Joe Medley: Positive spin will be hard to apply here
10-09-2008
Auburn is a damaged college football program with a damaged head coach today.
If you believe Tommy Tuberville's explanation for firing of offensive coordinator Tony Franklin on Wednesday, then a recent vote of confidence rings like a presidential candidate saying the economy is strong.
If you believe Tuberville's take was damage control, then you know he's worried about recruiting taking a major hit.
Either way, Tuberville comes off as a head coach who made a major hiring mistake, and Auburn comes off like a program adrift amid what was supposed to be a championship season.
And this time, it's hard to see Tuberville spinning his way back to the esteem he held before the latest snag in his 10-year Auburn stay.
He sure tried Wednesday.
Amid rumors that Tuberville fired Franklin after a routine meeting went bad, the boss said he arrived at his decision Wednesday morning. He said it was all about production.
Auburn's offense hasn't produced in Franklin's first full season at the controls. Five touchdowns in four games explain a 2-2 SEC start.
But Auburn's lack of production on offense was as true well before Tuberville defended Franklin on Sunday.
"He's the offensive coordinator," Tuberville said. "And I think Tony's done a good job of adjusting. I don't know whether we've done a good job of adjusting to what we've gone to.
"… He probably takes more blame than he should."
Tuesday saw Franklin take on a more vigorous practice persona, stepping in where he once deferred to entrenched position coaches. He did it with Tuberville's blessing, or so the boss said Tuesday.
That doesn't add up to a coordinator sensing an imminent pink slip.
If Tuberville made his decision early Wednesday, then the normally smooth operator could have avoided a media circus. As it was, reporters with video cameras filmed Franklin loading his SUV with books and videos.
Franklin hugged a student assistant and told an employee, "They told me to get lost."
Franklin wore a blue and orange coach's polo shirt, indicating he showed up Wednesday expecting a full day's work.
It's not the scene anyone expected when Tuberville hired Franklin this past December.
The idea was to implement Franklin's spread offense, a major departure for Tuberville and Auburn. As much as anything, the move was to help Auburn recruit quarterbacks and wide receivers.
But as Auburn's offense struggled this season, Franklin said that he needed to go more on instinct. He talked about following his gut and calling more passes.
Franklin's statements betrayed slow buy-in from above and below him on staff.
Then the Tigers showed more old-Auburn touches, like the run-oriented "Ace" formation they used at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Just guessing here, but I bet Tuberville ordered more old-Auburn touches for Saturday's game against Arkansas, and Franklin balked.
And that's how we ended up with Wednesday's raw scene.
Then Tuberville went in damage-control mode. He cited production and reaffirmed Auburn's commitment to the spread … after firing the coach who copyrighted a version of it.
Auburn has signed one class with Franklin and the spread in place, and the Tigers have 26 commitments … more than a full 2009 class. Scout.com ranks Auburn's developing class No. 4 in the country.
The class includes a quarterback, four running backs, three wide receivers, a tight end and four offensive linemen.
Tuberville might hire another spread master after this season, but Auburn and the spread look like a marriage annulled today.
Auburn looks like a program in chaos, and Tuberville just looks bad.
Since Auburn has little chance of justifying its place as the West Division favorite, it's hard to see Tuberville looking better any time soon.
