Jay Jacobs to Illinois Governor is a ridiculous. Come on now, let’s be a little more realistic here. It’s college football, not state government. And, it’s not like other schools don’t have similar situations at times – Bama (and UAB for that matter) are most definitely under the thumb of one powerful board member who determines who stays and who goes.
That is where you are mistaken.....
Bama has more than one Lowder as do most schools…..thats the difference its multiple opinions and egos making the calls not one. What rock have you been under…..Lowder has been called “the most powerful booster in college football” by more than one national media source. When was the last time SACS hit one of our rivals with probation because the BOT particularly one Trustee was micromanaging the AD?
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
$11.1MM blunder
IF Tubby did resign, then he owes the University his buyout of $6MM. If he was fired then we would owe him the $5.1MM. If Jacobs and Gouge gave away $11.1MM, then they shoud be prosecuted! Since they only lied then they should be fired. Maybe then he would come back.
Is Auburn flirting with disaster in its coaching search? - www.al.com - 12/11/08
Link: http://blog.al.com/ray-melick/2008/12/is_auburn_flirting_with_disast.html
An excerpt from the article:
“Auburn fans who cling to the hope that Jacobs is thinking big, the way Alabama did three years ago in going after Steve Spurrier, Rich Rodriguez and Nick Saban, could be disappointed. The consensus seems to be this isn’t a great year to be looking for a "big name.”"
War Eagle!
You have got to be kidding me...
When I read that the post from Coulter that said our AD should have sex with Gill’s leg like a dog it made me sick. That has got to be the MOST CLASSLESS thing I have EVER read on this site…including posts from UA fans.
The venom that is spewed at out AD is disgusting at best. Do any of you who do so actually know the man? Do you know his wife and children? Most of us get to leave our jobs at 5 PM, but for guys like him I have no doubt it is 24/7. You can have your opinions about who our coach should be, but to assault a man’s character over something as minor as a coaching search only displays immaturity. And I say “minor” when you step back and realize it is ONLY A GAME…a billion people in China did not know UA beat AU…nor did people in Vietnam being slaughtered for their faith. I also say “minor” in that your buddy who lost his job before Christmas may not care that much either…or your neighbor who is behind on their house payment and in foreclosure…
Also, put yourself in his shoes…even God forbid, Lowder’s shoes. How would your wife or children feel about their dad if they read trash like that? Would you want your husband or father or wife or mother spoken of in that manner?
Have some class and leave the trash off the site. I would have expected more from the “manager” of the site and would recommend he delete his own sickening post.
Again, we can be concerned about the coaching search without assaulting the character of other people. We are better than that…
WDE
D Stark
AU 95
Lighten up, Francis...
The ‘humping’ portion is a joke, not a literal suggestion. If you’re that tightly wound, your doctor and I would both suggest that perhaps you should lay off reading blogs.
Jacobs’ job is a high-profile one, and it comes with high-profile criticism, so there’s plenty of heat in that kitchen. No one’s going to criticize you at your job because no one cares. Nor do they at mine. Not so with a position like an AD’s. Calling him a liar is about as nasty as we’ve gotten, but the truth is an absolute defense to libel…
And you’re wrong about China. Since Alabama went through the regular season undefeated, they picked up another 200 million bandwagon fans in that country. Auburn picked up the small number of Chinese exchange students that actually matriculated on the Plains…
by War Eagle Atlanta on Dec 13, 2008 10:19 AM CST up reply actions
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTT......
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
Has nothing to do with...
being tightly wound, but everything to do with having decency. One can be critical without being crude…joking or not.
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