| FTBL "Da Plains is still burning." Phillip Marshall's latest rant.

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#PMARSHONAU: Valuable attention elusive for most in college football

A long-time Auburn coach and a friend, now retired, was wondering the other day via telephone what Auburn and similarly situated programs can do to overcome the burgeoning attention deficit in college football. The problem is clear for anybody who is paying attention to see.

“I thought the SEC Network was going to be great for Auburn,” my friend said. “It has been anything but that.”

My friend’s belief is that the SEC Network caters to a handful of teams in who it features, who it hires and what is said by those who offer opinions. He believes it’s worse than ESPN because he believes it should be promoting league programs in every sport.

So much is so different today than it was even a decade ago. The way college football and college football news are consumed is a product of the information age. For most of its history, college football was a regional sport. West Coast teams recruited mostly on the West Coast. SEC teams recruited in the Southeast. And so it went.

In the modern college football ecosystem, regional barriers have been shattered. They were shattered further when Oklahoma and Texas announced they planned to leave for the SEC. Those two, Arkansas and Missouri will be in the SEC. West Virginia is in the Big 12. Go figure.

Players from all over the country see games and get news from all over the country. And the message is relentless, day after day, week after week, month after month. The cool kids go to Alabama, Clemson, Georgia Ohio State or Oklahoma. But it really doesn’t end there.

Programs that are perceived as “bluebloods – I hate that term – need only win a game or two or maybe just hire a new coach to immediately be declared back and ready to contend. Consider the comparison between Auburn and Texas.

In the past 11 seasons, Auburn has won a national championship, won two SEC championships and has played for another national championship. It has had one losing season. In that same period, Texas has won nothing. Only in the abbreviated season of 2020, when they went 7-3, have the Longhorns lost fewer than four games. They have had four losing seasons. Yet where does the spotlight shine?

Texas naming its starting quarterback was a big story on national web sites covering college football. Recruits committing to Texas are big stories. It’s not just because Steve Sarkisian is there. Tom Herman was the previous savior. Before him it was Charley Strong, who replaced Mack Brown.

Wouldn’t that seem to indicate a trend?

This is not in any way about Auburn being mistreated. It is about the reality that faces not only Auburn, but numerous programs who have proved that they can compete and win on the highest level.

In the Southeast, ESPN and the SEC Network are the prime sources of college football information and televise most SEC games. There you can find College Football Playoff predictions, including the usual suspects, before a game has even been played.

Here’s how I break it down:

You have the teams that are currently contending regularly for championships along with those that the networks seem to want desperately to compete for championships. You’ve heard it: “It’s good for college football when (name the team) is good.” I’ve never really understood that.

That first group includes Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Florida State, USC, Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Those programs consume most of the attention. They get the benefit of the doubt. For the best of them, losses are written off as all but meaningless. As for those in that group not currently contending for championships, even one win can start the hype. Watch and see what happens if LSU wins at UCLA, which won all of 10 games in the previous three seasons.

Once Georgia’s game against Clemson declares itself, the conversation won’t be just about the winner. It will be about how the loser is still great and can win the national championship.

The issue is not just the attention that those who have dominated the playoff field get. It’s also those who aren’t great or in some cases even good. For whatever the reason – maybe it’s TV ratings – those who talk about the game to millions want desperately for them to be good.

It’s difficult to break into that group. Clemson has managed to do it, but the rest have been there for a long time. Others, including Auburn, have been in and out.

The next group, those who have proved they can compete on the highest level, is much larger. It includes Auburn, Miami, Oregon, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State, Stanford, Utah, Michigan State, Tennessee, Nebraska and some other Power 5 teams. Stringing a few wins together can vault these programs into the conversation with those listed above. But they are often viewed as interlopers who won’t be around for long. Auburn's 2010 national championship didn't change that. Neither did its near-miss in 2013.

And then come the loveable underdogs. Boise State, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina and Central Florida are those who get attention these days. This group can change from year to year.

The truth is Auburn has usually been treated more fairly than most in polls and playoff rankings, but that doesn’t change reality. The programs in the first group don’t get every player they want, as the talking heads want you to believe. But they get most of the players ranked as the better prospects in the country, and it doesn’t matter where they are from. Alabama has six players from California.

The only option is to win games and championships. That takes unyielding commitment, impact players and depth. It takes creative thinking. Finding a way to get enough of those players in a system that favors the fortunate few is a challenge that proves too much for most.

The attention deficit is real, and it matters more than it ever has.
 
Jay G. Tate
IT'S A TRAP!
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53 minutes ago
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#1

One of the great things about covering Auburn — not sure this applies to being an Auburn grad or ardent supporter — is the bizarre, non-linear way things happen behind the scenes.

The weird thing is that the athletic department seems normal from outward appearance. The people are nice. The offices look like offices everywhere else. Stuff gets done. It all looks and sounds normal. Yet the strangest things happen. And this deal with Allen Green and Gen. Ron Burgess in the same building doing basically the same job is one of the strangest things I've ever seen ... at least on a pound-per-pound basis.

A refresher:
• Allen Greene is the athletic director and his boss is president Jay Gogue
• Gogue moved his top administrative lieutenant, Gen. Ron Burgess, to the athletic complex in July
• Some coaches now report to Burgess while others report to Greene
• Greene, to my knowledge, hasn't received any meaningful explanation about what's going on here

Considering this snafu, it's no surprise that Greene interviewed for the open AD job at Michigan State last month. He finished second.

I said on the Brain Drain in July (it was bantered on the Bunker as well) that Greene is "toast" and that he won't make it to Christmas as AD. I still believe that. He's scrambling to find another job, which is prudent considering the situation, but I don't think he has an unlimited amount of time to find it.

I don't sense that Gogue has a replacement in mind. He's set to retire for good in relatively short order and it's wise to let the next president select the next AD. You want synergy between those two positions. You need synergy between those two positions. The best programs have it.

How did we get here? That's such a perplexing answer. Greene cut budgets by (approximately) 10 percent during the spring/summer of 2019 — before COVID-19 was a thing. This was a very unpopular decision fueled by Greene's intense desire to keep the department in spotless financial condition. Greene is fastidious when it comes to financials. While being a responsible steward of the department's riches is an important part of the job, many observers believe Greene went too far with it. He was too fastidious. When these cuts were being made, many observers felt that Greene didn't explain them well and didn't show much sympathy about how these cuts would affect coaches and players.

I never have understood these cuts. Doing this always was going to make Greene unpopular, so surely he was doing this at the urging or behest of his boss, right? We've never found any evidence of that. In fact, the word we've gotten out of Samford Hall is that Greene was doing this on his own out of some iron-clad personal view about what constitutes "solid financial standing."

OK.

Once COVID-19 hit, Greene began working from home and that continued long after folks expected him back in the office. In the eyes of many subordinates (ie coaches), he became the bad guy who cut funding, doesn't care about them on a personal level and isn't available to them.

Look, coaches can be egotistical. They can be humorously myopic. Their needs are bigger than anyone else's needs. I'm careful to avoid getting too swept away when it comes to coaches being angry about budgets and whatnot. We've heard this all before.

Yet this is an unmanageable situation. It's terminal. Auburn has two athletic directors right now when the maximum allowable number is one.

I don't know how this story will end, but know this: Auburn athletics cannot and will not thrive until Greene is gone. And (IMO) it's not because Greene is a bad guy or even a bad athletic director. It's because he doesn't know how to play politics.

Auburn is all about politics — for better or worse.




Harsin will be judged by what happens on the field and in the living rooms of top recruits, but losing the AD who stuck his neck out to hire you is not good news. I don't care how you spin it.



My theory: He came up with Danny White, who ran "normal" athletic departments and managed them normally. That's what Greene attempted to do here. This place isn't normal, so normal guidelines don't apply
 
The tears and whining are thick in these articles. What Marshall and that bunch do not get and have never gotten is sustained excellence over multiple periods is how you become Bama or a blue blood. This is not about everyone getting a trophy.

BTW his list of who is promoted by the networks, I do not agree with (FSU? really?). Clemson made the list because they have shown the ability to play at a high level for more than one season and w/o a hired gun QB. Clemson could quickly go back to being the historical Clemson honestly. Texas/Michigan/USC are indeed down but they have had sustained excellence just not lately. That can fade if they do not right the ship but they have a lot of interest from years of playing at high levels so that carries them through some lean times. It carried Bama also through some very lean years post-Bear.

My parting shot, this is the Barn and those associated with the program being who they are.
 
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@mando agreed 100000000%

The only true sustained success Auburn had was when Bama was down. Pat Dye in the 80's had some great teams, but Bama was reeling trying to find someone to be the next Bear Bryant. Same can be said for Tubberville and his run. Bama got caught with their hand in the cookie jar and the NCAA took a few years to work up it's case (allowing for negative recruiting for 2+years) followed by the sanction years. No one worthy of the job, wanted it at the time. If not for the inept management of the program by the "powers that be". Auburn would be the Georgia Tech of this state without the academic prowess to fall on.
 
Phil is the perfect leader for the BarnAnon group. How hard is it to understand that ESPN (and the like), are going to show the teams the pull in the most eyes? There is a reason CBS doesn't pick Vandy at South Carolina for their 2:30 kick every year. There is a reason the Yankees play on ESPN on Sunday nights, and not the Diamondbacks. He thinks the SEC Network hasn't been good for auburn? What does he want them to do? Spend more time highlighting their 6-5 season from last year? Talk more about their lackluster '20 basketball team that was on probation? Marshall is like groundhog day, every article is about auburn being disrespected and treated unfairly. "Oh, Phil came out of his bedroom and saw his shadow! Six more weeks of little brother syndrome... "

On the Tate article... Harsin is screwed unless auburn Jesus invests everything he has in him. He hasn't coached a game there yet and he's almost already a lame duck.
 
Maybe Senator Tubberville can pull double duty when Harsin is sent to USF or is a Alabama football coaching staff analyzer, a la Butch Jones style. Nothing is better than seeing the Barn and or Barners whine before a season, tells me a lot of what they think is fixing to happen this year. I think its safe to say the shelves at the local Wal Mart will have plenty of toilet paper available even in a semi pandemic.
 
The tears and whining are thick in these articles. What Marshall and that bunch do not get and have never gotten is sustained excellence over multiple periods is how you become Bama or a blue blood. This is not about everyone getting a trophy.

BTW his list of who is promoted by the networks, I do not agree with (FSU? really?). Clemson made the list because they have shown the ability to play at a high level for more than one season and w/o a hired gun QB. Clemson could quickly go back to being the historical Clemson honestly. Texas/Michigan/USC are indeed down but they have had sustained excellence just not lately. That can fade if they do not right the ship but they have a lot of interest from years of playing at high levels so that carries them through some lean times. It carried Bama also through some very lean years post-Bear.

My parting shot, this is the Barn and those associated with the program being who they are.

I disagree with none of this, but every time you think aubrun is on the ropes, lady luck smiles and they rally. I'm not convinced that Harsin is playing hardball with these legacy reporters and the good old boy network, and they are running him down because they've lost access. There is the off chance that he's focused on doing things his way, and may have success doing so.
 
I disagree with none of this, but every time you think aubrun is on the ropes, lady luck smiles and they rally. I'm not convinced that Harsin is playing hardball with these legacy reporters and the good old boy network, and they are running him down because they've lost access. There is the off chance that he's focused on doing things his way, and may have success doing so.
Lets hope you are wrong and they have not stumble across a good hire.
 
I disagree with none of this, but every time you think aubrun is on the ropes, lady luck smiles and they rally. I'm not convinced that Harsin is playing hardball with these legacy reporters and the good old boy network, and they are running him down because they've lost access. There is the off chance that he's focused on doing things his way, and may have success doing so.
Now look at their roster
 
Programs that are perceived as “bluebloods – I hate that term – need only win a game or two or maybe just hire a new coach to immediately be declared back and ready to contend. This is the most honest quote I have even seen from Marshall. When Auburn does beat Alabama their fans rush the field like they have just won the NC. Then Marshall starts telling all the barners....the barn is back and ready to contend. LOL
 
Lets hope you are wrong and they have not stumble across a good hire.

There's more going on behind the scenes in that athletic department than anybody can keep up with. Green and Burgess stepping on each other for the AD superiority. Gogue and Green hiring Harsin without any of the big dogs approval. Harsin making sure Nix is the starter over Finley and etc., etc., etc.
 
There's more going on behind the scenes in that athletic department than anybody can keep up with. Green and Burgess stepping on each other for the AD superiority. Gogue and Green hiring Harsin without any of the big dogs approval. Harsin making sure Nix is the starter over Finley and etc., etc., etc.
The good news is Pat Nix has another son that plays QB at his new high school so the Barn is in the good shape
 
I disagree with none of this, but every time you think aubrun is on the ropes, lady luck smiles and they rally. I'm not convinced that Harsin is playing hardball with these legacy reporters and the good old boy network, and they are running him down because they've lost access. There is the off chance that he's focused on doing things his way, and may have success doing so.
“You are so right, Carl”, as Shug used to say on his weekly show way back when. I’ve given them up for dead several times but they‘ve always found a way to bounce back. The difference now though is that some of old guard is too old to care or have passed on.
 
I get the argument that Texas gets more attention than they should and is constantly considered back even without any indication that is true. But Auburn is no less of a mess. It helps Auburn that they don't get the media attention as that would bring a lot of eyes to see what goes on there.
 
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