When we were looking for a new coach after Ellis was fired, I was also a huge Mike Anderson proponent. I thought his brand of basketball would transition well to the SEC, and that he could connect with some of the state and region's top talent. Missouri is a traditional power, but the job he's done so far hasn't exactly turned any heads. You can't assume he would have done poorly at Auburn like Missouri, but you also have to wonder if he's a coach who's better suited for mid-major hoops instead of big-time college basketball. Anyway, Mike Anderson wasn't the point of this retort, so I'll get back on point.

You raise some good points. We're getting Josh Dollard back next year, hopefully our luck won't be as bad as it's been, so I'd say if we keep him, make sure he knows he's coaching for his job next year. Like I said in the original post, his schemes don't work. I haven't watched every Auburn basketball game (only seen one live, actually, watched a couple more on TV), but I have seen his teams over the last few years. How many times have you seen one of his Auburn teams get the ball, run down the court, put up a three with nobody under the basket, and give up an easy defensive rebound? They are clueless when it comes to breaking a 2-3 zone. He needs to call up Roy Williams, John Calipari, or even John Beilein and learn some new schemes.

If we were to let Lebo go, I would look to the mid-major ranks for our next coach. But you have be smart about it. For instance, when we were looking between Anderson and Lebo, here's what each had on his resume:

Anderson had come off a season where he took a mid-major team to the sweet sixteen, knocking #1 seed (and if I recall correctly, #1 in the country) Kentucky along the way.

Lebo had taken Chattanooga to records of 21-9 (11-5 SoCon) and 19-11 (10-6) without even an NIT bid. In fact, in his six seasons previous to taking over at Auburn, he only had one postseason appearance, in 2002 with Tennessee Tech.

Although both were at least mildly successful at their mid-tier programs, but Anderson had the better postseason resume.

Take the following example from Tennessee of making smart mid-major hires. When UT let Jerry Green go after the 2001 season, they hired Buzz Peterson, who was a year removed from an NIT Championship in his only season at Tulsa. He went to Tulsa after some success at Appalachian State, including one NCAA Tournament bid. He proceeded to perform at UT in four years about how Lebo has performed in his four years at Auburn. UT let Peterson go, in what was a controversial move. They hired Bruce Pearl, who had just taken Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a run to the sweet 16, and you can see the results.

So if we let Lebo go, who do we target? I would go after someone from a mid-major program with success against major conference teams, and particularly NCAA tournament success. Keno Davis has done wonders at Drake in only his first season, although that hire would be a little risky. Anthony Grant is in his second season at VCU, and knocked off Duke in the first round of the tournament last season. Maybe we could even lure a Sean Marshall away from Xavier. The point is, Sonny Smith was one of the best coaches we've had. We plucked him from ETSU, where he turned the program around in three years, and then the rest is Auburn basketball history.

The coach hunt is all a little premature, and I doubt we let Lebo go after this season. But with each passing loss, you have to ask yourself, "Is Jeff Lebo the right man for the Auburn basketball job?"

Except that before Donovan showed up, Florida had some success under Lon Kruger (including a Final Four run). We have recruited poorly for sure, but Alabama has some talent in the high school ranks, so there's no reason to believe that we couldn't be successful at recruiting.

I'm not hoping with all my heart we fire Jeff Lebo. He is a genuine person, and I threw some TP into trees at Toomer's after a 24-point win over Alabama last season. However, nice doesn't necessarily translate into victories. I don't want a mean guy who cheats his way to victories by any stretch, but I want to be able to beat the two worst teams in the SEC at home.