I haven’t said anything about the Auburn hire over the weekend. Mostly it is because I didn’t even know where to start with the dumbfounding thought that a 5-19 Iowa State head coach is the needed “improvement”. Like I said before when Tuberville was canned (and also when Weis was on the border of it) that I just couldn’t figure out who in the world you could get that was better.
Now I know Buffalo’s Turner Gill was interviewed for the job and actually, I don’t think he would’ve been a bad hire considering what is out there. Taking Buffalo from laughing stock of the NCAA to MAC champs isn’t anything to thumb your nose at. Yes it is the MAC and not the SEC, so it is hard to say if that translation will carry over. At least when Urban Meyer made the non-BCS conference to BCS conference jump, he proved he can coach, and most importantly win against BCS level talent. So I can see how Auburn might be nervous to pull the trigger there.
However, not pulling the trigger and bringing back a losing head coach whom’s claim to fame is that he is a good defensive coordinator at good programs is just laughable. Even if you didn’t think Gill was the right fit, there had to have been someone else more qualified.
But hey, at least Sir Charles Barkley can give us the real reason:
“I think race was the No. 1 factor,” said Barkley, who played basketball for three seasons at Auburn during the early 1980s. “You can say it’s not about race, but you can’t compare the two resumes and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst resume.”
Gill, a former Nebraska quarterback, took over one of the country’s worst programs at Buffalo three years ago. He guided the Bulls to an 8-5 record and their first MAC championship this season, upsetting previously unbeaten Ball State 42-24 in the Dec. 5 conference championship game.
The Bulls won 10 games in their first seven seasons at the Division I-A level. Gill guided Buffalo to 13 victories during the last two seasons combined.
“I’m just very disappointed,” Barkley said. “I just thought Turner Gill would be the perfect choice for two reasons: He’s a terrific coach and we needed to make a splash. I thought we had to do something spectacular to bring attention to the program. Clearly, if we’d hired a black coach, it would have created a buzz.”
…
“My biggest problem with the black coaches is they’re not getting jobs and they’re getting [expletive] jobs when they are hired,” Barkley said. “They’re not getting good jobs. They’re not getting jobs where they can be successful. That’s why I wanted Turner to get the Auburn job. He could win consistently at Auburn. You can’t win consistently at New Mexico. You can’t win consistently at Kansas State. He could have won at Auburn.”
Only Barkley could take a good point (the two coaches resumes) and completely make it worthless by trying to drive the race card through everyone’s heads. Gotta love it.
Ridiculous hack-sportscaster comments aside, I have a feeling Auburn is about to be in for a very rude awakening in the next couple of years.