As far as who is the head coach and who got the big contract, I'm glad things turned out the way they did.
> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of Jeff Todd > Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 10:28 AM > To: RollTideFan-The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List > Subject: [RollTideFan] Tigers may wish they had Petrino > > > Saturday, March 05, 2005 > In the past 15 months, the Auburn University > administration has made two epochal decisions concerning > head football coach Tommy Tuberville. > > The first, made (but not carried out) in November 2003, > was to fire Tuberville after a bitterly disappointing > season and replace him with Bobby Petrino of Louisville. > The second, which was made official recently, was to > reward Tuberville with a contract that will pay up to $3 > million toward the end but will cost nearly $7 million > to buy him off, even if he were to go 0-22 over the next > two years. > > Which decision was the best one? > > It's easy and expedient to say paying Tuberville the > small fortune after a perfect 13-0 season was the > correct choice. Hindsight is always 20-20. > > However, was the other decision so flawed, considering > the man Auburn wanted to replace Tuberville with is 20-5 > after two seasons, including an 11-1 mark in 2004 and > No. 6 finish in the final AP poll? > > In the contretemps that followed the revelation of > "Jetgate," one important feature was overlooked. Hiring > Petrino was a pretty good idea. He had knowledge of the > Auburn program -- having spent one year as offensive > coordinator -- and he was considered a wunderkind in the > coaching profession. > > One must remember that Tuberville was a dead man walking > at the time of the infamous trip. Auburn, which started > the season ranked high in the polls (The Sporting News > had the Tigers No. 1), was 6-5 (three of those wins came > at the mercy of Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky and > Louisiana-Monroe) and had just lost at Georgia 26-7. > > So getting rid of him wasn't that far-fetched, > considering Tuberville had an experienced team that was > playing spectacularly below its potential. Where Auburn > went wrong was the gauche manner in which it went about > the furtive job interview. > > To Tuberville's enormous credit, he bit his upper lip in > the aftermath, played the scorned woman's role to > Oscar-winning perfection, then did something nobody > could have predicted: He coached the season of his > career in 2004. The team, led by a senior-laden and > NFL-bound backfield, used the near firing of its beloved > head coach and the pain of the misbegotten 2003 season > as the impetus toward the best season in school history. > > In the aftermath, the administration, under a new > president, had an equally dramatic but opposite > reaction. Instead of trying to fire him like his > predecessor, Ed Richardson, in essence, named Tuberville > "Coach for Life." > > Which one was the right move? Which move made more > sense? > > The public reacted with vengeance toward William Walker > and David Housel for daring to replace Tuberville with > Petrino. Both heads were lopped off at what amounted to > public executions. > > The public has reacted with a big yawn to Richardson's > decision to give Tuberville the dizzying contract and > nearly everything he wanted short of renaming the > stadium after him. > > So back to the question: Which decision was best? > > Will Auburn be better off down the road with Tuberville > as the football coach, ironclad contract and all? Or > would the school have been better off to bite the bullet > in the short run and bet on Petrino for the long haul? > > (Paul Finebaum's column appears Tuesdays and Saturdays > in the Mobile Register. Contact him at > [EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > > > _______________________________________________ > RTF mailing list > RTF@rolltidefan.net > http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net > _______________________________________________ RTF mailing list RTF@rolltidefan.net http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
