Razing the Roof

by WarEagleMichigan on Jan 7, 2009 9:35 AM CST

Q: Do you know why the Rolling Stones keep Keith Richards in the band?

A: To make Mick Jagger look healthy.

That joke came to mind when I saw that Auburn had hired Ted Roof as defensive coordinator. Might this be a hire designed to make Gene Chizik feel good about his record as a head coach? Which is, may I remind you, 5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State. Well, hey, that's not bad at all when you consider that Roof went 6-45 in his stint as the head man at Duke. It's downright healthy, even. You know, as compared to Keith Richards.

"Philosophically, we think alike," Chizik said. Hey, nothing speaks louder than results, right?

I guess you can't accuse Auburn of being blinded by gaudy resumes in this whole hiring process, can you? None of these flashy hires for us down on the Plains. (Who's the head coach at Utah? Was he available? He already knows how to beat Alafrickinbama, and he can relate to the whole undefeated but shut out of the title game thing that we're so proud of. By the way, and I realize I'm now getting off on a tangent unrelated to Auburn, but the Utah attorney general? Needs to shut up. He actually seems like a decent guy, for a Republican, but when politicians launch investigations or hearings or lawsuits because their home team didn't get some trophy, they look like pandering morons with their priorities way out of place.)

I know, I know. I'm being mean (getting back to Auburn football here). I'm being overly pessimistic. Maybe Roof is one of those guys who's a fine coordinator, but just not suited to be head coach, especially at a place like Duke, where there's no winning football tradition. (I dunno, remind you of anyone? Gene Chizik, maybe? Just saying.)

Chizik did praise Roof's work last season in Minnesota, saying the Gophers had a D that was "very physical and aggressive" and caused a lot of turnovers. This sounds like something you could say about almost any defense without it being especially true, but I looked it up, and Minnesota did recover 16 fumbles and snag 15 interceptions last season, which is a far sight better than Auburn's numbers of 7 and 11, respectively, in those two categories. Of course, Minnesota did have one more game's worth of stats, because the Gophers played in one of those ... what's that thing where they give you an extra game at the end of the season as kind of a reward for winning six games? Oh yeah, a bowl.

So maybe there's hope.

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Comments

I think the Utah Attorney General is doing the right thing

The BCS is a joke. It is nothing more than a popularity contest. The more people outside of football in leadership positions who voice opposition to it the better. That is the only way real change will come. Also, the man has a valid point if you look into his argument. It is financially unfair to the “nonBCS” conferences whose teams make up half of the FBS. No one has ever looked at it from the financial perspective. I think his argument that these are illegal financial practices are right on.

WDE

by Jumpn_JackFlash on Jan 7, 2009 10:19 AM CST reply actions

Agreed

Firstly, the head coach at Utah actually was a hope of mine to tell you the truth. But, I’ve moved on and accepted who we have. Minnesota having such an aggressive defense last year does speak well of Roof. The only head coach I know who really won at Duke was Steve Spurrier. Willis is really solid I think, and if we get Rocker we’re doing just fine. Chizik is indeed a defensive mastermind. People forget just how well he did before he even got to Auburn. Tubby said we only thought we could keep him two years at the most any way when Chizik left. Willis is a good coach, and Roof doesn’t seem so bad. If he can make Minnesota do well, he can make Auburn do even better. If we get Rocker, we’re going to do much better than what any of us really expect.

by Sparkey on Jan 7, 2009 11:51 AM CST reply actions

Lawsuit?

but when politicians launch investigations or hearings or lawsuits because their home team didn’t get some trophy, they look like pandering morons with their priorities way out of place.

AMEN!!!!!

PS: Glad to see you bought ‘Michigan’ in the War Eagle franchise system. In case anyone else in Michigan is interested, we have War Eagle Kalamazoo, War Eagle Battle Creek and War Eagle Upper Peninsula left. Just shoot me an email and I’ll send you back the application…

by War Eagle Atlanta on Jan 7, 2009 12:05 PM CST reply actions

sorry to go off topic but i am depressed and needed to share my misery

i was feeling all good about these Auburn hires and was stoked that we were getting a visit from the #1 WR/Player in the country (thank you Coach Luper)…but then i read this on ESPN and shot blew my brains out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3817694

John Smoltz on the REDSOX!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!! yes he’s old, but damnit! it’s John Smoltz! the Braves are dead to me.

by suicidewatch on Jan 8, 2009 12:09 PM CST reply actions

Go Cardinals

Albert Pujols is your father.

The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs

by jd is legend on Jan 8, 2009 1:06 PM CST up reply actions

I'm a northern tranplant

Moved down south my freshman year of H.S.

With that being said. GO RED SOX. Those guys are gonna be wicked good next year

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Jan 8, 2009 3:29 PM CST up reply actions

FYI...

http://www.myfoxmontgomery.com/myfox/pages/Sports/Detail?contentId=8216432&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=6.1.1

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Jan 8, 2009 3:39 PM CST up reply actions

Smoltz...

…is dead to me, if he goes.

by War Eagle Atlanta on Jan 8, 2009 4:10 PM CST up reply actions

You really scared me there for a bit.

I hate the Braves and the Red Sox. I wish they would both lose every game.

by Sparkey on Jan 8, 2009 12:24 PM CST reply actions

Sorry

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Jan 8, 2009 3:40 PM CST reply actions

Dammit

Booyah lets see if it works this time

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Jan 8, 2009 3:40 PM CST up reply actions

nope. nevermind

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Jan 8, 2009 3:41 PM CST up reply actions

Sorry to War Eagle Atlanta

I don’t mean to step on your toes in the baseball world man. I just cannot stand either one of those teams, but I’m not going to do some bashing on either of them. In the end, we’re just pulling for our chosen teams I guess. Still, you are an editor here and I don’t mean to disrespect you. I guess it’s sort of like insulting a man in his house; you just shouldn’t do it.

by Sparkey on Jan 8, 2009 11:05 PM CST reply actions

I don't...

…know what you did. This wasn’t my thread. I like a good hijack as much as the next guy…

Smoltz has just given me reason #482 why I don’t care for baseball…

by War Eagle Atlanta on Jan 9, 2009 10:27 AM CST up reply actions

Awesome

I’m not a baseball fan either. I just get sick of hearing about the Braves-which I can understand because of the proximity to us. However, the Boston Red Sox? You constantly hear about them around here? I for the life of me will never understand Bo-Sox pride if you don’t like the Celtics or the Patriots as well. I realize the Irish lineage comes to mind for some, but trust me when I tell you I could write an apology that destroys that theory completely. After all, history is what I do. Anyway, I cannot stand baseball either and I never liked Smoltz.

by Sparkey on Jan 9, 2009 12:38 PM CST reply actions

I don't understand how anyone could dislike Smoltz.....

the guy is a driven winner and is as humble a person as you will find in pro sports. He has always done it the right way without all the trash talk and off the field shenanigans in his personal life……he is and always has been a great role model and is always envolved in philanthorpic and humanitarian efforts. Whats not to like…….except for his bad seventies facial hair that he is prone to sport I can find no fault.

I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU

by Todd92 on Jan 9, 2009 7:07 PM CST up reply actions

"philanthropic"

I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU

by Todd92 on Jan 9, 2009 7:07 PM CST up reply actions

I like Smoltz...

I just don’t like what he turned around and did. My only regret is that he won’t be showing up at the Ted every few weeks like Glavine did to get his booing. He knew the consequences.

Look, it’s a business. I know that. At the end of the day, Boston offered far more money to him with fewer requisites like staying healthy. If Smoltz would have been willing to guarantee himself healthy for a mere 60 days longer than Boston required, he could have had the same money with ATL.

There is no loyalty in baseball—that’s the nature of free agency and no salary cap. I can’t say that I blame them, but I don’t have to be a fan, either.

One of the reasons I was a bandwagon Braves fan at all was that the players seemed to stick around longer than with other clubs. Sure, you get guys like Sheffield who blow in and out, then you get loyal guys like Fred McGriff who get traded, but I expect the true believers to want to stick around—even if it costs them a little.

I really respected Andruw Jones a few years ago when he ditched his agent to renegotiate his contract with the Braves in order to stay in ATL, knowing that he might leave some cash on the table. As a fan, you have to respect that—especially in baseball.

But when Glavine pulled his stunt a few years ago, mainly because he was the player union rep, although I understand the business mechanics of it, I still thought of him as disloyal, and booed him every chance I got. When he came back, I was glad. Sorry, Tom. The booing is just the business of the fan. It’s the only currency we fans have that these prima donna athletes understand. And it really affected him, he let on later…

So yea, I’m upset with Smoltzie. I’ll boo him if he shows up for interleague play, but then I’ll be proud of him when he’s inducted into the hall of fame in a Braves uniform as a wins/saves hybrid…

Welcome to TET, WarEagleMichigan. Sorry for your first thread hijack!

by War Eagle Atlanta on Jan 10, 2009 6:44 PM CST up reply actions

You don't always have to have a reason.

My cousin hates Tim Duncan for no good reason. Sometimes, people are just unreasonable. At this point, I will admit I’m being a bit unfair. However, I really don’t care enough about baseball to keep talking about it honestly.

by Sparkey on Jan 10, 2009 12:05 AM CST reply actions